Every election cycle brings "winners" and "losers," and this one was certainly no exception. With that, here's my list of the top 10 winners and top 10 losers from yesterday. Please note that these are not in any particular order, and also that there are many other winners and losers not listed here.
Winners
1) Tim Kaine. Gov. Kaine worked extremely hard for the Democratic victories last night and deserves enormous credit. Thanks to his tireless campaigning, as well as to the large amounts of money given by his PAC to Democratic candidates this cycle, Gov. Kaine now has a State Senate he can work with, and a House of Delegates that should be less likely to reflexively say "no" to everything Kaine proposes. Let's all hope that's the case, anyway.
2) Mark Warner. "His Excellency" also worked very hard for the results we saw last night. More broadly, yesterday's election results were a continuing testament to Warner's governorship, as well as to the Virginia centrist/progressive Democratic model he established for fiscally responsible, "forward together" governance of this state. Next year, Warner will be elected to the U.S. Senate over the disastrous governor who drove Virginia into a fiscal ditch, forcing Warner and Kaine to save our coveted AAA bond rating.
3) Dick Saslaw. Last night's Democratic capture of the State Senate was a huge victory for Sen. Saslaw, who has represented the 35th Disrict (parts of Fairfax County) since 1980 and as Senate Minority Leader for 9 years. As of this morning, we can call him "Majority Leader Saslaw."
4) The Virginia political blogosphere, particularly the three big NOVA blogs (NLS, BVBL, RK), which grew in readership and helped shape the debate this year, whether on the abuser fees or illegal immigration. (Note: I don't agree with a word BVBL says, I'm just talking here about level of influence). Great work by VB Dems as well, and congratulations on the victories of their featured candidates -- Bobby Mathieson, Joe Bouchard, Ralph Northam and John Miller. Also, excellent work by Vivian Paige. Finally, let's not forget Byran Ault, who started a petition that gathered 170,000 signatures against the abuser fees. Something tells me those things will be amended or eliminated when the General Assembly returns to Richmond early next year.
5) Northern Virginia. Gained clout in the General Assembly with the elevation of Fairfax's Dick Saslaw to Senate Majority Leader (see above). For years, NOVA has played a smaller role in Richmond than its population and economic size would tend to indicate. That now appears to be changing.
6) Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple. Great job in candidate recruitment and fundraising by the Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. Sen. Whipple played a major role in the victories of George Barker, John Miller, Ralph Northam and Chap Petersen last night. Congratulations, I'm proud to say that Mary Margaret Whipple is my State Senator!
7) Brian Moran and Ward Armstrong. Yesterday's election results in the House of Delegates were significant accomplishments for House Democratic Caucus Chairman Brian Moran and Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, even though they didn't quite achieve the 51 seats they were seeking.
8) The environment. Virginia's environment gained several strong advocates last night, including George Barker, Chap Petersen, Margi Vanderhye and others. I look forward to seeing significant legislation on defending the Chesapeake Bay, reducing Virginia's greenhouse gas emissions, protecting open space, and more in coming years. In addition, "slow growth" fared well last night, with "[e]ight candidates sharply critical of Loudoun County's record-setting growth [winning] seats yesterday on the nine-member Board of Supervisors."
9) Money. According to the Washington Post, "legislative candidates raised nearly $60 million this year, double what was spent in 2003, the last time both delegates and senators were on the ballot." That's an awful lot of money by any standard. Whether or not that is a good thing for Virginia politics is another question, but for now, we declare "money" a big winner of 2007.
10) Gerry Connolly. Achieved what the Washington Post called a "Slam-Dunk Victory" last night. In addition to Connolly's victory, the Post points out that "With the defeat of [Dranesville incumbent supervisor, Republcan Joan] DuBois, the Democratic majority on the board grows to 8 to 2 from 7 to 3." DuBois lost to John Foust, in part because of "her vote in support of an elevated track through Tysons Corner as part of the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport."
[UPDATE: Two more big winners were Annabel Park and Eric Byler, who put together an amazing, innovative video series on the immigration issue in Prince William county. I am proud to call Eric and Annabel my friends.]
("Losers" on the flip)
Losers
1) George W. Bush. The Worst President EverTM may not have been on the ballot in Virginia this year, but his influence was certainly felt. After nearly 7 years of Bush's disastrous presidency, the Republican "brand" is seriously tarnished, and the damage is "trickling down" -- to use their absurd concept of economics -- to local and state elections across the country. It will be very interesting to see what happens next year, when Bush is not on the ballot.
2) The Davis machine. Tom Davis poured everything he had into trying to save his wife's political career, only to see her lose big time (55%-45%) to Chap Petersen. As if that wasn't bad enough, Tom Davis also was rebuked by the RPV in his push for a primary in next year's Senate race. Davis lost to Jim Gilmore, who had pushed for a convention, and announced shortly thereafter that the would not seek the seat of retiring U.S. Senator John Warner. So ends the Davises' political career?
3) Immigration as a decisive issue. It certainly made a lot of noise, but in the end, Democrats did very well yesterday despite Republicans' cynical attempt to exploit this wedge issue. Can anyone point to a race that would have turned out significantly differently if immigration had NOT been an issue this year? Even in Prince William county, the epicenter of all the "sound and fury" on this issue, it's not easy to detect any significant anti-immigrant "wave." After yesterday, it will be fascinating if national Republicans seize on this issue and try to use it in 2008. It may be difficult, however, with at least two major pro-immigration candidates (McCain, Giuliani) vying for their nomination.
4) Tim Hugo and JMDD. Last night, we all suffered through the "brilliance" of Tim Hugo and JMDD, co-sponsors of legislation that prevented election boards from using modern, wireless equipment to collect results from precincts. As a consequence, it was a long night as we all waited for results to trickle in from Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties. Heckuva job, guys!
5) The tone of the campaigns. From demagoguery on immigration, to sending out the pictures and home number of Chap Petersen's family, to misleading advertisements (hello, Tim Hugo?), to homophobia and anti-Muslim bias, this was no doubt a nasty campaign. So much for the civility part of the "Virginia way," if it ever existed.
6) Hispanic political influence. Some day, Latinos will play a huge role in Virginia politics, and overall I think that will be a great thing. This election cycle, however, showed that Hispanics still have a ways to go in terms of voter registration, participation, and influence on the political process. I urge Latinos in Virginia to organize, register and make their voices heard as full citizens of our Commonwealth! (Note: I should have added that DLOV is doing fine work and making great progress in their plans for the future. I look forward to working with DLOV on enhancing Latino political influence in Virginia next year and in years to come.]
7) Bill Bolling, Bob McDonnell and John Hager. The two highest Republican office holders in Virginia -- and the head of the RPV -- didn't have much to celebrate last night. Hager was at the White House passing the Grey Poupon with French President Sarkozy and George W. Bush. McDonnell was practically invisible, including a 10-day trip to Israel during the most crucial period of this year's election. Bolling lost his chance of playing a crucial tie-breaking role in the State Senate. Appropriately, Bolling was "in Delaware for the National Lieutenant Governor's Association meeting, and checking for results on his Blackberry." Can we say "out of touch?"
8) Fairfax Republicans. Rapidly becoming an endangered species, last night witnessed the almost complete demolition of the Republican Party in Fairfax County. And watch out, Republicans, because Loudoun and Fairfax counties are changing fast as well.
9) Broadcast TV advertising. Candidates spent a great deal of money on broadcast TV ads in the expensive NOVA market -- a first for Virginia General Assembly candidates. Can anyone point to a race where they made a difference? I mean, JMDD spent megabucks and lost by 10 points. Ken Cucinelli also spent heavily and is heading for a probable recount with Janet Oleszek. Not a great way to spend your money, it would appear.
10) Washington Post coverage. It wasn't all bad, but overall, I was not impressed with the Washington Post's coverage of the 2007 Virginia legislative elections. Among other problems, they ignored huge stories, some of which were almost literally handed to them on a silver platter (e.g., a significant scandal involving Ken Cuccinelli's tax dodging and, er, "questionable" land deals with lobbyists. They continued to pay far too much attention to superficial "horse race" coverage and personalities, at the expense of substantive analysis of issues and ideologies. They were wildly biased to Tom and Jeannemarie Devolites Daivs (so much for THAT love affair after last night!). Finally, the Post's endorsement of gay-, Muslim- and immigrant-bashing Jill Holtzman-Vogel hit a new low. Is this the Washington Post or the Moonie Times?
Great Job to the entire crew out there! However, that clown Delgaudio still managed to win 53-47. God that is frustrating!
This election represents a huge victory for progress. It was a tremendous day, both for Virginia and the Democratic Party.There is a message in this campaign for Richmond. Voters are sick and tired of obstructionism and rigid ideology. They want leaders who will work with Governor Kaine to cut through political gridlock and deliver results. In race after race, the people have spoken for change in the way the Assembly is run. They will not tolerate those who put politics ahead of progress. They are looking for commonsense solutions and results on the challenges we face.
Once again, Democrats have shown we know how to win in Virginia. We have continued a trend that started with Mark Warner and moved through Tim Kaine and Jim Webb. With 2007 behind us, we look forward to building on our success in 2008.
Statement by DLCC Executive Director Michael Sargeant on winning the Virginia SenateWASHINGTON, DC- Democrats won a decisive victory in Virginia tonight. This was the last bite at the apple before the 2011 redistricting.
This is a much bigger story than demographic shifts. Virginia Democrats won because they have a strong ground game. Our candidates talk about practical solutions to local problems. That resonates with voters, especially compared to the divisive Republican talking points.
Winning at the state legislative level sets the foundation for long-term Democratic success. Our victory guarantees that Democrats have a seat at the table when legislative and Congressional district lines are cut to ensure competitive districts. We're training future leaders: two-thirds of Virginia's U.S. Representatives are former state legislators. We're standing up for Democratic values, and we're showing that Democrats can win-anywhere.
The victory in Virginia extends state legislative Democrats and the DLCC's winning streak to five years, with net gains every year since 2003.
We also congratulate the Virginia House Democrats, who picked up four seats, and New Jersey Senate Democrats, who expanded their majority.
Virginia: It looks like we might need to stop calling Virginia a "purple" state, and start considering it a shade of blue. Dems ended a decade of Republican of dominance in the state Senate, winning four seats and regaining the majority for the first time in 10 years. The GOP kept its majority in the state House, but Dems closed the gap there, too, gaining at least four seats. (Of particular interest, Dems easily defeated Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R) in a closely-watched race.) Republicans thought they could hang on if they just beat on immigrants enough. It didn't work.
Maybe "The Blue Dominion" is just destiny.
...in Chesterfield, Democrats beat the incumbent GOP Board of Supervisors chairman in the Richmond area's biggest upset. Our candidate, Jim Holland, is only the 2nd African-American to be elected to the BOS in history. And, this was not a black-majority seat. One of the major factors was a robocall that Gov. Kaine did for Jim. The board also lost its GOP majority as there are now 2 R's, 2 I's, and 1 D representing Chesterfield.
Great news!
Well, you can call him that, but it won't be true. As of lunchtime on January 9, 2008, it will be true. It's not even accurate to call him Majority Leader-elect Saslaw, because the caucus hasn't had its post-election leadership elections yet.
One could call him "the presumptive Majority Leader."
I've been saying for a while that Northern Virginia is only half the story when it comes to Democratic gains in Virginia, and they freaking proved it tonight. Way to go Hampton Roads Democrats!
I'm just saying.
But besides the blogs and their almost instantaneous effects on the distribution of facts and situations, a whole raft of new and re-cycled technologies had an impact too. Eric Byler and Annabel applied the ultimate weapon, the truth with their YouTube Series. As disappointed as many of us are that PWC didn't hear a lot of the facts that were being shown, that content will still shape the near future for a lot of people who need the help.
Dems also demonstrated unique competence in applying a bunch of new techniques and tools based around the web as well. Some of these were obvious like spontaneous short videos, or the over 30 complete debate videos and don't forget the "poles" taken on RK and NLS (and others), but some other tools are still best left unspecified.... in the spirit of the DC area as I told a reporter from the WAPO last night..."I can neither confirm nor deny" when he asked why the SSID of the WiFi system being used in the ballroom was sending out an ID that made them ask "what is so large and purple ????". Or the fact that hundreds of lawyers state-wide were trained and amazingly effective in just over 24 hours from when they were given their assignments for election day. Or when several precints ran out of the complex sample ballots and then using specially indexed and identified PDFs with wireless email and a whole print shop on complete stand-bye, their needs were addressed and responded to in minutes. etc. Etc. Etc.
The web is an amazing tool.... especially in the hands of the people whom you find inhabiting this and other blogs. Great JOB people !!! We made a difference. A big difference and you "Ain't Seen anything yet".
Dailykos has it on front page today
PRECINCT CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%
616 - GUNSTON
David B. Albo 460 79.86%
Write In 116 20.13%
PRECINCT CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%
617 - LORTON
David B. Albo 179 62.80%
Write In 106 37.19%
PRECINCT CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%
618 - NEWINGTON
David B. Albo 827 82.45%
Write In 176 17.54%
PRECINCT CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%
622 - LORTON STATION
David B. Albo 267 76.28%
Write In 83 23.71%
PRECINCT CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%
624 - HUNT
David B. Albo 858 87.01%
Write In 128 12.98%
PRECINCT CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%
626 - SARATOGA
David B. Albo 898 81.56%
Write In 203 18.43%
PRECINCT CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%
628 - LAUREL HILL
David B. Albo 695 78.79%
Write In 187 21.20%
(ps - winners to the whole team of GOTV volunteers and precinct ops gang that made this result happen especially Chris, Kate, Fred, Laura, Doug, Karen, lots and lots of others, Scott will have the full list) Also hope Scott called in sick today - he really needs to sleep.
www.mvdemocrats.com
John Foust is going to be a great Supervisor and definitely not a lap dog for Connolly. He will do right by his constituents and make sure that we have a healthy growing economy that is preceded by an infrastructure that can support it.
A sack of potatoes painted blue with a big "D" would have beat Albo.
This was most definitely a big loss in the sense that it would've been an almost certain victory had someone, anyone, run against him.
I believe the mystic of the 42nd is gone and we will have a slate of great candidates come forward in 09.
are you proud of writing that?
There's a reason Latino voters are called "The Sleeping Giant" by Political Scientists. They have the lowest voter-turnout by percentage of any ethnic voting bloc. Whites, Blacks, and Asians all have better turn-out on average, and THAT'S A FACT. That's just how it is. Nothing offensive was said at all.
about as patronizing as it gets.
perhaps it would be better to say that Democrats have a way to go in winning and delivering the Latino vote. It is not their obligation to vote for the Democratic party, it is the Democratic party's obligation to win their vote.
Dan, your comments on Rest of Virginia, could as easily be applied to white male Democrats making condescending remarks about the rest of the Democratic coalition. (Incidentally, I don't think their is any such animal as Rest of Virginia, Tidewater is as different from SouthWest as it is from NoVA. I would have thought someone attending school in Blacksburg would have noticed that.)
That's just off the top of my head. These are places I feel that Leaders in the Democratic Party don't pay enough attention to. These are areas dominated by minoritiy voters, the same people I think are getting screwed. I'm personally offended, Alice, that you would try to insinuate that I'm a racist for thinking that. To me, it has nothing to do with race, and you damn well know that. It has to do with wealthy, elitist bastards trying to dominate the party from their rather large homes (yes, I had the misfortune of visiting McLean, you know, Harris' home, this weekend) and talk about how wonderful they are because they "care" for the poor guy living in a Townhouse over on Lake Braddock. I do think those south of Richmond (White, Black, and Hispanic) often are left out because they A) Don't haven enough money or B) Don't live in Fairfax. THAT's my problem, Alice.
Now why don't you go call somebody else a racist, anti-semite, or something of the nature? That would definitely be your M.O.
Show me the comment. That's right, it isn't there. Up until the end, I admittedly thought that Virginians would disappoint me and vote for Allen. Until Election Day Eve, I thought Allen would win. But I ALWAYS was 100% behind Webb. I campaigned for him every weekend, giving literature out in Blacksburg and Montgomery County. I even got harassed and followed by one guy while doing a lit drop for hours, until I had to go to the police over it. Read any of my posts here or on my own blog and you can see that I gave pretty much my entire life to that campaign, as did almost everybody here. Basically claiming that I did nothing is pretty damned offensive. Everybody on this blog, including "sore winners" like me, JC, and Lowell did everything we could to help Webb. To insinuate we didn't, and that you did more than me, is simply shocking.
You just love making enemies, don't you Alice?
NARAL Pro-Choice VIRGINIA Celebrates Pro-Choice Election Victories(Alexandria, VA) Today, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, Virginia's largest statewide organization dedicated solely to reproductive choice, celebrated the victories of pro-choice candidates across the state-wins that resulted in pro-choice leadership in the state Senate and key pro-choice gains in the House of Delegates.
The pro-choice gains included John Miller in the 1st Senate District, George Barker in the 39th Senate District, Ralph Northam in the 6th Senate District, Joe Bouchard in the 83rd House District, Paul Nichols in the 51st House District, and Margi Vanderhye in the 34th House District. Overall, 49 candidates endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia won their races, or 84 percent of the endorsed candidates.
"This shift will not only help us protect access to abortion services in Virginia," said Jessica Bearden, Deputy Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, "but it will allow us to pursue commonsense legislation, such as increasing access to birth control and emergency contraception, that will prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce the need for abortion."
NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia has thousands of activists and members throughout the state. Their efforts to turn out pro-choice voters included sending 3500 pieces of direct mail and 3650 endorsement letters, phoning over 1400 pro-choice voters, and contacting over 1650 activists by email to remind them to vote.
Reproductive rights played an important role in this year's election, with many pro-choice candidates highlighting their opponent's opposition to abortion and even some forms of contraception. "Virginians have rejected the out of touch policies of anti-choice lawmakers in Richmond," said Bearden. "Now it is time to get down to the business of improving access to reproductive health services for the women of Virginia."
But generally, I don't see where it made a lot of difference. But being the election where the "census 2011 legislature" is selected, each side pushed all its $$ for use in any way they could imagine.
You should also replace George Bush on your list with Bill Howell. I doubt the GOP does into the 2009 election with him as the Speaker of the House...
I know the DPVA doesn't get much love around here, but the DPVA was definitely a big winner in this election. They ran a statewide ground game that was truly amazing. The money for the program came from Governors Kaine and Warner, but the program was run by the DPVA. They deserve huge kudos.
And let's talk about Hampton Roads--- With considerably less fanfare and attention, we won HALF of the Democratic pickups in the state. Two of those pickups were in traditional Republican strongholds, and one of which was against someone that is widely regarded as the toughest Republican campaigner in the state. In Hampton Roads we ROCKED this election cycle!
The four pickups in Hampton Roads were attributable to three things: 1)Quite obviously we had fantastic candidates, two of whom raised unheard of sums of money for a Hampton Roads GA race; 2) We had some excellent campaign staffers (Northam Campaign Manager Jon Blair, for example, was aggressive and disciplined and ran the tighest ship I have ever seen); and 3) We had an unparalled ground game (thanks to the DPVA) that swamped anything the Republicans could offer up... in spite of their shipping in large numbers of College Republicans from other regions and states to try to take that advantage away from us.
Hampton Roads --- BIG Winner
And Susan, thank you so much for all the work you did with our State Senate candidates on the Penninsula! I can't help but wonder, though: what are you going to do with yourself next year?! 2008 will be the first year in a good long while where you won't be able to help lead the local charge in Hampton Roads to take back one Senate or another. ;-)
It has been a real honor to work alongside Democrats in Hampton Roads to elect great Democratic candidates. I have some pretty inspiring stories from this election cycle that I'll share over the next few days. Today I'm taking a break though. Until last night I'd only slept 7 hours out of the past 100. But just like with the Webb campaign, it was worth all the lost sleep.
On that note, I think you all owe me some sleep ;-)
The Pandak vs Stewart race was basically an exact replay of one year ago, with Pandak's numbers slipping slightly from her 2006 performance, but not much. When you consider that last year was a congressional race, and she may have been helped by Webb (dubious), but that in general turnout was lower - it explains that the so-called touch-stone issue was a wash.
Immigrant bashing certainly did not turn out to be a big impact in either the Colgan vs FitzSimmonds race, nor the Roemmelt vs Marshall race, though it may have skewed things a little in both.
It looks like more damage was done by going negative than this trumped up issue.