Republicans nationwide made a strong statement in yesterday’s 2014 midterm elections, taking control of the U.S. Senate in addition to numerous House seats and governorships.
In Virginia, Democratic incumbent Mark Warner holds the lead in the Virginia Senate race with 1,072,487 votes — about 49 percent of the electorate. This is only 12,150 more votes than Republican challenger Ed Gillespie, putting less than a one percent margin between the two candidates. Gillespie has not yet conceded the race, though Warner has claimed victory.
University Democrats President Katherine Bailey, a fourth-year College student, said Warner’s likely victory is important for the commonwealth.
“It’s very important to us that Warner keep his seat because he’s done such a great job so far,” Bailey said.
Nationally, Republicans gained more than the six Senate seats they needed to take a majority. College Republicans Chair Mac McClure, a third-year College student , said this shift is very beneficial.
“Right now in the Senate, the Republicans aren’t able to really propose any amendments — it’s completely party-lined,” McClure said. “I think [we] will get a lot more bipartisanship and diversity of opinions than we do now.”
Bailey said Democrats expected this shift in Senate control, but she said she believes the shift may affect Warner less than the rest of the party.
“Warner has done a lot of work reaching out to Republicans throughout his political career,” Bailey said. “It’s still possible that he could get a lot done himself, but overall this wasn’t a great election for Democrats, as we anticipated.”
The election cycle was centered around the race for Senate control, Bailey said.
“We don’t see any key issues that everyone is talking about,” she said. “It’s much more about the politics and the party rather than about one big issue that we’re all uniting for or against.”
A recount is still possible in the race between Warner and Gillespie. According to Section 24.2-800 in the Code of Virginia, a losing candidate may call for a recount “if the difference between the apparent winning candidate and that apparent losing candidates is not more than one percent of the total votes cast for those two candidates.”
An apparent losing candidate has 10 calendar days from the certification date to file for a recount.
“I think it depends on the margin of victory,” McClure said when asked if Gillespie would ask for a recount.
As for the 5th District House seat, which includes Charlottesville, Republican incumbent Robert Hurt won against Democrat Lawrence Gaughan and third party candidates Paul Jones (Libertarian) and Kenneth Hildebrandt (Green Party) by a large margin. Hurt received 61 percent of votes, surpassing Gaughan by 25 percent. Both Democrats and Republicans anticipated Hurt’s victory.
“[Hurt] is constantly here talking to all sorts of people,” McClure said. “He’s really getting their opinions and he’s representing them perfectly well in Congress, and I think that’s what you see in the final results.”
Though Hurt’s victory was anticipated, Democrats maintain that control of the 5th District House seat in Virginia could change in coming elections.
“[It] could change if we get a really great candidate in the future, or if the composition of the district changes,” Bailey said. “If a big Democratic sweep were to happen again like in 2008, it could switch back over, but as of right now it seems like Hurt is pretty solidly in there.”
Another key vote in Virginia was the 10th District House seat, which represents parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties along with Loudoun County. In a race for an open seat, Republican Barbara Comstock, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, defeated Democrat John Foust and third-party candidates Bill Redpath (Libertarian), Dianne Blais (Green Party) and Brad Eickholt (Independent). House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Fredericksburg, released a statement of congratulations to Comstock and other Virginia House seat victors.
“Barbara has been a strong member of the House of Delegates and we hate to see her go, but know she will make a great member of Virginia’s already strong Congressional delegation,” Howell said. “The people of Virginia’s 10th District are fortunate to have a committed and tireless advocate like Barbara working on their behalf.”
Republicans maintained eight House of Representative seats in Virginia, while the Democrats held their three seats. In addition to Comstock, two other Virginians were elected to the House for the first time: Republican David Brat in Virginia’s 7th district and Democrat Don Beyer in Virginia’s 8th district.
Virginians also passed the Constitutional amendment referendum on the ballot with approximately 87 percent in favor. The referendum allows spouses of military personnel killed in action to claim exemptions on property taxes.
“It is something that a lot of people will take seriously,” McClure said.
The referendum applies to surviving spouses whose partners were killed in action prior to the passing of the amendment, and will cease if the spouse remarries. Prior to this referendum, only veterans with total disability were eligible for property tax exemption.
“[This] is something that is obviously widely supported because we should be honoring our fallen servicemen and women,” Bailey said. “Not a lot of people are going to speak out against it.”
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