Posted on 11/03/2015 6:40:32 PM PST by 11th_VA
They never did! LOL!
I hope LA voters do the right thing! This is not a good time to vote in a dem. Things are bad enough without that burden!
Senate Republicans retain majority
Richmond, Va, 3 November 2015: The leadership of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus celebrated the results of today’s elections, which retains their party’s majority in the General Assembly’s upper chamber through 2019. Based on unofficial returns provided by the Virginia Department of Elections, Republicans will have a 21 to 19 majority when the Senate convenes on January 13, 2016.
“Today, Virginians voted for a fiscally responsible and conservative majority, for Republican senators and senators-elect who are committed to responsive and accountable government,†remarked Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment, Jr. (R-James City). “Our victory is all the more impressive in that it was achieved despite the record-breaking millions of dollars spent by Governor McAuliffe, his allies, and out-of-state, single-issue PACs. This election was decided by Virginians, and they again voted for a Republican-majority Senate.â€
“Tonight serves to remind those who think money is everything in elections that victory at the polls is not for sale,†noted Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ryan T. McDougle (R-Hanover). “You must have the better candidates and the right message to win. Our senators and nominees were the better candidates and they had the right message. We won by focusing on jobs and the economy, lower taxes and reduced government regulation, and educational reforms that will give parents greater choice and improve our public schools. Those are issues that affect the daily lives of Virginians, and today the people of Virginia entrusted Republicans to lead the Senate of Virginia for the next four years.
“I want to congratulate all of our returning senators and welcome Senators-elect Chase, DeSteph, Dunnavant, Sturtevant, and Suetterlein. They all ran outstanding campaigns and have earned their victories. We fielded great candidates in 30 senate districts, and we are grateful to all of them for stepping forward to serve and to deliver our positive message to the people of Virginia.â€
“While all General Assembly elections are decided by the voters in their local districts, this was very much a team effort,†said Republican Caucus Vice Chairman Stephen D. Newman (R-Bedford). “The leadership of our caucus, our incumbent senators, and our nominees worked together to achieve this result. We never lost sight of the importance of talking directly to voters about the issues that concern their families. All of the last minute out-of-state spending by the other side could not overcome the strong relationship forged between our nominees and the voters they want to serve. For that, we are truly grateful.â€
“As with any victory, we have a lot of people to thank,†said Norment. “The Republican State Leadership Committee and Ed Gillespie provided critical support to our campaigns. The Republican Party of Virginia provided key resources that helped to get our candidates’ messages directly to the voters. GOPAC and the Disruptor Fund were generous to our candidates at critical junctures in their campaigns. The Caucus’s comparatively small staff, Mike Young, Nicole Tardif, and Jeff Ryer, provided the strategy, technical assistance, advice, and close working relationship with our campaigns that is essential to victory.
“Today’s result marks an impressive achievement for our senators and our senators-elect. Over the last eight years, the Senate Republican Caucus has obtained a hard-earned reputation for working closely and collaboratively to achieve shared goals and promote conservative principles. In the minority and the majority, whether our ranks had 19, 18, 20, or 21 members, we have attained an internal cohesion that has allowed us to enact important legislation for the Commonwealth and its people.
“As Majority Leader, I am proud that for the second cycle in a row every Republican senator whose name appeared on the general election ballot will be returning to Richmond. I am proud, too, that for the second cycle in a row every district currently represented by a Republican senator will have a Republican senator representing it when the General Assembly convenes. Clearly, the people of Virginia appreciate the responsive, effective representation they receive from the members of the Senate Republican Caucus.
“Over the last four years, both parties have enjoyed periods of time as the majority in the Senate. This experience gave Virginians the opportunity to see firsthand how each governs. Today, they made their choice. Senate Republicans are honored to have been given this opportunity and this privilege once again. We look forward to building on our record of accomplishment with another productive and effective four years in the majority.â€
Vitter is so far behind he can’t possibly catch up with just seventeen days left. He has run a very poor campaign, and he is hurt badly by the unpopularity of Gov. Jindal.
Also good news from Hampton Roads; incumbent Republican Senator Frank Wagner held onto his Virginia Beach Senate seat, defeating former Cox Cable executive Gary McCollum.
McCollum was another McAuliffe acolyte, hand-picked to go after Wagner, a long-time incumbent. But McCollum stumbled in a military-heavy district when he claimed he was still in the Army Reserve, despite official records that showed he was discharged a decade earlier. It was also revealed that Cox had granted McCollum a paid leave of absence to run for public office. When that was revealed, McCollum was terminated by Cox.
Governor T-Mac doesn’t have very long coattails in the Old Dominion after all, and he’ll finish his term as the ultimate lame duck. He can also forget about being Hillary’s running mate in 2016. McAuliffe had to generate enough black and illegal immigrant/Hispanic votes to flip a couple of seats in the state senate, and couldn’t deliver.
Also, the Dims are a long shot at holding the governor’s mansion in two years. Their candidate is Lt Gov Ralph Northam, who’s about as exciting as crabgrass. If Ed Gillespie runs half the race he mounted against Mark Warner for Senate, he will trouce Northam.
Thank goodness we have 32 Governorships. Losing the worst Republican in a century won’t be that bad. Vetter really is a nasty guy. So we go back to 31 Governorships won’t be bad at all. The Democrat running for Governor is actually more conservative then scumbag Vetter.
Looks like NOVA was a Dim sweep.
I like my neighbors, but they can be thick.
Thanks for the encouraging report. Do you think Gillespie will be unopposed and chosen at a convention?
VA is still a Purple State.
Thanks to NOVA, its tough for a Republican to carry the Old Dominion State. NOVA is an extension of Maryland.
Without NOVA, VA would be a solid Red State.
The GOP incumbents like Hugo, Frey, Albo, Cook, Herrity were all reelected in Fairfax County and lots of GOPers won in Loudoun and Prince William, including Bob Marshall. Wasn’t a Dim sweep. We did pick up one countywide school board, Jeanette Hough. I thought we’d win all three but pleased we got one.
A shellacking such as this, so close the the belly of the Beltway Beast, will only force the Uniparty elites to double down even harder going into 2016.
I think they’re feeling the walls closing in around them. I expect the absolute worst out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue over the next year. Gonna be a rough ride, but I do believe we’ll get ‘there’.
Wow is right. If this result doesn't stand as a harbinger of what's coming in 2016, then nothing does.
The Uniparty establishment on both sides needs to either run for the hills, or brace themselves for a knock-out punch to the face that'll send their teeth flying in all directions.
It's over, Lib/RINOs. We're coming for ya.
I live in the VA Senate District 10 between Gecker (D) and Stuyvesant (R). A lot of money was poured into the race including Bloomberg acting as a political carpetbagger. The 10th is a weird district stretching from rural Powhatan county to suburban Chesterfield and parts of the city of Richmond. Stuyvesant was able to overcome Gecker’s urban votes by winning Chesterfield and crushing him in Powhatan.
This just breaks my heart!
GOP in NOVA might as well pack it in. Something like 3 School Board and 3 Board of Supervisors in Fairfax. Can’t field candidates in half the districts and mostly can’t prevail where they DO. That’s a statewide issue for both parties. They just don’t bother, the districts are cast to favor Ds or Rs, period. Don’t bother with Alexandria and/or Arlington. Remember when the GOP was dominant in Fairfax ?
Hard to say at this point; a state nominating convention seems all-but-inevitable, but it’s hard to get a read on potential opposition for Gillespie.
Ordinarily, I think someone from the Tea Party would toss their hat into the ring, but Gillespie’s hard-fought race against Mark Warner last year earned him a lot of credibility with the GOP rank-and-file. And, with Republicans firmly in control of the General Assembly, there’s a desire to find someone the party can rally around without the expense and inconvenience of a nomination fight. So far, I don’t see name candidates like Ken Cuccinelli or Obenshain jumping in, so the nomination appears to be Gillespie’s for the asking. Given his ties to the GOP establishiment, Ed would be well advised to keep building ties to the Tea Party in the run-up to 2017, and I believe he will.
As I observed in a previous post, Republicans should also be happy that Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring took a pass on the governor’s race, clearing the way for incumbent Lt. Gov Ralph Northam. Herring is more liberal, but he’s a much more dynamic candidate and campaigner than Northam. Ralph is plodding on the stump and that’s being charitable. If the Dims think he’s going to light a fire under their base, they are sadly mistaken. A strong GOP nominee (Gillespie, Cuccinelli or even Obenshain) should be the front-runner in 2017, even with all those federal workers who live in NOVA and keep many of those counties blue.
Can anyone tell me why I keep seeing this all across Free Republic? No matter what computer I use, what browser I use, no matter what O/S I use, I keep seeing this.
Anyone?
Edwards is not more Conservative than Sen. Vitter, Naps. Vitter is one of the most Conservative members of the Senate. Edwards is just another Democrat flunky, a last-gasp leftist attempt to control a GOP state Governorship.
Thank you, I appreciate your analysis. Here’s hoping new leadership at the RPV will continue to grow the part in a conservative, TEA party direction.
Then why do you think Vetter will lose in one of the most conservative states in the nation? because he really is a big liberal. i am shocked that you have remeasured the conservative line. What is conservative about Vetter? Cheating on his wife? Not conservative. Going after whores? Not conservative. Having strange sexual tricks? Not conservative. Your definition is so different then mine.
His name is David Vitter. If he loses, it will be because people are spreading lies about his record (such as claiming his 92% Conservative lifetime rating from the ACU is “liberal”) and lying that his opponent, the left-wing Democrat John Bel Edwards, is anything but the puppet of the Zero-Hillary Communist Party.
A Governor Vitter will continue to turn Louisiana into a great state, away from over a century+ of corrupt Democrat misrule, which Edwards wants to return to. Louisiana cannot afford to elect left-winger John Bel Edwards.
Go Vitter !
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