Virginia’s gubernatorial race came to a stunning conclusion Tuesday night as Democrat Timothy M. Kaine defeated Republican Jerry W. Kilgore. After months of anticipation, Kilgore expressed some disappointment at his concession speech after earning only 46 percent to Kaine’s near 52 percent of Virginia’s votes.
“Tonight I’m standing before you delivering a speech I never planned to deliver,” Kilgore told an audience at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, “but I have to tell you even though the votes did not go our way, I have no regrets.”
The GOP crowd remained calm through much of the evening as Kaine’s lead stretched further into the night. Once the number of precincts yet to submit votes fell low enough for Kaine to be declared the winner, the gathering turned gloomy. Sen. George Allen tried to lift the spirits of Virginia’s conservatives before Kilgore took the stage.
“Where elections may come and go, principles endure …You get knocked down, but you keep fighting,” Allen said,” and my friends, so long as they haven’t killed us we can keep fighting for those principles.”
Kilgore made a similar effort at uplifting his supporters, saying, “The fight for conservative values is not over.”
“We gave it our all,” he said. “There is no reason to hold your head in defeat. There is every reason to look up with pride.”
Kilgore, who left his post as attorney general Feb. 1 to focus on the gubernatorial race, raised more than $21 million for his campaign, a record for governor’s races. Kaine trailed by almost $3 million in funding, but the advantage in campaign funds failed to produce a Kilgore victory.
Shortly after polls closed, John Reid, director of communications for Allen, said he expected Kilgore to pull the election out as results from rural areas came in.
“I think everybody’s got a … healthy optimism and a healthy anxiety,” Reid said. “I think things will turn in the right direction for us by the end of the evening.”
Chesterfield County resident Marilyn Jackson shared Reid’s optimism as the final result drew closer, but suggested that a Kaine win would not crush the conservative agenda in Virginia.
“Republicans have a good hold on the House of Delegates as well as the Senate,” she said. “Whichever way this race turns or it may turn, it’s still going to hold the conservative views of Virginians. And if Kaine is elected, Republicans can definitely push an agenda.”
The tight race also got some younger voters involved, and in some cases, people not even registered to vote in Virginia tried to make their opinions heard.
Students from Idaho’s Brigham Young University traveled more than 2,000 miles to Virginia in the week prior to the election to support Kilgore. The BYU College Republicans made telephone calls and campaigned door to door for the candidate.
Student Talon Jones said Kilgore was the candidate for young Virginians because he wanted to promote education and prevent tax increases.
“He seems like a straightforward guy,” Jones said. “He’s pro-life, which is pretty rad. I’m all for that.”
On the other hand, Andrew Brasington, a Kilgore supporter and student at Atlee High School in Mechanicsville, thought both of the main candidates for governor ignored the concerns of young people.
“I didn’t feel that many of the issues that they really focused on or that they really put out there were really toward me as an age group,” said 18-year-old Brasington.
Brasington later argued that Kilgore’s campaign should have been more focused on his own strengths rather the weaknesses of his opponent.
“I mean, both of them had attacking ads,” he said, “but I watched the debate and it was just, in some ways Kilgore was attacking Tim Kaine saying he hid behind Governor Warner the entire time. He really didn’t try to push himself out there, he was trying to push what Kaine didn’t have versus what he had.”
With Bill Bolling declared the winner of the lieutenant governor race and Bob McDonnell holding onto a slight lead for attorney general, the night was bittersweet for Virginia’s Republicans as Kilgore lost by more than 100,000 votes.
In his victory speech, Bolling said he would work with Kaine as long as the governor-elect fulfills his campaign guarantees.
“When Mr. Kaine leads consistent with the principles and values Virginians believe in and is keeping with his campaign promises, we will stand with him in that effort,” Bolling said. “However, if Mr. Kaine’s actions are inconsistent with those principles, values and promises, we will play the part of the loyal opposition.
“We will take seriously our responsibility to make sure Mr. Kaine’s actions match his rhetoric.”
However, Allen mixed his optimism with the subtle admission of his party’s defeat.
“Folks, I know these are not easy times,” he said. “We’re not entirely pleased with these results, but we respect the will of the majority here in the commonwealth of Virginia.”
Allen also promised Virginians they had not seen the last of Kilgore, and Kilgore went on to walk away from the battle with dignity.
“I want to say congratulations to my opponent, Tim Kaine,” Kilgore said. “He and I did disagree on policy, but we do share the same love of Virginia. He has spent his adult career in public service, and now he’ll get to spend a little more.”