Start date November 3, 2009 Party Republican | Popular vote 1,163,523 Percentage 58.6% | |
 | ||
Turnout 40.4% (voting eligible) Winner Bob McDonnell | ||
The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2009 took place in Virginia on November 3, 2009. The incumbent Governor, Democrat Tim Kaine, was not eligible to run due to term limits established by the Virginia Constitution, though others in the state's executive branch were not restricted. (Virginia is the only state that prohibits a Governor from serving consecutive terms.) The election elected Republican Bob McDonnell as the next Governor, re-elected Bill Bolling as Lieutenant Governor, and elected Ken Cuccinelli as the next Attorney General of Virginia. The winners were inaugurated on January 16, 2010, and were scheduled to serve until January 11, 2014.
Contents
- Democratic candidates
- Republican candidate
- Democratic primary
- Endorsements
- Fundraising
- General election
- References
State Senator Creigh Deeds was selected as the Democratic nominee, having defeated former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe and former state Delegate Brian Moran in the Democratic primary election. This was the first contested Democratic primary in two decades. Republican nominee McDonnell, a former state Attorney General, was selected at his party's nominating convention.
McDonnell's 59% to 41% victory over Deeds was, alongside the other elections that year for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General, the most recent statewide election in Virginia won by a Republican. The Democratic nominee has won every subsequent presidential, senatorial, gubernatorial lieutenant gubernatorial and attorney general election in the state, which was previously one of the most Republican in the nation.
Democratic candidates
State Senator Creigh Deeds, who ran for Attorney General of Virginia in 2005, announced on December 13, 2007 that he would run for the Democratic nomination. State Delegate Brian Moran, brother of Congressman Jim Moran, joined Deeds on January 4, 2008 when he established a political action committee. Additionally, McLean resident Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign announced on January 3, 2009 that he was running. The Democratic primary, which took place on June 9, 2009, was the first contested in over twenty years.
Republican candidate
Attorney General Bob McDonnell first announced his intention to run at American Legion's Boy's State of Virginia 2007. This is the sixth consecutive Virginian gubernatorial election in which an Attorney General has run. McDonnell was the only Republican candidate to file with the election board before the November 2008 deadline. As a result, there was no Republican Party primary. McDonnell accepted the Republican nomination at a state convention on May 30, 2009 in Richmond. Chairman of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele had said that the election for governor of Virginia is one of the most important elections for the Republican Party.
Democratic primary
The Democratic primary campaign for Governor unofficially began in December 2007 when State Senator Creigh Deeds announced his candidacy for Governor. He was joined one month later by State Delegate Brian Moran. For the following year (before McAuliffe indicated his intentions to run), Deeds and Moran squared off picking up endorsements, and raising money.
Moran received many endorsements from members of the State Democratic Party as well as the mayors of the Hampton Roads area. Deeds picked up support from Northern and Western Virginia, such as the endorsement from U.S. Congressman Rick Boucher. The area of strength for Deeds was concentrated in Western and Southern Virginia, and the area of strength for Moran consisted mostly of Eastern Virginia with both reaching out to Northern Virginian voters.`
The race was close from the beginning, with McAuliffe considered to be a semi "front-runner" due to his lead in the polls and big campaign war chest. However, in the last few weeks of the race, Deeds began to surge up in the polls. By election night, June 9, Deeds swept to victory. Creigh Deeds spent $14.49 for each vote on the Democratic primary election. Terry McAuliffe spent $68.25 for each vote on the Democratic primary election.
Endorsements
Several endorsements were given in the Democratic primary:
Fundraising
Fundraising totals through June 30, 2009, from the Virginia Public Access Project.
General election
Deeds and McDonnell both ran for Attorney General of Virginia in 2005. McDonnell won by just over 300 votes, in the same election in which Tim Kaine was elected Governor with 52% of the vote.
The main themes of the election were the economy, transportation, and jobs.
The first debate was in Hot Springs, Virginia on July 25.
Vice President Joe Biden campaigned for Deeds in Henrico County, Virginia, a suburb of Richmond, Virginia on July 16. Also attending were Richmond Mayor Dwight Clinton Jones, state Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico), and Virginia first lady Anne Holton.
On August 6, President Barack Obama and Governor Tim Kaine campaigned for Deeds in McLean, Virginia.
Deeds is from Bath County, Virginia, a rural area of less than 5,000 people, where John McCain received over 55% of the vote. McDonnell is from Virginia Beach, which McCain won with 49.9%.