Below The Beltway

No surprise, but another step along the way, with a twist of history:
Virginia’s presidential electors have cast their 13 votes for Barack Obama as the nation’s first black president in what was the seat of Confederate power.
Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat and close ally of Obama, noted the poignant and historic moment of Monday’s vote [...]

It’s merely a formality, but it’s one that actually matters as much as Election Day when it comes to selecting the next President:
The outcome of the 2008 presidential contest was determined late on Election Day Nov. 4, when Democrat Barack Obama claimed victory and Republican John McCain conceded. The vigorous efforts since by Obama and [...]

Just before the election, Time Magazine declared Prince William County the key to victory in Virginia, as it turns out they were entirely correct:
Prince William prided itself as being the last Republican redoubt in Northern Virginia.
The county gained national attention for a crackdown on illegal immigrants, and its legislative delegation has some of the most [...]

Three things happened on Tuesday in Virginia.
First, Mark Warner sailed to election as Virginia’s new Senator after a campaign against Jim Gilmore that was never really a contest.
Second, Barack Obama became the first Democratic candidate for President since Lyndon Johnson to win Virginia’s Electoral Votes.
And, third, the political divide between Northern Virginia and the rest [...]

There’s no denying it this morning, yesterday was a very good day for Democrat’s in Virginia.
First, Mark Warner won Virginia’s open Senate seat in a cakewalk:
Democrat Mark R. Warner cruised to a decisive victory in the U.S. Senate race against Republican James S. Gilmore III yesterday, giving Virginia two Democratic senators for the first time [...]

For the first time in 44 years, it’s looking like the Commonwealth of Virginia will give it’s Electoral Votes to a Democrat.
And it’s Fox News that makes the call first.

Despite heavy turnout, it sounds like voting has gone fairly smoothly in Northern Virginia:
Registrars in Northern Virginia told me this afternoon that voting has gone extremely well thus far, with unprecedented turnout across the board, very few problems inside the polls, and just a few minor glitches here and there that are nothing out of [...]

To the extent anyone cares, here’s how I voted today.
President:
Bob Barr, for the reasons I stated in this blog post
United States Senate:
William Redpath, the Libertarian Party nominee. Given the fact that it’s fairly clear that Mark Warner has this race locked up, I considered this a free vote and decided to give it to the [...]

I live only about ten minutes away from the Prince William County Fairgrounds, and as early as 5:00pm last night, you could tell there was something big going on there. The eastern sky was lit up with the floodlight and there were more helicopters than I could count hovering in the sky above. Barack Obama [...]

If the early morning is any indication, it’s looking like turnout will be very heavy in Virginia and Maryland today:
Lines formed hours early at polling places around the region this morning, as voters braced for unprecedented turnout and went out of their way to make sure they could cast their ballots.
Frank Douglas, a 67-year-old Woodbridge [...]