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November 09, 2005

Two observations of yesterday's election

1) The Democrats are very excited about Mark Warner's win yesterday. No, you did not read that wrong. While some Democrats will say otherwise, Tim Kaine's victory was likely on Mark Warner's coattails, and us Republicans underestimated how strong an influence it would be. While Warner was not particularly visible in Kaine's campaign, he made enough appearances for most of Virginia to be able to easily associate the two. With all the praise that Mark Warner has received (deserved or not), he (I mean, Tim Kaine) was rewarded with a second term (I mean, the governor's position).

2) I am wondering if anyone else noticed this, but take a look at Loudoun County. Famous for its fast growth in recent years, Loudoun has been a red county for many years. Names that have infuriated Democrats such as Richard Black, Robert Marshall, and George Bush all have seen favor in Loudoun. It appears that growth has, ironically, worked in favor of the Democrats. Loudoun became an almost solid blue, with Bob McDonnell and two unopposed Republicans (so counting them only skews this trend) as the only exceptions (Bob Marshall's district extends outside of Loudoun, which is what aided him in maintaining his position). While I have not been a big fan of the fast growth there (though, even if I were to support it, I do not think there is anything that could curb it even if the government stepped in), I suspect that this fact will be missed (or ignored) by state Democrats.