Along with the Tea Party's defeat - - and a failed boost by Wisconsin's self-proclaimed "original Tea Party" poster-boy Scott Walker - - there are a few more things to note from the just-ended Virginia campaigns:
* It's a cliche, but every vote counts. So any effort to block balloting through bogus Republican-backed Voter ID and companion restrictive laws must be vigorously opposed.
Props to the plaintiffs and lawyers doing just that in Federal court right now, and in state court actions, too.
Right now, the Democratic candidate for Attorney General is behind by a few hundred votes out of 2.2 million cast in a count still underway, to be followed by a recount.
* So along with traditional door-knocking and canvassing that leads to maximum election-day turnout, the importance of money in a statewide race cannot be overestimated. The victorious Democrat, Terry McAuliffe, substantially outspent the defeated Ken Cuccinelli, and without that advantage Virginia might have had a Tea Party Governor-elect posing with best friend Scott Walker today.
Money counts in campaigns and the biggest spender with the most ads and paid staff usually wins.
Saw an estimate that the Virginia vote-suppression measures decreased the vote by about 30,000 people.
ReplyDeletenot quite enough to tilt the top-tier races, but enough to put the AG race into play.
Because, of course, those vote-suppression tactics invariably fall heaviest among Democratic demographics.