Incumbents Robert Bell and David Toscano, who represent Charlottesville and Albermarle County in the Virginia House of Delegates for the Republican and Democratic Parties, respectively, maintained their seats in yesterday's elections, defeating challengers by overwhelmingly large margins.
Bell won with 61.99 percent of the vote in the 58th district versus Democratic newcomer Cynthia Neff's 37.95 percent. Toscano, meanwhile, beat out independent candidate Robert Brandon Smith with 72.78 percent of the vote in the 57th district.
Across the state, the Republican Party also defeated six Democratic incumbents to initiate a significant adjustment to the balance of power within the commonwealth. After yesterday's elections, the House of Delegates is composed of 59 Republicans, 39 Democrats, 2 independents, and 2 vacant seats, giving the Republicans clear control of Virginia's governing body opposite its Senate.
Issac Wood, assistant communications director for the University Center for Politics and a former Cavalier Daily columnist, attributed name recognition and constituent party loyalty to the local delegates' landslide elections.
"Toscano's [victory] was bound to be a landslide because Charlottesville is such a heavily Democratic area," he said, adding that Smith spent little money on his bid for the delegate seat and was less recognizable in Charlottesville politics.
"Toscano [was a] former mayor and a popular public figure in Charlottesville and is also well known in the surrounding Albermarle area," Wood said.
Bell, a member of the House of Delegates since 2002, celebrated his victory with fellow Albermarle County Republicans yesterday evening at their election party on Rio Road.
"We are sunburned. We are tired. Our fingers are all cramped up from stuffing envelopes, but we are victorious," he said to the deafening cheers of his fellow party members.
Democrats, Wood said, previously thought they may have had a shot to unseat Bell, or at least to keep the election close despite Bell's close community ties with constituents.
In this regard, Neff, was "fighting an uphill battle." Although Neff's campaign was well-funded, Wood noted that money alone cannot help a candidate compete with a household name.
"It takes a lot of money to even the playing field, and the clock ran out [for Neff] once the election came around," he said.
Neff expressed disappointment at her loss but suggested that she would remain committed to Virginia politics in her concession speech.
"You don't win by yourself and you don't lose by yourself. We ran a fabulous campaign and we actually got people talking about some of the issues," Neff said. "This is not the end."
Wood noted that both local Democrats and Republicans think of Bell as a "nice guy," despite differing opinions when it comes to policy. Toscano was not available for comment as of press time.
-Sarah Wooten contributed to this article.
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