Clean sweep for Democrats in Virginia as Obenshain will finally concede Attorney General's race
http://t.co/qB2g2mQztt
— Taegan Goddard (@politicalwire) December 18, 2013
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.