Timothy M. Kaine is now the governor of Virginia.
Before the results were announced, there was anticipation and energy in the air at the Richmond Marriott, the site of Kaine’s victory party.
“If Kaine wins, it could change the whole attitude and state of Virginia in every aspect,” said Collins Howlett III, a Kaine supporter. “Virginia is going to change the whole nation tonight.”
Other supporters at Kaine’s victory party said they shared the same sentiment.
“This is a turning point not only for Virginia, but for the nation,” said Elliott Carver, one of the members of the Young Democrats from James River High School. “If a Democrat can win in a conservative state like Virginia, that shows we can win back the White House.”
Irv Cantor, a Richmond personal injury lawyer, said Kaine will keep the state moving in the right direction.
“He’s going to keep us moving and carry out what Mark Warner had set forth in the past four years rather than us retreating,” he said.
As the night wore on, people were on pins and needles to see how the election played out.
“I don’t think we can draw any conclusions as to how this election will play out, but we all can hope for the best,” said VCU student Aaron Tenenbaum. “For the future of the state, I hope that Kaine wins.”
Victoria Cobb, head of the Virginia Family Foundation, is looking to see how values play out in the election.
“We’re interested to see how issues like family and marriage affect the decisions,” Cobb said.
“Everybody has a healthy anxiety and a healthy optimism,” said John Reid, the communications director for Sen. George Allen. “A lot of people have worked hard, both Republicans and Democrats.”
Earle Taylor, one of Kaine’s longtime supporters, predicted that Kaine will take the state by storm.
“I told him when he ran for City Council that this was his goal,” Taylor said. “It would be a great hope to put the Democrats in the White House.”
David Skinner, director of public relations for St. Joseph Villa for Children, said that Kaine’s victory could turn the tide for American politics.
“Virginia was historically a red state,” he said. “Mark Warner has done a wonderful job the past four years, and Virginia really wants to see a good, positive leader leading the state forward.”
Supporters of Kaine came from all over the state to show their appreciation for the newly elected governor. David Boehm, a Smith County resident, was one of them.
“It’s a not a turning point of Virginia, but more like a continuing point,” Boehm said. “Tim Kaine has real issues and he’s going to be the best in carrying on Governor Mark Warner’s work.”
The Hispanic community in Hampton Roads also gave a nod to Kaine and Gov. Mark Warner for their efforts to bring communities together.
Beatriz Amberman, the founder and executive director of the Hispanic Community Dialogue Organization, said that the Hispanic community had responded well to the election.
“For the first time, I think we can say that Warner and Kaine are the only two governors in Virginia that, one after another, speak fluent Spanish,” Amberman said.
And from Northern Virginia, a representative from the “Nurses for Tim Kaine” campaign, Lillian Jackline, says they are looking forward to progress and growth in Virginia.
“It feels fantastic and ecstatic,” Jackline said. “We have a lot of minorities moving into Northern Virginia, which is great progress. It seems as though Virginia has always taken two steps forward and ten steps back, but now this will change everything for us.”
At 10 p.m., it was officially announced that Kaine won with a final result of 52 percent to Kilgore’s 46 percent.
Everyone stood and cheered, chanting “Kaine! Kaine! Kaine!” The crowd spent the next hour waiting for Kaine to make his victory speech. As the crowd moved closer to the stage, people were fanning themselves with Kaine signs and papers. Kaine was joined by his family and prominent political figures, including Warner, Richmond Mayor Douglas Wilder and Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for attorney general.
Warner introduced Kaine by saying, “Kaine has won a great race. He made his race on a positive direction on where he’s going to take Virginia.”
“We proved that Virginians want a governor who puts partisanship aside,” Kaine said in his victory speech. “We proved that people are more interested in fiscal responsibility than ideological bickering.”
“We surprised a lot of people tonight,” he continued. “We proved the naysayers wrong.”
Kaine vowed to continue Warner’s efforts to make Virginia a powerful political force.
“We can all do this and we will by coming together as Virginians,” Kaine said.