As expected, Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds got creamed yesterday by Republican Bob McDonnell, losing by about 18 points. The other Democrats running for statewide office didn’t fare much better. And beyond the sweep of statewide offices, Republicans netted at least four more seats in the state House of Delegates. By 9pm, Deeds had already conceded.
The easy explanation revolves around who voted. Exit polls suggest that the demographic slice of people who turned out to vote yesterday was quite different from the set that came out to vote in 2008. Turnout was only 40 percent, and 26,000 fewer people voted this year than in 2005, despite the registration bonanza last year and Virginia’s population gains.
Interpreting an election is usually like interpreting the Bible—you can read into it whatever you want to read. Most national pundits only care about Virginia insofar as what this means for Barack Obama. Everything and nothing, apparently. And anything in between.
The more important question for Democrats in Virginia: When did the Democrats lose the race for governor? Possible answers fall into two major categories—not about Deeds and all about Deeds. Click here to read more.
Monticello High School students, left to right, Mariah Shaw, Maddy Cohen, Reed Shaw, and Lucy Miller watch as election results come in during a party for the Democrats at Siips.
