Deeds wins, sweeps area
Published 8:27 am Wednesday, June 10, 2009
FRANKLIN — State Sen. Creigh Deeds cruised to an easy victory in Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Deeds will face Republican Bob McDonnell in the Nov. 3 general election.
According to unofficial results from the state Board of Elections, Deeds, a former Bath County prosecutor and member of the House of Delegates from the 18th District, won the race by an almost 2-to-1 ratio. With more than 99 percent of precincts statewide reporting, he had received 159,324 votes, almost 50 percent of the total number cast.
Terry McAuliffe, a businessman from Fairfax County and a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, came in second place with 84,640 votes, or 26.41 percent. Brian Moran, a former Arlington County prosecutor and former member of the House of Delegates from the 46th District, finished in third with 76,405 votes and 23.84 percent of the total.Deeds swept Western Tidewater, winning in the City of Franklin and in both Southampton and Isle of Wight counties.
With all precincts reporting, Deeds won 397 votes in Southampton, compared to 199 for McAuliffe and 173 for Moran. In the City of Franklin, Deeds captured 222 votes, McAuliffe received 133 and Moran garnered 94.
Votes were counted in 13 of Isle of Wight’s 14 precincts. Deeds received 549 votes, McAuliffe had 337 and Moran had 215.
Tuesday’s weather prevented results from the remaining Isle of Wight precinct, Orbit, from being tallied.
According to William Bell, secretary of that county’s electoral board, the 35 votes cast at Orbit “can not be tallied by normal procedures due to issues related to this afternoon’s electrical storm.” Bell said results from Orbit are expected to be available by Thursday.
Gov. Tim Kaine, a fellow Democrat, congratulated Deeds on his victory.
“Senator Deeds’ victory is a clear signal Virginians want to keep our state moving forward, and I am pleased to extend my congratulations to my friend and colleague on this critical accomplishment,” Kaine said Tuesday. “I’ve worked closely with Senator Deeds over the years and I am confident he will do what’s right for our communities and our Commonwealth.”
In other election news, Jody Wagner soundly defeated Michael Signer in the race to become the Democratic nominee for the post of lieutenant governor.
Wagner rolled in Franklin and Southampton, 318-80 and 555-138, respectively. In Isle of Wight, Wagner was ahead 818-139.
Despite withdrawing from the race last month, Jon Bowerbank received 14 votes in Franklin, 17 in Southampton and 55 in Isle of Wight.
Wagner will face Republican incumbent Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling on Nov. 3. Bolling has been in office since 2006.
As predicted by local registrars, voter turnout was very light. Using numbers from the race for the nomination for governor, only 449 of the 5,932 registered voters in Franklin came to the polls on Tuesday. In Southampton County 769 of the 11,948 registered voters actually did so. Those numbers roughly translate into turnout rates of 7.5 and 6.4 percent, respectively.
“Everything went smoothly, but turnout was very light,” said Southampton County Registrar of Voters Leona Davis.
Sandy Holloman, registrar for the city of Franklin, said there were no problems with the primary election in the city.