VA Election Results

The 2011 elections for the State Senate and House of Delegates were held on NOV 8, 2011. Many thanks to all our campaign volunteers who made a difference.

As usual, there were some gains and losses regarding repeal supporters, as well as a couple of close elections in general ... so close in fact, the results aren't even listed as "official" yet. And as always, most of the incumbents won reelection, with a few important exceptions.

The big news is that the State Senate is now tied at 20-20 between the Republicans and Democrats. That means any tie votes will be settled by the Lieutenant Governor, Bill Bolling ... who just happens to be a Republican. There will surely be new committee assignments as well, and we'll keep an eye out for who ends up on the Senate Transportation Committee.

Here are some race highlights:

 STATE SENATE 

SD-13 (Leesburg) now has our old friend, former Delegate Dick Black [R], in the winner's circle. Even though his campaign spending was closely matched by his rival, Shawn Mitchell {D}, Dick carried the election by over 5,000 votes. Since bikers have helped him many times in the past, I'm sure his door at the capitol will always be open for us.

SD-17 (Fredericksburg) was the closest senate race, and widely credited with tipping the State Senate out of Democratic control. The pro-repeal incumbent Ed Houck {D} lost to Bryce Reeves [R] by a slim 86 votes. We don't know where Reeves stands on the helmet law, so this district is code-yellow until we find out.

SD-21 (Roanoke) featured a battle between two legislators on opposite sides of the helmet law. Unfortunately for us, anti-repeal incumbent John Edwards {D} won this race by more than 4,500 votes over his rival, former Delegate Dave Nutter [R]. It looks like campaign funds made all the difference in this race.

SD-22 (Lynchburg) was won by pro-repeal Thomas Garrett [R], despite being far out-funded by his rival Bert Dodson {D}. I believe Tony T was involved with this race, so we earned some good will for the next four years (and hopefully many more) in this senate district.

SD-36 (Mount Vernon) still belongs to Toddy Puller {D}, despite our hope that former Delegate Jeff Frederick would turn this into a pro-repeal district. Fortunately, Puller is older than dirt and looked pretty wobbly the last time I saw her. Keep an eye out for a special election in this district, because four years is a long time.


 HOUSE OF DELEGATES 

HD-12 (Blacksburg) is noteworthy only because it came down to 522 votes. We don't have any Campaign Action Alert subscribers in the area, and haven't a clue where the winner, Joseph Yost [R] stands on the helmet law. But being a close race, he may face a strong challenger in 2013.

HD-87 (Chantilly) is another squeaker, currently with David Ramadan [R] leading his rival Mike Kondratick {D} by only 50 votes. Again, no indication of where either candidate stands on repeal. This may be another district to watch in 2013.

HD-93 (Williamsburg) was a fairly narrow defeat for our ally, Robin Abbott {D}, who lost by 480 votes. We helped Robin win two years ago, and we can use as many friends as we can get from the left side of the aisle. Sorry to see her go, and we can only hope that the winner, Michael Watson [R], will vote our way on repeal.

Sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to everyone who worked on the campaign trail this election. In addition to the usual suspects (Steve S, Tony T, John B), there are undoubtedly others who pitched in, or supported those that did. You are making a difference. If you can spare a little time between now and when the next session gets underway, please let me know how it went. I'm always looking for good news to share, as well as any lessons learned along the way.

And speaking of the next session, it's time to get our ducks in a row regarding the next bill(s). While repealing any part of the mandatory helmet law is a good thing, the Repeal Machine depends on knowing where the legislators stand on the issue.

At this stage, getting a vote count is the most important thing to do. A bill on helmet penalties is more likely to make it to a full vote, and we haven't gotten a fresh update to the vote count since Senator Chap Petersen's bill back in 2008 (SB698).

Thanks again, and best of luck during the next session.