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You are here: Home / Elections / Local Races 2018 and earlier / Good News for Democrats

Good News for Democrats

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From the Washington Post:

RICHMOND — State Sen. Mark D. Obenshain (R) conceded the race for Virginia attorney general to Democrat Mark R. Herring on Wednesday, saying his “vigorous and hard-fought fight” is over.

Obenshain’s announcement put an end to a drawn-out contest that, on election night, was the closest statewide election in history….

The race to succeed Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) not only turned into a protracted nail-biter to determine not only who serves as Virginia’s top law-enforcement official, but it also could determine control of the evenly split state Senate.

Herring and Obenshain are state senators, and Herring’s win will prompt a special election. Because Herring’s Loudoun County district is seen as highly competitive, his win could cause Democrats to lose power in the evenly divided Senate. The GOP has a wide margin in the House.

Obenshain’s decision came a day after Herring’s lead grew to more than 810 votes, with 73 percent of ballots across the state recounted, according to Herring’s campaign…

In late November, the State Board of Elections declared Herring the winner by just 165 votes out of more than 2.2 million cast, a margin so slim it entitled Obenshain to a government-funded recount.

If the 800-vote lead holds, the race will lose its distinction as the closest statewide election in Virginia history. The record-holder is the 2005 contest for attorney general between then-Del. Robert F. McDonnell and Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath). McDonnell won by 360 votes.

Reader Interactions

54Comments

  3. 3.

    Another Botsplainer

    Ha ha. Obenshame had to hide behind his daughters skirts in his TV commercials cause the Dems were so mean to him.

  5. 5.

    Schlemizel

    “This is, of course, great news for the GOP as it will enliven their base while making the Dems smug and self-satisfied going into 2016.”

    Tomorrows WaHoPo anal-ysis

  6. 6.

    Roger Moore

    @Schlemizel:

    “This is, of course, great news for the GOP as it will enliven their base while making the Dems smug and self-satisfied going into 2016.”

    This is terrible news for Republicans, since it undermines their voter suppression strategies for the next couple of elections.

  8. 8.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Herring and Obenshain are state senators, and Herring’s win will prompt a special election. Because Herring’s Loudoun County district is seen as highly competitive, his win could cause Democrats to lose power in the evenly divided Senate.

    Always with the horse race narrative, always.

    Our political journamalists are so predictable and pathetic. Every one of them needs to be boiled in oil.

  12. 12.

    KG

    I saw something yesterday that had me growling at my computer screen. Apparently, one of Obama’s nominees was approved with 78 votes. But on the cloture vote, s/he only got 57 votes. Here’s what I don’t understand… what are the 21 Senators who changed their minds thinking? “We need to know more about this person, so we need more debate… eh, I guess we really know enough, APPROVED!” In what world does this make sense?

  14. 14.

    Bubblegum Tate

    Predicted GOP response: “Too many black people voted! Can’t we do something about that?”

  19. 19.

    mclaren

    Methinks this bodes well for destroying the Teahadist lunatics who control the House of Representatives. Come 2014, let’s hope the entire lot of ’em get flushed out like waste. And with historically low public polling about congress, there’s a reasonable chance that could happen.

  21. 21.

    KG

    @SiubhanDuinne: I think there are a handful of ambassadorships that are meaningless on most levels because the leaders of the two countries basically have direct lines. As much as I’d love to be ambassador to someplace like Fiji (because, I mean, Fiji), I’m thinking being US Ambassador to any of the permanent security council members would be pretty posh because there’s a lot more direct diplomacy with those countries.

  25. 25.

    Corner Stone

    @Belafon: Oh, honey. I’m sure that means something to you.
    There is absolutely no reason the D party should have agreed to this deal.

  26. 26.

    PsiFighter37

    The Baucus appointment is great news. It means the Democratic governor gets to appoint the replacement (who is rumored to be the LG running for the seat) and give him incumbency ahead of time.

    From a purely political standpoint, I love it. As for how useful Baucus will be in the role? I have no idea.

  33. 33.

    fuckwit

    @SiubhanDuinne: Maybe he can give the Chinese lots of helpful tips on how to improve their medical care systems, and aggressively wedge his way in to forcing them to adopt them, causing their economy to stagnate and collapse, and thus leaving the field clear for a new American century of economic exploitation.

  35. 35.

    fuckwit

    @Baud: I believe it’s the same characters as “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose”. Which, by the way, is the same characters as “Moral Hazard”.

  38. 38.

    Anya

    @ranchandsyrup: I am so glad. At least for few years, we will be spared his contrarian commentary or him advocating for cuts in SS or cutting taxes or what other shitty policies Max Baucus believes in.

  42. 42.

    Mike in NC

    @Patricia Kayden:We lived in the NoVA suburbs from about 1990-2007, and the state is really messed up. Wandered into many a small town in central rural VA where they’d happily lynch the appropriate person give the right circumstances.

  43. 43.

    Jay C

    @KG:

    in what world does this make sense?

    One where being seen to be (and getting PR over) blocking a nomination on ideological (or PR) grounds is way more important, than than the actual nomination – and still less the nominee.
    IOW, Inside the Beltway…

    @mclaren:

    Dream on: nice as it would be to see the Teabaggers sent into involuntary retirement, the very conditions you cite, i.e. ” And with historically low public polling about congress, there’s a reasonable chance that could happen.” – low opinion polling usually engenders apathy and avoidance in the potential voting public: especially in midterm elections, where only the most motivated voters (which in this country, sadly, usually means the nuts) turn out.

  44. 44.

    Turgidson

    @ranchandsyrup:

    I assume there have already been a dozen or so “China can kiss the public option goodbye now with corporate shill Baucus in the fold” type comments, but just in case…

  45. 45.

    Cervantes

    @Mark S.: Awful, I’d assume, from her public writings and persona.

    But in the classroom, these days she offers* courses in introductory constitutional law and the like — given which she’s probably inevitable, or unavoidable, or both.

    *I say “offers” rather than “teaches” because to see if (or how well) she really does the latter, one would have to evaluate her students (and this is not something I’ve done).

  46. 46.

    Feebog

    @fuckwit:

    I was in China for a ten day tour in March. According to one of our guides, a young man named Alan, the Chinese health system can be described in one word; bullshit. He told us about a friend of his, in her early 30’s who was diagnosed with cancer. The medication was three thousand a month, out of pocket. Alan gave her several thousand dollars to help pay for her treatments, but she died within a year. Sounded pretty much like Alan Grayson’s description of the Republican health plan.

  51. 51.

    Cervantes

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I know, but Baucus?

    He’s known to serve the interests of both the Chinese government and US manufacturers. For example, in the 90s, he and his aide Timothy Punke led the Democratic effort to have China admitted to the WTO.

  54. 54.

    drkrick

    Seriously, since the option to appeal this to the GOP-controlled lower house of the legislature was there by law, and since it was at least an open question whether enough GOP votes could be peeled off to respect the results of the vote, this may represent a floor beneath which even the TP GOP isn’t willing to go.

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