EDITORIAL: Passage of campaign finance measures in Maine, Seattle could affect 2016

Tuesday's off-year elections produced big wins for Republicans and bad results for Democrats, much like last year's midterms. Turnout stunk just about everywhere, and those who voted were hostile to progressives and their ideas — with one notable exception.

First, the conservative victories. Republican Matt Bevin, who failed miserably last year when he challenged U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in the GOP primary, shocked Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway to become only the second Republican governor of Kentucky in the past 40 years. Adding to the left's dismay over the defeat, which pollsters didn't see coming: Mr. Bevin did it by focusing on social issues.

Democrats also were counting on seizing control of the Virginia Senate to help Gov. Terry McAuliffe advance his agenda, but Republicans held every one of their seats. Ouch.

Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected the legalization of recreational and medical marijuana. And residents of Portland, Maine, one of the most liberal cities in America, voted against the imposition of a $15-per-hour minimum wage. They heeded the calls of the city's vibrant small-business community, which warned that a yes vote would eliminate jobs and force some of them to close.

But one longtime liberal policy goal — reforming campaign financing by giving small donors a bigger voice — scored two victories Tuesday.

Maine voters changed their "clean elections" law to provide more taxpayer financing for campaigns while allowing candidates to collect $5 private contributions. In approving Question 1, Maine voters also required organizations that pay for political advertisements to disclose their top three donors to the ads.

Meanwhile, voters in Seattle approved taxpayer-funded "democracy vouchers" for city elections, a first-in-the-nation initiative that will provide every city voter with four $25 coupons they can give to candidates. The experiment will cost property owners $30 million over 10 years.

As observed by the Seattle Times, the campaign to enact the vouchers was quite ironic because supporters collected fat contributions and outside money to argue that fat contributions and outside money were ruining democracy. Nevertheless, the votes in Maine and Seattle guarantee that other states and metropolitan areas will pursue similar campaign finance reforms.

It's noteworthy that low-turnout elections are typically hostile to tax increases that fund government, but that in Tuesday's elections, Maine and Seattle voters approved spending more tax dollars on political campaigns. The Democratic message that donors are corrupting politics (never mind that Democrats and their allies rake in every bit as much money as Republicans) is resonating with voters, a theme that meshes well with the public's embrace of "outsider" candidates.

Candidates from both parties are on notice that their contributors and financing will be big issues — and potential vulnerabilities — next year.