RICHMOND - In a close race, Democrat Tim Kaine pulled ahead last night to win the Virginia lieutenant governor position, defeating Republican Jay Katzen. Kaine's margin of victory was only 2 percentage points.
Kaine spoke at the Richmond Marriott alongside his Democratic partners, Gov.-elect Mark Warner and the trounced attorney general candidate, A. Donald McEachin.
"You voted to end the government of gridlock and no budget," Kaine said. "You voted to end partisanship and personal pettiness and put principles first."
Kaine served as mayor of Richmond until resigning to run in this year's campaign.
Officials offered conflicting reports on voter turnout.
Turnout was low as of late afternoon, according to Mo Elleithee, Warner's press secretary. However, state elections officials reported late last night that turnout likely reached around 50 percent of the total voting population, which agrees with trends in recent elections.
|
"The more people participate, the better for the Democrat's chances," McEachin Campaign Manager Abbi Easter said.
"Hopefully our get-out-the-vote mechanism was one of the most successful ever," Kaine Press Secretary Eric Lodal said. "Everything we've done up to now doesn't matter unless we get people out to the polls."
Republican Jerry Kilgore defeated the ballot's other statewide Democratic candidate, McEachin, in a landslide victory for the Virginia office of attorney general.
With 82 percent of precincts reporting a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent returns in favor of Kilgore, McEachin conceded last night. Despite the loss, he remained upbeat.
"I have enjoyed this immensely," McEachin said. "We might do this again."
According to Tom Opel, media consultant for the McEachin campaign, a deficit in funding handicapped the Richmond lawyer's campaign.
"We had difficulty getting our message out," Opel said. "We had a definite resource disadvantage."
Kilgore, who is the state's former secretary for safety, had at least a $1.3 million advantage over McEachin, a six-year veteran in the House of Delegates, which he used to run negative advertisements, he added.
He also said McEachin\'d5s race may have hurt him in the voting booths.
"I think it\'d5s awfully hard for an African-American candidate to win even in this day in age," he said. "I think that's indicative by the votes."
Voters reported a variety of reasons for choosing between the Republican and Democratic candidates.
"I heard the least about the attorney general race so I voted mostly party line," said Richmond resident Jason Kozma, who voted for McEachin.
Richmond resident Freddy Cobb, who is a friend of Kaine's, said he supported the Democrat candidate for lieutenant governor despite considering himself a Republican.
I'm a Republican and I have a lot of Republican friends and a lot of them are supporting Kaine because of his ability to build coalitions and get things done," he said.
Read More
Virginia Attorney General Speaks On Free Speech And Criminal Justice Reform
By Vyshnavi Tatta | YesterdayMiyares said pursuing repeat criminal offenders is a more crucial step in reducing crime, saying that studies show a small percentage of criminals commit a majority of crimes.
Student Council passes summer budget, bill supporting allergy policy reform
By Arshiya Pant | YesterdayThe biggest expenditure categories outlined in the summer 2024 budget were CIO Consultant funds and Support and Access Services, respectively receiving $67,000 and $65,950.
New Vice President of Research Lori McMahon aims to work towards U.Va.’s 2030 plan
By Caroline Hagood | YesterdayMcMahon said she was drawn to the University after reading the University's 2030 plan and that she was inspired by the vision of President Jim Ryan and other University leaders.
