As I noted yesterday, the Democrats had a fairly good chance of picking up the four seats they needed to gain control of the Virginia State Senate.
Based on the results in this morning, it looks like they did it:
Democrats wrested control of the Senate from the Republicans in yesterday’s legislative elections, picking up the four seats they needed to give them a majority of at least 21 to 19 and end a decade of GOP dominance in the chamber.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) claimed victory in a celebration at Tysons Corner. The Republicans retained control of the House, but the Democrats also gained seats there. The party’s surge will help the governor advance much of his agenda during his last two years in office, including investing more in education, health and the environment.
(…)
In the Senate, Democrats won two hard-fought contests in Hampton Roads, unseating Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (Fairfax) and defeating J.K. “Jay” O’Brien (Fairfax).
O’Brien’s Democratic opponent George L. Barker won by about 800 votes. Barker claimed victory but said O’Brien did not call him to concede.
Democrats also had a chance to pick up another Senate seat in Fairfax. With only absentee ballots left to be counted, Sen. Ken T. Cuccinelli II (R) held a 69-vote lead over Democrat Janet S. Oleszek.
The Democrats also netted two gains in the Senate out of the Tidewater area, and made a few pickups in the House of Delegates:
Democrats also picked up at least four House seats, including two in Northern Virginia. Democrat Margaret G. Vanderhye beat Republican David M. Hunt for the seat of retiring Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-Fairfax). In Prince William, Democrat Paul Nichols picked up the seat of retiring GOP Del. Michele B. McQuigg. Del. Thomas Davis Rust (R-Fairfax) beat Democrat Jay P. Donahue.
There will, I’m sure be much more commentary on this in the days to come, but a few thoughts. Of the four seats the Democrats picked up to win the Senate, three of them were in Fairfax County, which has been trending blue for a long time — the victories over Davis, O’Brien, and, perhaps, Cuccinelli are arguably just a continuation of that trend. What that means, of course, is that if Republicans wants to start winning again in places like Fairfax, they’re going to have to change their tune; otherwise, they’re writing off the most populated county in the state, and consigning themselves to eventual minority status.
November 7th, 2007 at 7:50 am
Doug,
With all due respect, I think that we actually need to do the *opposite* in Fairfax County. Yes, the region up here is trending blue due to a *massive* influx of liberal Northerners, but that doesn’t mean that the Republican Party here needs to give up on its core values to attract such voters. On the contrary, I think the biggest advantage the Republican party here could give itself would be to come up with some unique ways to *differentiate* itself from the Democrats; to truly offer something DIFFERENT to people who are new to our Commonwealth. After all, it *is* Republican policies that have led to the incredibly strong economy that these people are benefitting from, is it not?
In any case, that’s only my opinion, and obviously nobody in the Republican Party up here’s listening to advice like this.
Respectfully yours,
Brian
“Occupied” Alexandria