By Miriam Pepper
Kansas City Star editorial page editor

Don't discount the now almost-quaint notion that voters choose candidates, not parties.

Following Tuesday's national election outcomes, much chatter focused on the Democrats' loss of two state gubernatorial races, with many pronouncing a Republican comeback.

For just a moment, it's worth considering the notion that voters deserve more respect for their analysis and may be casting ballots for individuals they believe will do the best job rather than marking ballots as a strike for or against a national party.

New Jersey's Democratic governor Jon Corzine was shown the exit following well-publicized corruption scandals in his state. While a majority of Virginia voters sided with President Barack Obama in the last election, on Tuesday a majority chose a Republican, Bob McDonnell, to step into the governor's mansion.

Maybe they thought the Republican could do the deed better. Period.

I favor the notion that the candidate makes his or her own case, and voters agree or disagree with the ideas.

The HBO special Tuesday night, "By the People," documenting behind-the-scenes campaign moments in President Obama's race for the White House makes it quite clear that his followers were true-believers in him. He was their reason to rally, run phone banks, dance and worry. He repeatedly said he wanted to weave the nation together, not represent just Democrats.

Despite Obama's energetic campaigning for the two losing Democratic gubernatorial candidates, it's possible voters simply evaluated the candidates and choose the other side - without any thought about making a national party statement.

The nation remains narrowly divided. That's no change.