Election 2011: What it means

link from Republican Party of VA ^

[Gopher Broke]

For Immediate Release

Contact: Garren Shipley (540) 686-1138

Election 2011: What it Means -- GOP Supermajority in House, Majority in Senate, Solid Start for 2012 --

The votes are counted. The canvass is done, and the dust has settled. What does it all mean?

First, let's look at the lay of the land.

House of Delegates

* Republicans picked up 7 seats in the House of Delegates.

* Republicans now have a 68 seat caucus in the House, the most in history.

* Republicans won 13 of 14 open seats in the House.

* Republicans defeated 2 Democrat incumbents in the House.

* All 52 incumbent Republicans seeking re-election won.

Senate of Virginia

* Republicans have won a working majority in the Senate.

* Republicans gained two seats to make it 20-20 with Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling holding the decisive tie-breaking vote.

* Republicans won 3 of 5 open seats in the Senate.

* Republicans defeated 2 Democrat incumbents in the Senate.

* All 15 incumbent Republicans seeking re-election won.

So what does it all mean?

First and foremost, Virginians overwhelmingly voted for a Republican controlled General Assembly.

Just look at the numbers:

House GOP Votes: 757,000, about 61% of all votes cast

House Dem Votes: 419,000, about 33% of all votes cast

Senate GOP Votes: 771,000, about 57% of all votes cast Senate DEM Votes: 554,000, about 41% of all votes cast

2011 caps a remarkable three-year run for Virginia Republicans:

* In 2009, Virginia Republicans won all three statewide offices by massive margins and picked up 6 seats in the House of Delegates.

* In 2010, Virginia Republicans defeated 3 incumbent Congressional Democrats and came within a few hundred votes of defeating a fourth, moving the Congressional delegation to 8-3 and clearing the way for our own Rep. Eric Cantor to become U.S. House Majority Leader.

* In 2011, Virginia Republicans picked up 7 more seats in the House of Delegates and picked up 2 seats in the state Senate.

For three years running, the message from Virginia voters has been clear. We expect them to send the same resounding message again in 2012.

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[ScottinVA]

Nice to see my beloved Old Dominion moving in the right direction! When I saw Mickey Chohany and Ben Loyola defeated, it wasn’t looking good, but looks like the good guys eked it out in the Senate.

Now let’s take care of business in 2012!

[OldNavyVet]

Republicans did well in 2010 elections, despite the RNC's 2008 mis-treatment of Sarah Palin.

What's needed for 2012 is a Reagan-like Republican candidate for President ... and a purge inside the RNC.

After Palin, Newt looks best to me.

[comebacknewt]

Last I checked on election night, looked like they weren't going to be able to take over the Senate.

Glad to see they pulled it off!!!

[HokieMom]

BTTT