There will no recount in the 11th Congressional District:
Republican Keith Fimian has released a statement conceding defeat in the 11th Congressional District race against Rep. Gerald Connolly (D).
Connolly leads Fimian by 981 votes — or .4 percent of all votes cast — according to the Virginia state board of elections site. That margin entitles Fimian to ask for a recount after state election officials certify the results Nov. 22, but operatives from both parties who monitored the vote-counting process in the week since Election Day said they saw no glaring flaws in the numbers, and no clear path that would enable Fimian to make up the difference in a recount.
This is Fiminan’s second try at the 11th, and while it came close it seems unlikely that he’d be given a third chance at the brass ring. More importantly, though, with a Presidential race coming up in 2012, Connolly will have a much easier path to re-election in 2012 than he did this year. It’ll be at least 2014 before the GOP can put up real challenge, I’m guessing.
What impact will potential redistricting have here?
Good question.
How the lines of VA-8, VA-10, and VA-11 get redrawn in the areas of Fairfax County were they are close to each other could spell the difference between turning the 11th more Republican, or making it even safer for Connolly
[...] In his usual terse and indisputable fashion, Doug Mataconis of Below The Beltway consigns Fimian to losing candidate oblivion in Fimian Concedes To Connolly In VA-11. [...]
I read something a week or so ago, although I cannot put my hands on it, that speculated that the redrawing would add Republican voters to the 10th and concede Connolly’s 11th district to the Dems.