States are already mired in unprecedented numbers of legal battles over voting.At worst, this means that a second consecutive election may be decided in the courts, with potentially dire consequences for the legitimacy of the electoral system.
At the moment, Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader, is not being challenged for the top slot despite double-digit losses by Republicans for a second consecutive election.
In the wake of a second consecutive election where the Republican presidential candidate performed woefully among the key voting bloc, many in the party are resolving that short-term political considerations can no longer determine the party's course on the issue.
Not for more than a century has any government, with the exception of the Conservatives of 1979-1997, had a fourth consecutive election victory.
Last week, Narendra Modi, a deeply polarizing Indian politician, led his party to a third consecutive election victory in the western state of Gujarat, which he has led for more than a decade.
It was the morning of 6 May 2005 and the Conservative Party was struggling to come to terms with the devastation of a third consecutive election defeat, but at least one senior Tory could detect a silver lining.
TURKEY'S ruling Justice and Development (AK) party has romped to a third consecutive election victory, winning almost 50% support in yesterday's parliamentary vote, and 326 seats in the 550-member legislature.
Moreover, Harper's attempt to win a fourth consecutive election was undermined by the timing of Wright's high-profile testimony at the trial of Duffy while the prime minister was on the campaign trail, where he was bombarded with questions about the scandal and alleged cover-up.
Including 1868, when Ulysses S. Grant won a third consecutive election for Republicans but directly succeeded Johnson rather than Lincoln, the incumbent party's track record improves to 6-of-12 in the popular vote and 5-of-12 in the Electoral College.
The struggle to come up with a defining message is familiar for candidates trying to win a third consecutive election for their party.
And for the second consecutive election, Representative Benjamin Gilman, a 14-term incumbent Republican, defeated Paul J. Feiner, a Democrat and the supervisor of the Town of Greenburgh, in a district that covers Rockland County, and parts of Westchester, Orange and Sullivan Counties.
