Last night, Republicans gained control of 63 Democratic-held seats giving the GOP a net gain of 60 seats so far. The Republican wave “is bigger than the massive gains Republicans made in 1994,” when they picked up 52 seats.
Here's what the wave did in Virginia. In the 2nd District in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, freshman Rep. Glenn Nye (D) was ousted by auto dealer Scott Rigell (R).
In the 5th District in the central part of the state, first-term Rep. Tom Perriello (D) lost to state Sen. Robert Hurt (R).
In the 9th District in southwestern Virginia, veteran Rep. Rick Boucher (D) lost his seat to state House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith (R).
It was a rough night for Democrats, but an even rougher night for conservative Blue Dog Democrats, who lost half of their caucus. 23 of 46 Blue Dog Democrats lost, including Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-SD), the coalition’s co-chair for administration, and Rep. Baron Hill (D-IN), the co-chair for policy. Blue Dogs spend most of their time voting with republicans and watering down the Democratic agenda so losing 23 of them - - just a good start.
The national momentum that carried Republicans to a projected majority in the House helped the party regain the ground it had lost in Virginia in 2008, when Connolly, Nye and Perriello all picked up GOP-held seats and President Obama became the first Democrat to carry the state since Lyndon Johnson.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) defeated Tea Party-favorite Sharron Angle last night to help the Democrats maintain control of the Senate. “I’ve had some tight races, but this wasn’t one of them,” Reid said on CBS this morning. The Nevada senator defeated Angle by six points and had “overwhelming support” from minority voters.
The Republican surge last night also hit state legislatures, as the party took control of 18 chambers across the country. The takeover has serious implications for the makeup of Congress over the next decade, as state legislatures in most states will soon be redrawing Congressional districts.
Republicans won ten governorships last night, including in states that were long Democratic strongholds, like Wisconsin and Michigan. Meanwhile, Democrat Andrew Cuomo easily won the gubernatorial race in New York.
“The future is Cao,” John Boehner said in early 2009, referring to incoming GOP freshman congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao. Last night, Cao lost.
Republican House candidate in Ohio Rich Iott, who was criticized for dressing in a Nazi uniform during World War II re-enactments, lost to Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptor in Ohio’s 9th District. Kaptor defeated Iott by nearly 20 percentage points.
Virginia's Districts
District 1 100% in
R Robert Wittman* 64% 135,432
D Krystal Ball 35% 73,668
District 2 100% in
R Scott Rigell 53% 88,007
D Glenn Nye* 42% 70,306
District 3 100% in
D Bobby Scott* 70% 114,656
R Chuck Smith 27% 44,488
District 4 100% in
R Randy Forbes* 62% 122,667
D Wynne LeGrow 38% 74,209
District 5 100% in
R Robert Hurt 51% 119,241
D Tom Perriello* 47% 110,564
District 6 100% in
R Bob Goodlatte* 77% 125,303
I Jeffrey Vanke 14% 22,190
L Stuart Bain 9% 15,321
District 7 100% in
R Eric Cantor* 59% 138,093
D Rick Waugh 34% 79,289
District 8 100% in
D Jim Moran* 61% 116,264
R Patrick Murray 37% 71,097
District 9 99% in
R Morgan Griffith 51% 95,526
D Rick Boucher* 46% 86,653
District 10 100% in
R Frank Wolf* 64% 136,703
D Jeff Barnett 34% 72,272
District 11 99% in
D Gerry Connolly* 49% 110,401
R Keith Fimian 49% 109,914
After delivering a tearful victory speech last night, the presumptive House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) took a midnight phone call from President Obama who said “he was looking forward to working with him and the Republicans to find common ground.” Obama also called current Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), whose leadership will end in January, and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who will remain the Senate Minority Leader.
ACV Democratic News
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