Despite having elected two notable Republican governors — Tom Kean and Christie Todd Whitman — in the past 25 years, New Jersey has long been considered a staunchly Democratic, or “blue,” state. And, in the past decade, it has become even bluer, a dark shade of navy.

Thus, one can hardly minimize the significance of Tuesday’s Republican breakthrough, when former U.S. attorney Chris Christie comfortably outdistanced Democratic incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine in a three-way race. Nonetheless, one must be careful to accurately assess why this breakthrough took place.

And it is precisely this: Folks, even in states with decidedly partisan histories, have limits. Wells of patience are not bottomless; even the oldest, or yellow-est, of dogs can turn on their masters.

On Tuesday, the Garden State citizenry said “Enough!” — enough of those three “highs” (high taxes, high spending, high unemployment). For too long they had groaned under the strain not only of Mr. Corzine’s inability to fulfill his technocratic potential — supposedly his skills, honed in the financial industry, would reverse that high tax-high spending reputation — but also of a fiscal condition that actually worsened during his tenure.

Thus, the cry heard Election Day from Weehawken to Wildwood was one of abject frustration, an impassioned wail that not even a half-dozen visits from President Barack Obama could suppress or quell.

Mr. Christie is clearly on the spot to produce fiscal antidotes — in a state whose governmental apparatus is mired in a debilitative status quo. But its people have definitely spoken. Message heard? We’ll see.

For all the successes realized in Virginia and New Jersey, Tuesday nonetheless ended on a somewhat bittersweet note for conservatives, who dearly hoped that Doug Hoffman would win in the sprawling 23rd Congressional District of upstate New York.

For tea-partiers and other grassroots conservative types, a Hoffman victory would have been brushed with romantic hues. Still, the effort was hardly wasted, in that the victorious Democrat, Bill Owens, was compelled to hug the center in order to prevail in what remains an essentially conservative district. Mr. Owens’ beliefs, whether new-found or not, will be put to the test when he joins Nancy Pelosi’s caucus. For him, the year ahead will not be an easy one.

What’s more, in Mr. Hoffman, the region’s conservatives may have found their man. Told by a supporter that “they [Democrats] are going to come after you,” he replied, “[A]nything that happens to me is nothing compared to what our Founding Fathers risked to stand up for their principles.”

That’s the sort of conviction conservatives need to carry their standard.