Tuesday’s elections in Virginia saw a strong showing for legislators who signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Of the 21 incumbent legislators who made the commitment to their constituents to never raise taxes, all were re-elected to serve another term in the House of Delegates. Among those re-elected were Delegate Barbara Comstock of District 34 and Delegate David Ramadan in District 87. Both of these Northern Virginia Delegates rejected Governor Bob McDonnell’s $5.9 billion tax hike this year despite immense pressure from the Republican Governor and House leadership.
Furthermore, a new pledge signer, Dave LaRock was elected to the House of Delegates after having previously knocked off 10-term incumbent and Transportation Committee Chairman Joe May in the Republican primary in June. May was an instrumental figure in Gov. McDonnell’s transportation tax hike, which ATR vigorously opposed. None of the Delegates who opposed the law were defeated.
In the race for Governor, lifelong Democrat fundraiser and shady businessman Terry McAuliffe defeated Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli by 2.5 points. Democrat state Senator Ralph Northam defeated EW Jackson in the race for Lieutenant Governor.
As of this morning, the results are still pending in the race for Attorney General. With all precincts reporting, Republican Mark Obenshain, a state senator and pledge signer, has a narrow 777 vote lead over Democrat state Senator Mark Herring. To keep up to date on absentee ballot totals and provisional balloting, follow Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman on Twitter.
For the full results of the Virginia elections, including maps and district breakdowns, click here.