Democrat Terry McAuliffe was elected to serve as Virginia’s 72nd governor last night in one of the most hotly contested statewide races in decades.
McAuliffe, former head of the Democratic National Committee and co-chair of President Bill Clinton’s 1996 re-election campaign, has been a figurehead for the Democratic party for years, though this is his first time being elected to public office.
“We are extremely excited to have Terry elected as governor,” said Alex Preve, a fourth-year College student and vice president of the University Democrats. “We were nervous there for a while, but we are not surprised that he was elected.”
Republican challenger Ken Cuccinelli, on the other hand, has held elected office for more than a decade and is concluding his term as the state’s attorney general. College Republicans Chair Elizabeth Minneman expressed concerns about McAuliffe’s relative lack of experience.
“Terry McAuliffe has never filled a public office and I’m worried about our future under [his administration],” said Minneman, a fourth-year College student. “Hopefully he surrounds himself with people who know what they are doing.”
Preve cited strong efforts by McAuliffe to advocate for women’s rights and overall bipartisanship as reasons for his victory, and said he was particularly enthused about the win given recent trends.
“We always knew it would be a close election, both candidates campaigned hard and it was a tough race,” he said. “But I think what is more astounding is that following every [recent] presidential election, a candidate from the opposite party has been elected governor [in Virginia], and I’m glad we’ve broken that trend.”
Unofficial results indicate that Republican candidate Mark Obenshain leads in the race to succeed Cuccinelli as attorney general, but Democrat Mark Herring is close enough behind to request a recount. Minneman said she was thrilled about Obenshain’s showing.
“Republicans have been very strong as attorney general [in Virginia] for years,” she said. “I really think Obenshain has had a really positive campaign and showed he really cares about Virginia.”
Preve maintained that the attorney general’s election was still too close to call in favor of Obenshain.
“We still think [Herring] has a good shot,” Preve said. “But should Obenshain get elected, he needs to reach across the aisle and work with Democrats.”
Democrat Ralph Northam was elected to lieutenant governor, defeating Republican E.W. Jackson by a margin larger than 10 percent.
Minneman pointed to media spin as a major reason for Jackson’s loss.
“The campaign … really didn’t allow people to see past the media frenzy,” she said. “[Jackson is] really more moderate than the media painted [him] to be, but unfortunately that’s the way it goes. This is a learning election for Democrats and Republicans alike.”
McAuliffe dominated the polls in Charlottesville, winning 76.18 percent of the vote compared to Cuccinelli’s 15.52 percent. A total of 12,394 votes were cast in the city. Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis captured 8.29 percent of the Charlottesville vote en route to winning 6.6 percent statewide.
McAuliffe emphasized in his acceptance speech his interest in job creation, higher education, and transportation funding.
“At a time when Washington was often broken, just think about what Virginia has been able to accomplish when we work together,” he said. “A daunting challenge is always a great opportunity.”
Democrats Bob Fenwick and Kristin Szakos each won seats on the Charlottesville City Council, with 36 percent and 32 percent of vote, respectively.
“We had Szakos and Fenwick speak at one of our meetings and talked about their platforms,” Prede said. “We canvassed once or twice for them and a lot of our people were involved [in their campaigns], so we spread the word about that as well.”
Despite the disappointing results for the College Republicans, Minneman expressed hope for a more bipartisan future between student political groups on Grounds. She referenced a long-standing rivalry between the groups and a tradition of painting over each other’s messages on Beta Bridge on election day.
“This morning, things were different,” Minneman said. “We painted Beta for Cuccinelli and … the [University Democrats] painted the other side of the bridge [for McAuliffe]. Virginia is different than the rest of America! We can work together to get students to vote, regardless of party affiliation. It was great to see that.”
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