Election Results Live Blog with Norm and Jim
By Norman Leahy | Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 | Catch-AllWe closed up the live-blog thinking that Bryce Reeves was all but defeated…we may have been wrong. As results come in, Reeves is mere votes away from pulling off the upset and tying the Senate 20-20!
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Norman Leahy
Norm Leahy has written about Virginia and national politics online since 2002, beginning with One Man's Trash (OMT), and continuing through Bacon's Rebellion (both the blog and the e-zine), Sic Semper Tyrannis, NBC12's Decision Virginia, Richmond.com and Tertium Quids. He is the chief blogger at "The Score" and a producer of "The Score" radio show as well as being a Washington Examiner contributor.
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10 Responses to "Election Results Live Blog with Norm and Jim"
What an exciting election. We went to press saying we didn’t know who won our General Assembly elections because neither Miller nor Mike Watson would declare victory with the absentees still out Close races across the state. If the Dems retain control of the Senate…which they would as I type this but it might change in ten minutes…wow, that’s like drawing to an inside staight and pulling it off.
James City County had a supervisor race that was in a flat tie, before the absentees were counted.
The reality, Steve, is that I hope Democrats are truly for what they made a case for: the GOP is a bunch of thugs who will gut education, VRS, and make this all about social issues as opposed to: providing education choice, managing the budget, ensuring our state employees receive their appropriate benefits, and that the commonwealth becomes more business and family friendly. If that’s what Democrats want, count me in.
We may have been too early with our call on the Reeves race. Results coming in indicate that it will be 20-20 with the LG as tie breaker.
These desultory results were not surprising. The Republican Party cannot swing close elections in these gerrymandered districts without 2009 enthusiasm. Exactly what did the Repubs do to add to the herd in 2011? It has been an exclusionary message more than an inclusive one.
I am not a fan of Tea Party movement (self appointed) leaders for the most part but I do strongly believe in the basic ideals of fiscal responsibility and limited govt that the movement espoused. I see very little agreement here or elsewhere with the distinction I just made. Some candidate calls themselves Tea Party and then people start bashing the Tea party movement. The Tea Party is not a party and shouldn’t be held responsible in the way that the Repubs and Dems have to be accountable for nominated or selected candidates. But it doesn’t seem to stop Repubs from trying to thin the herd. Hey, Dem pols show up at all their Nutroots conventions and pretend to agree or really do agree with the crowd. The Repubs make fun of an entire movement because they don’t like one or two self promoters who self applied a label.
At the national level the Repubs are on the warpath against Tea Party principles (again reminding that there is no Tea Party party). They won’t even let you buy the lightbulb you want and have actually increased spending with the same budgetary finagles. This has depressed people associated with the Tea Party movement and probably regular conservatives and will continue to do so. I think it won’t matter much in the 2012 statewide races in VA but it may well cost Repubs some close races in the House and Senate elsewhere and maybe leave some states in play that should be safe Repubs. And look out in 2013. Happy to hear how Repubs plan to win without Tea Party movement voters.
Hmm…not so sure I’d break out the “Tea Party” militant comments yet. They did not exactly turn elections (Loyola, Light, and Frederick come readily to mind), but they also helped in others (Reeves and Stanley), so, let’s just focus on a long known fact: coalitions win elections.
That said, here’s what Senate Leader Tommy Norment has to say about tonight:
JR
How could I have made it clearer that I am not a Tea Party militant here and elsewhere? This was an optimum environment that nevertheless devolved into desperation last minute nail biters. And maybe the Dems will find votes in a recount?? I merely ask how the Repubs plan to win with exclusionary messages in less optimum environments? It’s fine (from a cynical standpoint) to abandon the more conservative members if Repubs think that they can persuade Dem leaning voters to reliably vote with them. Fat chance given the monopoly of leftists in the education system and media not to mention courts. NVA will continue to add voters as both parties expand the Feds and will dominate the state soon. Some reasonably good candidates were obliterated in NVA. I see BD already pessimistic about 2013 after all. Just asking. And your defensive and erroneous classification of me doesn’t make me feel more confident either.
The simple lesson to take away from this is that he who draws the lines usually wins.
House Republicans draw their lines — have a stellar night.
Senate Democrats draw their lines — avoid a bloodbath.
“8:01 J.R. Hoeft: Lots of threats about Fairfax on our live-blog. I think it was intentional. They used the monicker bare midriff…so it was obviously a dem.”
I’m frowny now.
[...] as I noted during the BD live blog of the election, “Gerrymandering is good, and it did very good for the Dems this year” [...]
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