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http://www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11252Top 10 Virginia Winners and Losers: 2007 (+) by: Lowell Wed Nov 07, 2007 at 8:31:24 AM EST
Every election cycle brings "winners" and "losers," and this one was certainly no exception. With that, here's my list of the top 10 winners and top 10 losers from yesterday. Please note that these are not in any particular order, and also that there are many other winners and losers not listed here.
Winners
1) Tim Kaine. Gov. Kaine worked extremely hard for the Democratic victories last night and deserves enormous credit. Thanks to his tireless campaigning, as well as to the large amounts of money given by his PAC to Democratic candidates this cycle, Gov. Kaine now has a State Senate he can work with, and a House of Delegates that should be less likely to reflexively say "no" to everything Kaine proposes. Let's all hope that's the case, anyway.
2) Mark Warner. "His Excellency" also worked very hard for the results we saw last night. More broadly, yesterday's election results were a continuing testament to Warner's governorship, as well as to the Virginia centrist/progressive Democratic model he established for fiscally responsible, "forward together" governance of this state. Next year, Warner will be elected to the U.S. Senate over the disastrous governor who drove Virginia into a fiscal ditch, forcing Warner and Kaine to save our coveted AAA bond rating.
3) Dick Saslaw. Last night's Democratic capture of the State Senate was a huge victory for Sen. Saslaw, who has represented the 35th Disrict (parts of Fairfax County) since 1980 and as Senate Minority Leader for 9 years. As of this morning, we can call him "Majority Leader Saslaw."
4) The Virginia political blogosphere, particularly the three big NOVA blogs (NLS, BVBL, RK), which grew in readership and helped shape the debate this year, whether on the abuser fees or illegal immigration. (Note: I don't agree with a word BVBL says, I'm just talking here about level of influence). Great work by VB Dems as well, and congratulations on the victories of their featured candidates -- Bobby Mathieson, Joe Bouchard, Ralph Northam and John Miller. Also, excellent work by Vivian Paige. Finally, let's not forget Byran Ault, who started a petition that gathered 170,000 signatures against the abuser fees. Something tells me those things will be amended or eliminated when the General Assembly returns to Richmond early next year.
5) Northern Virginia. Gained clout in the General Assembly with the elevation of Fairfax's Dick Saslaw to Senate Majority Leader (see above). For years, NOVA has played a smaller role in Richmond than its population and economic size would tend to indicate. That now appears to be changing.
6) Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple. Great job in candidate recruitment and fundraising by the Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. Sen. Whipple played a major role in the victories of George Barker, John Miller, Ralph Northam and Chap Petersen last night. Congratulations, I'm proud to say that Mary Margaret Whipple is my State Senator!
7) Brian Moran and Ward Armstrong. Yesterday's election results in the House of Delegates were significant accomplishments for House Democratic Caucus Chairman Brian Moran and Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, even though they didn't quite achieve the 51 seats they were seeking.
8) The environment. Virginia's environment gained several strong advocates last night, including George Barker, Chap Petersen, Margi Vanderhye and others. I look forward to seeing significant legislation on defending the Chesapeake Bay, reducing Virginia's greenhouse gas emissions, protecting open space, and more in coming years. In addition, "slow growth" fared well last night, with "ight candidates sharply critical of Loudoun County's record-setting growth seats yesterday on the nine-member Board of Supervisors."
9) Money. According to the Washington Post, "legislative candidates raised nearly $60 million this year, double what was spent in 2003, the last time both delegates and senators were on the ballot." That's an awful lot of money by any standard. Whether or not that is a good thing for Virginia politics is another question, but for now, we declare "money" a big winner of 2007.
10) Gerry Connolly. Achieved what the Washington Post called a "Slam-Dunk Victory" last night. In addition to Connolly's victory, the Post points out that "With the defeat of DuBois, the Democratic majority on the board grows to 8 to 2 from 7 to 3." DuBois lost to John Foust, in part because of "her vote in support of an elevated track through Tysons Corner as part of the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport."
("Losers" on the flip)
http://www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11252
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