Posted on 11/05/2013 10:44:22 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
TYSONS CORNER -- Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic fundraiser and confidant of Bill and Hillary Clinton, will be Virginia's next governor after defeating his conservative opponent, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, on Tuesday in a race that confirmed the state's status as an increasingly blue battleground.
The marquee contest was marked throughout by historically high spending, a relentless barrage of attacks on both sides and campaign trail cameos by some of the nation's most prominent political figures.
With more than 99 percent of precincts reporting, McAuliffe led Cuccinelli by less than 2 percent — 48 percent to 46 percent — or roughly 40,000 votes.
“This race was never a choice between Democrats or Republicans,” McAuliffe said in his victory speech to an excited crowd of supporters in a hotel ballroom. “It was a choice about whether Virginia would continue the mainstream bipartisan tradition that has served us so well over the past decade.”
Democrat Ralph Northam was elected as the state's next lieutenant governor, unofficial returns showed. He defeated Republican E.W. Jackson, a Baptist minister whose controversial past statements on hot-button issues like gay rights and abortion made him an easy target for Democrats.
Democrats did not sweep all three top statewide offices, however. Mark Obenshain, the Republican candidate for attorney general, led Democrat Mark Herring by 2 percent with 94 percent of the precincts counted.
But it was the McAuliffe-Cuccinelli showdown that captured the national attention of both Democrats and Republicans looking for early indications of voter attitudes and potential campaign strategies ahead of the 2014 congressional elections.
McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman and friend and fundraiser for the Clintons, easily outspent Cuccinelli by nearly 2-to-1, allowing him to fund a barrage of attack ads that portrayed Cuccinelli as an ideological extremist.
McAuliffe also benefited from a highly effective get-out-the-vote effort that, in an election that hinged on turnout, helped push participation levels beyond that of the last gubernatorial campaign in 2009 and closer to the 2012 presidential election's levels.
One measure of the race's status as the most competitive race in the off-year elections nationwide was the parade of political celebrities who made their way to the Old Dominion's campaign trail.
President Obama and the Clintons, among others, campaigned with and raised cash for McAuliffe. A trio of Tea Party heroes — Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Marco Rubio of Florida — were among those standing with Cuccinelli.
The Virginia race played out against a political backdrop of a government shutdown, gridlocked Congress and internal feud between conservative and moderate Republicans. McAuliffe tried to tie Cuccinelli to Washington’s problems, including the conservative-driven shutdown. Cuccinelli, meanwhile, linked McAuliffe to the increasingly unpopular Obama and the president’s troubled health care reforms. On the eve of the election, Cuccinelli declared his race to be a referendum on Obamacare.
"This race came down to the wire because of Obamacare," Cuccinelli said Tuesday.
McAuliffe’s fundraising advantage was clearly paying dividends, particularly late in the race when it mattered most. During the week of Oct. 28, McAuliffe’s campaign ran roughly 2,500 TV ads — spending about as much as Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, did to win in 2009 — compared with 1,500 aired by Cuccinelli’s campaign.
Polls in the final days of the election showed McAuliffe leading Cuccinelli by roughly 6 to 7 percentage points.
In addition to enduring the advertising blitz, Cuccinelli was also hamstrung by a conservative record that alienated moderate and independent voters — and by more than a few of his fellow Republicans who backed McAuliffe.
The strain between Cuccinelli and much of the rest of his party was fueled by Cuccinelli’s successful effort to change the Republican nominating process from an open primary that favored a moderate candidate to a closed convention dominated by his conservative supporters.
McAuliffe faced his own obstacles, including his ties to GreenTech Automotive, a company he helped found that was the subject of a federal investigation into whether he obtained special treatment for the company from the federal government.
Some voters were left dissatisfied with both candidates and drove Robert Sarvis, a libertarian candidate whose candidacy offered voters turned off by McAuliffe and Cuccinelli a none-of-the-above option. Unofficial returns showed Sarvis winning about 7 percent of the vote.
Now Hill and Bill have a base of operations near D.C. - I wonder if Hillary will be throwing her hat in the ring soon.
This hurts because I lived in a state where the Traitor Depraved Rat won by close to the same kind of margin and defeated a good man. Hate to say it but “I feel your pain” on this one.
““It was a choice about whether Virginia would continue the mainstream bipartisan tradition that has served us so well over the past decade.”
right off the bat, this puke lies a minute after the elections
....”In addition to enduring the advertising blitz, Cuccinelli was also hamstrung by a conservative record that alienated moderate and independent voters — and by more than a few of his fellow Republicans who backed McAuliffe.”....
Who are these “fellow Republicans?”
On his show yesterday Rush was “lamenting” how he is dumfounded and annoyed that all these years he thought he was a member of a team but there is no fight in many of “our” elected officials. He was pushing for Cuccinelli on the show Mon and Tues.
Luckily I’m in Texas but all conservatives are going to be tattooed with this loss.
I listened to part of McAuliffe’s acceptance speech. I look at this man - sleaze all the way around, no matter how you cut it - a real Clinton operative (all the lying of those WH years) and it turns my stomach.
Yankee carpet-baggers should not govern southern states
The well-oiled 2012 fraud machine, enabled in part by the criminal NSA and just about any other gov't agency so chosen to engage, swept the country tonight. De Blasio, McAwful, etc.. There is NO WAY the Repubs make ANY gains in 2014 unless more aggressive purging of election rolls and tabulation processes is validated by bipartisan groups.
2014 is vitally important and we all know why. Instead of 8 years of HELL for America it will be 16 FRIGGIN' YEARS OF HELL!!!
We've got to make SURE Hillary is held to account for Benghazi and MB support in Egypt!!
One bright spot:
“Democrats did not sweep all three top statewide offices, however. Mark Obenshain, the Republican candidate for attorney general, led Democrat Mark Herring by 2 percent with 94 percent of the precincts counted.”
you think people would wise up but they don't.....stupid, pathetic little fat sheeple....since the days of Perot they disgust me....
why would people vote for a pub AG when they pull the trigger for a rat governor?.....ah...that libtard vote...
Enjoy your hell VA. Typical locust from DC moving in to escape their hell to make another.
Clearly VA voters, even with the military spending and ports, don’t care.
The liberal machine keeps winnnig (VA, NJ) because RINO’s are in on it.
This woman has a long, ugly history. But they protect her because she's their path to power and money. Benghazi is hurting Obama -- it needs to spill over on to her.
The lying is being noticed. McAuliffe was up by 7 but this last month of Obamacare pulled him down. McAuliffe's money and a 3rd party candidate (funded in large part by an Obama bundler) gave him the governor's seat.
....."This race came down to the wire because of Obamacare," Cuccinelli said Tuesday.....
Major part of win was Fairfax and Arlington....which demonstrates the power of those districts to the rest of the state for 2014 and 2016.
As for Cuccinelli? I think he was more of a lite-weight than most people imagined. He may have been known throughout the state, but he’s only played big-time status for a couple of years.
Finally, my humble opinion is that Terry McAuliffe has a history of screwing up. It may take two to three years...but there’s going to be deals and corruption within his office, and he’s not the type that will get a second term. Either he uses the position to jump into a senator’s seat, or he leaves in disgrace in four years. He’s just too prone to screw up a good deal.
>> 3rd candidate splitting the other side.
We need to force the RINOs into the Democrat party.
Third parties run by the democrat machine...with plants here on conservative sites.....that's what killing decent pub candidates...
We’ve got to make SURE Hillary is held to account for Benghazi and MB support in Egypt!!
Hitlery will need to be “Swift Boated” on Benghazi and whatever else is applicable to her. She’d kill whatever is left of America if she wins.
“Enjoy your hell VA.”
Yep. The Dems and their enabling liberal Virginia media just stuck a fork in the state.
“As for Cuccinelli? I think he was more of a lite-weight than most people imagined. ..”
Cuccinelli is no lightweight. Mega $millions from leftist groups, including Planned Parenthood, went to McAuliffe, and the GOP Establishment didn’t support Cuccinelli much, if at all.
McAuliffe had a big lead, and then ends up winning by only 2%, even with all that leftist money.
Also, some Obama character put up a FAKE libertarian, probably as a spoiler.
I’d say Cuccinelli did darn good, and if he had support from the Republican Establishment types, I believe he would have won.
Why would the Attorney General be elected when he was part of the ticket? Folks, this is fraud. It’s written in the numbers.
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