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Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell points to early election returns on the television in his suite in Richmond. From the left, his children are Jeanine, Rachel, Bobby, Sean and Cailin.
Unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds addresses supporters gathered on election night.
Republican Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell (center), Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (right) and Attorney General-elect |
Republican Bob McDonnell's win over Democrat Creigh Deeds yesterday led a GOP sweep of the top three statewide offices in Virginia.
McDonnell captured 59 percent of the vote, in unofficial returns with 99 percent of precincts reporting.
Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling was easily re-elected to a second term, defeating Democrat Jody Wagner. State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II, R-Fairfax, overwhelmed Democratic Del. Steve Shannon in the attorney general race.
"I just got tackled by my five kids and my wife, and there are a lot of tears on my cheeks right now," McDonnell told The Associated Press after the race was declared in his favor.
When the TV screens at his headquarters flashed that he had won, his supporters in a crowded Richmond hotel ballroom screamed, waved signs and began chanting, "Go, Bob, go!"
At a hotel a few miles away, Deeds addressed a somber crowd.
"We've got a whole pile of work in front of us, and just because we didn't get the right result tonight doesn't mean we can go home and whine," Deeds said.
The triple-win was a comeback Republicans have been seeking for years, but which seemed unlikely this time last year, when Democrats were celebrating President Barack Obama's becoming the first Democrat in 40 years to win the state. People then talked about Virginia becoming a blue state, or at least a purple one.
But this year, things seemed to line up for the Republicans.
McDonnell was unopposed for the nomination, due to a decision last year by Bolling to step aside from a nomination contest. That allowed McDonnell to spend the spring and summer raising money and running positive ads in which he introduced himself to voters as a family man and a candidate whose top priority would be regaining the jobs that were disappearing daily.
He was able to do this virtually unchallenged by Democrats, who were locked in a bitter three-way primary fight.
Deeds emerged the victor, but then spent the summer rebuilding his depleted campaign coffers.
By the time Deeds was ready to fight McDonnell, McDonnell was already ahead in polls.
McDonnell was also successful at portraying himself as a moderate candidate, one who cared more about fiscal integrity and creating jobs and businesses than divisive social issues, even though his reputation and record were more conservative.
Deeds tried to point out McDonnell's conservative credentials, using a 20-year-old grad-school thesis in which McDonnell had been critical of working women, homosexuals and others.
But the thesis issue did not move voters as much as Deeds hoped, and he at times seemed more focused on McDonnell's thesis than he did on telling voters about his own ideas and plans. Polls began showing that voters thought Deeds was running a more negative campaign than McDonnell.
Republicans also got a boost from voter disenchantment with Washington. Democratic policies there--stimulus packages, auto and bank bailouts, health care reform--led to pushback as early as the spring from voters concerned with government spending and government overreaching.
McDonnell took advantage of that mood, tying Deeds to Washington Democrats and their proposals every chance he could.
That put Deeds in a position of rejecting some of Obama's policies, even while he needed Obama's supporters to come out and vote for him. He seemed unsure of how closely to embrace the president; at one debate he was asked if he was an Obama Democrat, and he responded by saying he was a "Creigh Deeds Democrat."
Support for McDonnell was dominant in most Fredericksburg-area localities.
McDonnell captured 70 percent of the vote in Culpeper, 70 percent in King George, 68 percent in Spotsylvania, 67 percent in Orange, 67 percent in Stafford, 59 percent in Westmoreland and 57 percent in Caroline.
In Fredericksburg, voters favored Deeds over McDonnell by a slim margin, 51 percent to 49 percent.
Staff writer Kelly Hannon contributed to this article.
Chelyen Davis: 540/368-5028
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com
