The Coalition's Legislative Committee has been hard at work refining the 2010 Legislative Agenda. There are seven items identified as legislative priorities for the coming year:

To view the Talking Points that the Committee has worked with our lobyyists to develop, click here. You can also learn more about the legislative agenda by visiting the Virginia Housing Coalition's home page.

 

 

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Last week Virginia held elections for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates. The end result was the first republican sweep of all three statewide offices since 1997 and significant republican gains in the House of Delegates. Coming on the heels of the election of President Obama, where he became the first democrat to win Virginia since Lyndon Johnson, and after two consecutive democratic Governors, Virginia held true to its peculiar tradition of electing a Governor of the opposite party as the newly elected President. Below is a breakdown of each race and a House of Delegates overview.

Governor
Bob McDonnell defeated Creigh Deeds by 18 points (58.64% to 41.23%). This was McDonnell's lead in the most recently released polling prior to the election. Several factors contributed to McDonnell's impressive performance. Most analysts agree that McDonnell ran a superior campaign while the democrats suffered from a depressed base which failed to turn out at 2005 levels when Time Kaine defeated Jerry Kilgore.

Lieutenant Governor
Bill Bolling, the incumbent Lieutenant Governor, defeated Jody Wagner by nearly 13 points (56.41% to 43.51%). This was the closest of the races and Wagner was actually the top vote getter for the democratic ticket gaining over 35,000 more votes than Deeds.

Attorney General
Ken Cuccinelli defeated Steve Shannon by 15 points (57.52% to 42.39%). This was a hotly contested race and the most bitterly fought of the three statewides. Analysts predicted this to be closer than it was and felt it to be the best hope for a democratic victory.

House of Delegates
This was a banner election for House republicans as they gained a net of six seats (8 new seats and 2 losses). Several of the republican pick-ups were very close and will fall under the automatic recount provisions. Interestingly, several of these wins took place in Northern Virginia which is widely considered to be a democratic stronghold. Relevant changes in the majority are listed below:

Losses

• Robyn Abbott (D) defeats Phil Hamilton (R, incumbent)
• Torian (D) defeats Lopez (R) This was an open seat formally held by Frederick (R).

• Morefield (R) defeats Bowling (D, incumbent)
• Villanueva (R) defeats Mathieson (D, incumbent) / Headed to automatic recount
• Garrett (R) defeats Valentine (D, incumbent) / Headed to automatic recount
• Greason (R) defeats Poisson (D, incumbent)
• Comstock (R) defeats Vanderhye (D, incumbent) / Headed to automatic recount
• Anderson (R) defeats Nichols (D, incumbent) / Possible recount
• LeMunyon (R) defeats Caputo (D, incumbent)
• Stolle, Chris (R) defeats Bouchard (D, incumbent)
  

If you have any questions or would like more information regarding the elections, results, or the recount proceedings please contact the Coalition offices.