Virginia caught in election's national tides

Control of the United States House of Representatives switched and Republicans' efforts to gain the Senate stalled last night as votes were cast in the culmination of a campaign that began as soon as Barack Obama won the presidency two years ago.

The most significant development for Richmond: The congressional district's current representative, Eric Cantor, is poised to become House majority leader, one of the most powerful positions in Washington.

Cantor's victory in the 7th district came along with an overall Republican gain of 61 seats, a landslide that outdoes every other House victory since 1948.

Though Virginia's own legislature was not up for a vote, the state continued its turn back to red by voting out several Democratic incumbents.

Tom Perriello in the 5th district (west of Richmond, including Charlottesville and much of the center of the state) was outed by Virginia state senator Robert Hurt, 51-47 percent. Despite coming from a moderate district, Perriello was very supportive of the Obama administration, casting votes for both the stimulus and health care reform.

Dan Palazzolo, a Richmond political science professor, noted that "Hurt beat him in the counties at the margins." He also cited the decreased level of youth voters, drastically down from 2008 levels. "It all depends who votes," he said.

Like Perriello, many Democrats who lost their seats were freshmen, having been elected in the Democrats' own wave year of 2008.

That includes Glenn Nye, who lost his 2nd-district race to Scott Rigell, a local car dealership owner, by a whole ten points, 53-43 percent.

The Democratic losses were rounded up by Rich Boucher, a member of the House since 1983, who was defeated by House of Delegates member Morgan Griffith in the 9th district (the state's southwestern tip). Griffith is a "young gun," a member of a Republican party program designed to help promising candidates, founded in part by Cantor. His margin of victory matched Hurt's, 51-47 percent.

Few state and local races were decided because Virginia holds its elections in odd-numbered years. The United States Senate remained in the hands of the Democrats after they pulled out victories in West Virginia and Nevada.

Though Democrats took a beating in the elections, Young Democrats president Charles Sabatier said it would benefit the party in 2012 because "they will be able to share the blame." Today's unemployment rate of 9.6 percent will likely remain in a similar area during the next two years, and in 2012 the Democrats and Republicans will both be at fault, Sabatier said.

College Republicans president Mary Martha Scott had a much more upbeat tone, saying, "Americans have sent a message of change to Washington and the president, and it will be interesting to see how the next two years unfold."

The Republican House and Democratic Senate will convene in January, with much of the president's agenda still to be considered.

Despite all this election's outcomes, Virginia remains a battleground state and is sure to be the target of heavy campaigning by both sides in a campaign that some consider to already be underway.

Contact reporter Milos Jovanovic at milos.jovanovic@richmond.edu