A win by Cuccinelli would be a nice outcome for Republicans who were concerned pre-election polls showed McAuliffe ahead by 2-4 percentage points. However, voter groups Democrats rely on to win have a history of poor turnout in non-presidential year elections like the one today.
The same article reports that, as expected, Republican Chris Christie is winning by a large margin in New Jersey.
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A few moments later, roughly 9:26 p.m., the Times now says the race is tightening with Cuccinelli still ahead 46.9% to 46.3% with 86% of the vote tallied. With 1.7 million votes cast in VA, the candidates are now separated by 11,000 votes. Don't be surprised if there is a recount coming.
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At about 9:45 McAuliffe is now in the lead with 91% reporting. He leads 46.8% to 46.5% for Cuccinelli. With nearly 2 million votes now tallied, the top two are separated by roughly 5,000 votes.
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When all the votes were counted, McAuliffe won 48% to 45.5% for Cuccinelli. Actual vote totals for the two were 1,064,000 vs. 1,008,000. This was certainly no landslide.
The Libertarian candidate, funded in part by Democrats who saw him winning otherwise Republican votes, probably took enough votes from Cuccinelli to swing the election.
The Libertarian candidate, funded in part by Democrats who saw him winning otherwise Republican votes, probably took enough votes from Cuccinelli to swing the election.
