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Monday, November 28, 2005

VA-AG: Republican is Declared Winner, but Recount is Coming

Turns out the 2005 Virginia elections aren't quite over. From the Washington Post:

Virginia election officials Monday certified Republican Del. Robert F. McDonnell as the winner of the election for state attorney general with 323 more votes than Democratic Sen. R. Creigh Deeds out of 1.94 million cast.

McDonnell immediately claimed the mantle of attorney general-elect, but aides to Deeds said the senator will ask the courts on Tuesday to conduct a recount in what attorneys and advocates on both sides say is the closest statewide race in Virginia history.

According to the results certified by the state board of elections, McDonnell received 970,886 votes and Deeds received 970,563 in the Nov. 8 election.

The court has to grant a recount because Virginia law permits the (apparently) defeated candidate to seek one when the margin is less than 1%. Eliot Spitzer has demonstrated how important it is to have aggressive, creative attorneys general in office nationwide - AGs who aren't afraid to take on powerful entrenched interests. Republicans are at their wimpiest when it comes to that sort of thing, of course, so it would be a tremendous victory if Deeds can pull this one out.

I am reminded of Christine Gregoire's long recount in Washington state. She started off 261 votes down, but emerged with a 133-vote margin of victory. I actually think that's a pretty sizable hurdle to overcome, even though it sounds small. But with any luck, Deeds does have a chance.

Posted at 05:30 PM in 2005 Elections, Virginia | Technorati

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Comments

Hi Member,
Well, very interesting Race. I`m watching American Politics since the Election 2000 Dispute. But for now I have a question about the Virginia Attorney Generals Race. As mentioned Democrat C. Deeds will ask the Richmond Circuit Court for an Official Recount today. I read something that there is a Hearing scheduled on December the Sixth. My question: When does a recount start, before or after the hearing?

Daniel Gruhn

Posted by: Daniel Gruhn at November 29, 2005 10:31 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment