Va. GOP wins delegate seat in spec. elec.

[whitehall]

Rob Bloxom won a delegate seat formerly held by democrats in a special election by a whopping 60%. It gives republicans a veto proof majority in the house of delegates. Bad news for McAuliffe who is on what is characterized as his "magical mystery tour" to try to promote Obama's health care in the commonwealth.

 

[whitehall]

A sign of the times? A democrat wins the governorship in a squeaker and right after he moves in the democrat party loses a seat in the house of delegates by a 60% vote. It don't look good for democrats in the mid term.

 

[RandomVariable]

Given that it was for a state seat and not a national one I would not place too much weight to the 60/40% win. To the contrary I think there are some real warning signs to Republicans from the election. While Robert S. Bloxom Jr. beat a Democrat Robert S. Bloxom Sr. Robert S. Bloxom Sr. was immensely popular and when he retired in 2004 he had held the office for 26 years, from 1978 to 2004. Unlike other Republicans Bloxom was against removing the car tax and estate tax. "The Accomack Republican's soft-spoken manner masked an iron will that frustrated party leaders' efforts to stifle his opposition to conservative causes. (1)" Many gave credit for Bloxom Jr.'s win to a campaign against Medicaid expansion. The Virginian House of Delegates has 68 of the 100 delegates as Republicans (2).

Given that moderates are being becoming a rare breed in the Republican party on the national level and that the campaign was run as a vote against Obamacare this does not speak to an indication of a resurgence of the Republican message (4). On the contrary, it indicates that even on the local level in a Republican dominate body. One last time of note, the reason Lynwood Lewis's seat became open was because Lewis was recently elected to the state Senate (3).

1) 26-YEAR VETERAN LEGISLATOR, ROBERT S. BLOXOM, DECIDES NOT TO RUN FOR RE-ELECTION.(FRONT) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) | HighBeam Research
2) Republican Bloxom easily wins House seat on Eastern Shore - Richmond Times-Dispatch: Richmond News, Crime & Politics
3) GOP's Bloxom wins Va. House race in 100th District | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
4) Bloxom wins 100th House District seat | WAVY