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Republicans take back Virginia, Loudoun
For the first time in eight years, Virginia has a Republican governor.
Bob McDonnell (R) garnered nearly 59 percent of the votes Nov. 3 to defeat R. Creigh Deeds (D) in the commonwealth's governor's race. In Loudoun, McDonnell took more than 61 percent of the votes.
“Eight months ago, I applied for the job of governor, and tonight, you have hired me,” McDonnell said. “I am very humbled and honored with the privilege. I am ready to go to work to serve you and to help lead Virginia for the next four years.”
Republicans also took the state's other top positions, with Bill Bolling defeating Jody Wagner (D) for lieutenant governor and Ken Cuccinelli defeating Steve Shannon (D) for attorney general.
At The Dock restaurant in Lansdowne, many Loudoun Republicans gathered to celebrate the victories.
Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) said she is glad to have a Republican governor who will listen to Loudoun's issues and be understanding, but she emphasized that county and state leaders still have to work for all residents.
“We can't let [the victory] go to our heads,” Waters said.
Glen Caroline, chairman of the Loudoun County Republican Committee, said the results showed that Virginians are unhappy with what is going on in the federal government.
"President Obama promised change in Virginia,” Caroline said. “The average Virginian has not seen it. Today Virginians initiated their own kind of change."
Early in the voting, at Algonkian Elementary School in Sterling, voter Mike Tenney called the election “high-stakes.”
"Things went in one direction with the general election," he said, "and they might go back after seeing some of the policies that were made."
Bolling echoed those sentiments.
“This is the dawn of a new day in Virginia,” he said. “If I might borrow a quote, this is change you can really believe in.”
Elizabeth Voell, who owns Loudoun Motorsports in Leesburg, said the economy pushed her to vote for McDonnell.
“I’m a lifelong Republican,” Voell said. “I believe if a Democrat continues to run this state, Obama-nomics will ruin the state. As a small business owner, I can’t risk that. Last year at this time, Loudoun Motorsports had 22 employees, now we have nine. Nothing is more heartbreaking than laying off your employees.”
While many voters looked mainly at fiscal issues, some Deeds supporters cited social issues as the reasons they did not vote for McDonnell.
"I voted for Deeds,” said Karlah Louis, of Round Hill. “I cannot bring myself, as a woman, to vote for McDonnell with his social views."
In his victory speech at about 9:30 p.m., McDonnell stressed the need for Republicans to reach across party lines and work with Democrats to solve the problems affecting every Virginian. He called his opponent a great public servant.
“I look forward to working with Creigh for years to come as he serves in the Virginia Senate,” McDonnell said.
Deeds said it is not a time for Democrats to hang their heads.
“Just because we didn't get the result we wanted tonight doesn't mean we can go home and whine,” he said. “We've got to keep working.”
Nicholas Graham, Shannon Sollinger, Lina Hashem and Hannah Hager contributed to this report.
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