Virginians elected Democrat Tim Kaine to be their new governor, choosing him over over Republican Jerry Kilgore. Kaine will succeed popular Democratic Gov. Mark Warner. The election, which polls predicted to be extremely close, was decided by a 51 percent to 46 percent margin. Independent candidate Russell Potts captured 2 percent of the vote.
But partisan results were mixed beyond Kaine’s victory. Republican state Sen. Bill Bolling edged out former Democratic congresswoman Leslie Byrne to be the state’s next lieutenant governor. The race for attorney general remains too close to call, with Republican Bob McDonnell just ahead of Democrat Creigh Deeds, by a 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent margin, according to the State Board of Elections. If the margin of victory remains within 1 percent, Deeds can request a recount. Republicans lost two seats in the House of Delegates but still will control with a 58-39 edge over Democrats; 51 seats were unopposed, 12 seats were open, and 37 incumbents faced challenges.
- Governor – Tim Kaine (D) 51 percent, Jerry Kilgore (R) 46 percent, and Russ Potts (I) 2 percent
- Lieutenant governor – Bill Bolling (R) 50.7 percent vs. Leslie Byrne (D) 49.2 percent
- Attorney general – Bob McDonnell (R) 50 percent vs. Creigh Deeds (D) 49.9 percent
- House of Delegates – GOP lost two seats, to retain control with 58; Democrats gained one seat, for a total of 39; independents went from two to three seats. State Republican Party vs State Democratic Party
- Virginia State Board of Elections Unofficial Results , updated every three minutes
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
