2013 Recount review: Herring's win seals Democratic sweep in Virginia
December 20, 2013
| Recount: Virginia Attorney General General Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Mark Herring (MOV post-recount +907) | 50% | 1,105,045 | |
| Republican | Mark Obenshain | 50% | 1,104,138 | |
| Total Votes | 2,209,183 | |||
| Election Results Virginia State Board of Elections. | ||||
| Virginia Attorney General General Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Mark Herring (MOV pre-recount +165) | 49.9% | 1,103,777 | |
| Republican | Mark Obenshain | 49.9% | 1,103,612 | |
| N/A | Write-In | 0.2% | 4,892 | |
| Total Votes | 2,212,281 | |||
| Election Results via Virginia State Board of Elections. | ||||
By The State Executive Official Team
RICHMOND, Virginia: A statewide recount took place this week in Virginia to bring closure to the race for state attorney general. Wednesday night, Mark Obenshain (R) conceded the election to his fellow state Senator Mark Herring when the margin separating the two candidates reached a reported 907 votes, surpassing his threshold of hope for the possibility of a turnaround victory.[1] He called to congratulate Herring prior to the concession, which arrived before the official results could be announced by the recount court, overseen by Judge Beverly W. Snukals, the following day, December 19. Obenshain prompted the recount on November 27, shortly after the State Election Board certified Herring the winner by a minuscule 165 votes out of 2.2 million cast.[2]. Such a slim margin yielded a recount-upon request opportunity for Obenshain, by law, to be conducted at the expense of the taxpayer.
The 2013 attorney general contest pitted two respected senators against each other in pursuit of the state's chief legal post, soon to be vacated by two-term officeholder and recently defeated GOP gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli (R).[3][4] Until the attorney general race became worthy of headlines as "the closest statewide election in Virginia history,"[5] it attracted little fanfare. Herring and Obenshain ran dignified and uneventful campaigns amidst an otherwise tension-rich climate dominated by mudslinging and controversial comments, from the governor's race and unsuccessful lieutenant governor candidate E.W. Jackson, respectively.
Herring's survival of the recount will make him the first Democrat to control the office in almost two decades when he is sworn on January 11, 2014, at which time he will also have to step down from the state senate, where he has represented Loudoun County since 2006.[6]. His win, along with those of Terry McAuliffe (governor) and Ralph Northam (lieutenant governor), cements the complete partisan overhaul of the state's top-tier executive branch in favor of the Democratic Party, as well as marking the first time all five of Virginia's statewide offices - adding in both U.S. Senate seats - are held by Democrats since 1969.
In cruel twist of fate, 1969 was also the year that Obenshain's late father, Republican Richard Obenshain, ran for, and lost, the race for Virginia Attorney General.[7][8] Richard Obenshain died in a plane crash during his 1978 campaign for U.S. Senate.[9]
See also
|
- Mark Herring
- Mark Obenshain
- Recount in progress: Resolution in sight for Virginia attorney general race
- Mark Obenshain orders recount of Virginia attorney general race
- Vote totals continue to shift in race for Virginia Attorney General
- Race for Virginia Attorney General remains too close to call
- State executive official elections results, 2013
- Virginia state executive elections (overview):
Footnotes
- ↑ Washington Post, "Obenshain concedes Virginia attorney general's race to Herring," December 18, 2013
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, " Election Results – General Election – November 5, 2013," accessed November 25, 2013
- ↑ Watchdog Virginia, "Undervotes loom large in AG recount bid," November 27, 2013
- ↑ The Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Obenshain lawyer raises possibility of contesting AG race," December 10, 2013
- ↑ NBC Washington, "In Va. Attorney General Race, Herring Ahead by 163 Votes," November 12, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Mark Obenshain to request recount in Virginia attorney general race," November 26, 2013
- ↑ The Richmond Times-Dispatch, "'Sweet' victory for Herring in AG race," updated December 20, 2013
- ↑ The Richmond Times-Dispatch, "'Sweet' victory for Herring in AG race," updated December 20, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Virginia GOP picks staunch conservatives as statewide candidates," May 18, 2013
| |||||
