VC Note: This brief article regarding the 2011 election comes from the Republican Party of Virginia.
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.