VIRGINIA
      Nov. 3, 2009 Governor

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+Bob McDonnell (R)
1,163,651
 		58.62%
Creigh Deeds (D)
 		818,950
 		41.25%
all others
 		2,502
 		0.13%

1,985,103
Total registered: 4,955,750.  Total voting: 2,000,812.
Plurality: 344,701 votes (17.36 percentage points)
VA Department of Elections



REPUBLICAN PICK-UP
Notes:  Virginia governors are limited to one term.  Seeking to succeed Gov. Tim Kaine (D), Attorney General Bob McDonnell (R) handily defeated state Sen. Creigh Deeds (D) for a Republican pick up (1, 2).

The Democratic primary contest featured three strong candidates: Deeds, former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe, and former Del. Brian Moran (>).  Of 319,168 votes tallied in the June 9 vote, Deeds won with 158,845 votes (49.8%) followed by McAuliffe at 84,387 (26.4%) and Moran at 75,936 (23.8%).  McDonnell, unopposed, was formally nominated at the Republican convention on May 30.

Deeds was elected to the House of Delegates in 1991 and the State Senate in a 2001 special election.  In 2005 he ran for Attorney General, losing to McDonnell by a few hundred votes.  He announced his candidacy for governor on Dec. 13, 2007.  McDonnell was elected to the House of Delegates in 1991 and served seven terms before his election as Attorney General in 2005.  He announced his candidacy for governor on Mar. 25, 2009 (>).

In the general election McDonnell and Deeds debated:

July 25 - sponsored by the Virginia Bar Association at their summer meeting at The Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA (>);

Sept. 17 - hosted by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and WJLA-TV ABC 7;

Oct. 12 - hosted by the League of Women Voters, AARP and WTVR-TV CBS 6 in Richmond [cut short due to technical difficulties (>); and

Oct. 20 - hosted by WSLS-TV at Roanoke College in Salem, VA (>).

McDonnell weathered some controversy after the Washington Post reported on Aug. 30 about his master's thesis, written for Regent University in 1989, in which he made a number of controversial statements on feminism, homosexuality, and other topics. 

There was significant outside involvement in the campaign  including spending by the national party committees and appearances, including President Obama's fundraiser and rally with Deeds in McLean on Aug. 6 (>) and a rally in Norfolk on Oct. 27.

In an article that ran in Politico on Election Day, Republican consultant Brad Todd pointed to deficiencies in Deeds' advertising campaign as one explanation for his anticipated defeat.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, the McDonnell campaign outspent the Deeds campaign by $31.1 million to $22.2 million (>).
Campaign Managers:
Bob McDonnell:  Phil Cox
Experience on many dozens of campaigns. Director of development at Americans for Prosperity in 2006. Campaign manager on McDonnell's 2005 campaign for Attorney General.  Ran a governor's race in 2001. Worked on McDonnell's 1999 campaign for VA Delegate.  Worked on Paul Harris' run for VA Delegate, 1997.  Graduate of the University of Virginia, 1996.  Native of Hingham, MA.

Creigh Deeds:  Joe Abbey
(Dec. 2008)  Deputy campaign manager/chief of staff on Warner for Senate, Jan.-Dec. 2008.  Campaign manager on Chris Peterson for Virginia Senate, Feb.-Nov. 2007.  Political associate at 360JMG, June-Nov. 2006.  Campaign manager on Joe Sulzer for Congress (OH), Oct. 2005-May 2006.  National communications coordinator for Communities fror Quality Education, Apr. 2004-Sept. 2005.  B.A. in social sciences, political science and history from Flagler College, 2000.


See also:
Ian Urbina.  "In Virginia, McDonnell Ends Democrats Streak."  The New York Times, Nov. 3, 2009.

Brad Todd.  "How Creigh Deeds got undone."  Politico, Nov. 3, 2009.

Bob Lewis.  "Big finish: Deeds banks on Obama."  The Associated Press, Oct. 22, 2009.

Andy Barr.  "McDonnell defends thesis."  Politico, Aug. 31, 2009.

Amy Gardner.  "'89 Thesis A Different Side of McDonnell."  The Washington Post, Aug. 30, 2009.

Michael Falcone.  "Va. governor's race first among equals."  Politico, May 31, 2009.

Shane D'Aprile.  "The Fierce Urgency of 2009."  Campaigns & Elections, Mar. 1, 2009.

 

 











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