Virginia was pegged early on as a battleground state and didn’t disappoint as returns rolled in Tuesday. The presidential race here in the Old Dominion went to the incumbent and voters sent another Democrat to the U.S. Senate. The Congressional seat up for election in some parts of the Triangle was easily retained by the incumbent Republican.
President
Though voters had a choice of five candidates for President this year, all attention was focused on President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. National polls pegged the two candidates as neck-and-neck leading up to Tuesday, but returns from the northern part of the state put Obama up decisively as he collected 50.8 percent of the vote and the state’s 13 electoral votes. Romney attracted 47.8 percent of the vote, according to the latest results.
In the Historic Triangle, voter turnout was high with long lines and waits of 30 minutes to vote not unusual.
James City County voters chose Republican Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama, 19,338 to 15,310. Several precincts – Jamestown A and B, Powhatan B and D, and Roberts A and C – favored Obama.
In Williamsburg, Obama led Romney in both precincts and among absentee voters, 4,901 to 2,678. Included in those results are ballots cast by 888 absentee voters.
Over in York County Romney led with 18,146 votes to President Barack Obama’s 11,762. The president earned a majority in just one York precinct, Magruder, with about 63 percent of that precinct’s votes. Edgehill almost tipped in the president’s favor, with Romney the winner by just 36 votes.
In York County, there were 41,094 active registered voters as of Nov. 1. James City County reported 48,696 and the City of Williamsburg reported 9,506 – also as of Nov. 1, according to the State Board of Elections.
In 2008, active voter turnout in Virginia was just over 76 percent.
In the 2008 election, 17,352 James City County residents, or 44.94 percent of voters, voted for Obama; 20,912, or 54.17 percent, voted for the Republican candidate.
In York County in 2008, 13,700 voters, or 40.41 percent, voted for Obama while 19,833, or 58.50 percent, voted for the Republican candidate.
In Williamsburg, 4,328 voters, or 63.76 percent, voted for Obama while 2,353, or 34.66 percent, voted for the Republican candidate.
U.S. Senate
The U.S. Senate race came down to two former Virginia Governors squaring off. Republican George Allen and Democrat Tim Kaine campaigned to the tune of some $80 million spent to win the seat, but the win went to Kaine with 52.27 percent of the popular vote..
Allen is a former U.S. Senator who served in the role from 2001 to 2007, and a former governor of Virginia, a position that he held from 1994 to 1998. He has also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a member of the state House of Delegates.
Kaine was governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and served as lieutenant governor from 2002 through 2006. Prior to these roles, Kaine was the mayor of Richmond from 1998 to 2001.
In the Historic Triangle, voters largely favored Allen over Kaine.
James City County voters chose Allen over Kaine, 18,609 to 16,180 before absentee ballots were counted. In Williamsburg Kaine had the clear lead, with 5,041 to Allen’s 2,542, while while in York County Kaine fared slightly better than President Obama, gaining 12,248 votes to Allen’s 17,769.
U.S. House of Representatives, First District
Incumbent Rob Wittman handily held onto his seat against two challengers, Democrat Adam Cook and Independent Gail Parker.
In the Historic Triangle, James City County and York County voters kept to the familiar pattern of voting for the Republic candidate as Williamsburg went for the Democrat.
James City County voters cast 20,188 ballots for the incumbent , 13,555 for Cook and 781 to Parker. Williamsburg voters gave the win to Cook, 4,357 to 2,813 for Wittman. Parker picked up 227 votes. York County overwhelmingly voted for Wittman, with 19,339 votes for the incumbent. Cook received 9,793 and Parker received 667.
