Election updates: McDonnell leads in early returns

7:30 p.m.

Republican Bob McDonnell held an early lead in the race to become the 71st governor of Virginia today. 

First Virginia Board of Elections results showed McDonnell leading Democrat R. Creigh Deeds by a wide margin. 

In most recent polls McDonnell was favored to win by a landslide. 

His Republican running mates, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, seeking re-election, and Attorney General candidate Ken Cuccinelli, also are leading in early returns over their Democratic opponents: Jody Wagner for lieutenant governor and Stephen C. Shannon for attorney general. 

Their election would reverse a recent string of losses by Republicans, who lost races for the U.S. senate in 2006 and 2008 and the presidential election in Virginia in 2008 for the first time in 44 years.

Republicans also had lost the last two races for governor in Virginia.  Virginia is the only state in the nation in which a governor cannot run for re-election.

The election of McDonnell would continue a remarkable string in which the state since 1973 has sent to the Executive Mansion a representative of the opposite party from the occupant of the White House.

McDonnell’s early lead is a far cry from four years ago, when he defeated Deeds for attorney general by a recounted 360 votes, the closest statewide election in history.

Pundits said, in capturing Virginia, McDonnell would create a model for other Republican candidates. He emphasized jobs creation and de-emphasized social issues.

Because Virginia and New Jersey are the only states to elect governors in the year after the presidential election, the race here is taking on national significance as a mini-referendum on the popularity of President Barack Obama. 

National media are packed into the Richmond Marriott ballroom this evening to cover what is expected to be the Republican victory party.

Obama came to Virginia twice to campaign for Deeds, but anonymous White House staffers criticized the Deeds campaign before the second visit, which appeared to do Deeds little good.

The defeat of the Democratic ticket would be a blow to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who, as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, put his prestige on the line behind the Democrats.
—Mary Anne Pikrone
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

5:45 p.m.

With the polls set to close at 7 p.m., no major problems have been reported in voting across Virginia. If turnout reaches 50 percent, that would beat the mark of 45 percent in the last race for governor in 2005. The state remains closely watched by the national pundits—only Virginia and New Jersey are electing governors, and attention has also focused on a hotly contested special race for the U.S. House in New York.

In an update just a few minutes ago on The Associated Press wire, national political writer Liz Sidoti ends her piece this way:

“Republican victories in one or more races could energize a GOP that’s lost back-to-back national elections, just as it seeks to raise money and recruit candidates to prepare for next year. Triumphs, particularly in the open-seat contest in Virginia, could provide a model for how to win elections in a time of recession and war.

“New Jersey is a traditional Democratic-leaning state with an incumbent Democratic governor.

“But Virginia is a new swing state and has trended Democratic in recent elections after being reliably Republican in national races for many years. It’s home to a slew of northern bellwether counties filled with independents who carried Obama to victory last fall, the first Democrat to win the state in a White House race since 1964. Rapidly growing counties like Loudoun and Prince William, exurban areas outside Washington, D.C., swung toward Democrats in the 2005 governor’s race, previewing an Obama win three years later.

“A loss in Virginia could suggest that the diverse coalition that Obama cobbled together last year in Virginia and elsewhere — blacks, Hispanics, young people, independents and Republican crossovers — was a one-election phenomenon that didn’t transfer to the Democratic Party when Obama wasn’t on the ballot.“

—Tom Kapsidelis
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

3:25 p.m.

In Richmond’s East End, Robin D. Robinson, one of six candidates in a special election for City Council’s 7th District seat, greeted early afternoon voters with a smile and a campaign flier as they arrived at the East District Center on North 25th Street.

“I’m getting good vibes, and I am hoping that people will make the right decision because we’re tired of the shuffling,“ she said, referring to turnover in the council seat that she says has failed to address issues in the district.

Robinson seemed to score at least one vote when a man who lives near Libby Hill Park asked about her position on Echo Harbour, a proposed high-rise development that critics complain would block the view of the James River. Robinson opposes the project.

“It’s the last and only view in Richmond,“ the man said, before heading in to vote.

Ronald L. Bond, another candidate for the 7th District seat, grumbled that poll workers were handing out Democratic sample ballots that listed Cynthia I Newbille as the party’s candidate for the 7th District seat. Bond said it was wrong for the state party resources to be used to try to sway a local race that’s officially nonpartisan.
“I’m a Democrat, too,“ he said.

State Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond and a supporter of Newbille, stopped by the precinct and chatted with Robinson and her brother before heading in to vote.
“You going to make the right choice?“ Robinson asked the former mayor and 7th District councilman.

Marsh quipped back, “I always make the right choice.“

Deanna Lewis, another candidate, said she’d been up since 4 a.m., putting up campaign signs and mobilizing poll workers. However, she said she wasn’t dragging and was hoping for a surge of voters by 4 p.m. 

“The energy’s been good - that and a lot of caffeine,“ she said.

A few blocks away, former 7th District Councilwoman-turned-Del. Delores L. McQuinn, D-Richmond, appeared relaxed when she arrived to vote at 31st Street Baptist Church. She was running in her first general election after winning a special election for the 70th District seat in the House of Delegates early this year.

“The thing about elections is that most of the work is done before the actual day,“ she said.

Newbille, who is running for office for the first time, said she’s encouraged but acknowledged that only so much can be gleaned from brief interactions with voters.

“Folks are pretty excited as far as I can see,“ she said by phone from the East District Center.

—Will Jones
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

2:30 p.m.

At Forest Hill Presbyterian Church in South Richmond, officials were hoping for a 50-percent turnout and seemed to be heading in that direction. As of 1:30 p.m., 1,065 of the precinct’s 3,021 registrants had voted. 

Among them was Tootie Owens, who brought her grandchildren, 8-year-old Riley and 6-year-old Colin Wade, with her to the polls. She said she gets irritated at people who think voting isn’t important if one candidate seems to have a big lead.

“It always matters,” she said.  “Every one is crucial.  We have such a privilege to be able to do this.”

—Katherine Calos
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

2:20 p.m.

The Richmond Marriott is buzzing with media, police officers and security in advance of the election night party of heavily favored Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell. Satellite trucks from local and national media outlets are clogging 5th Street alongside the hotel, reducing traffic to one lane.

McDonnell—and the rest of the statewide Republican ticket—will spend the evening at the Marriott, joined by Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

—Olympia Meola
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

2:15 p.m.

No major voting problems have been reported across the state today, said Nancy Rodrigues, secretary of the State Board of Elections.

In an afternoon briefing for reporters, Rodrigues said a handful of the state’s more than 2,300 precincts opened 20 to 30 minutes late for reasons including trouble with setting up equipment.

In one precinct in York County, the keys to get in the building didn’t work, so poll workers set up temporarily outside, Rodgrigues said.

In Bristol, a paper-ballot scanner didn’t work because the ballot was dampened with hand-sanitizer gel, she said. The ballot was put in a box to be counted later.

Rodrigues declined to estimate how many people would vote. The turnout was 74 percent of voters in last year’s presidential election and 45 percent in the last race for governor, in 2005.

The sunny, dry weather may be helping today’s turnout, Rodrigues said.

—Rex Springston
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

2:10 p.m.

Worth a mention: The Salisbury, N.C., Post reports today that eight students were charged with breaking and entering a high school and releasing 7,000 crickets on Sunday night. The high school was a polling place today, and the newspaper quotes the board of elections as saying there were no problems.

—Tom Kapsidelis
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

1:10 p.m.

The candidates for governor continue to campaign in localities that have played formative roles in their lives and careers.

Republican Bob McDonnell voted this morning in Glen Allen, near his family’s home. He then greeted voters in the Mount Vernon area of Fairfax County, where he was raised. At this hour, McDonnell is greeting voters at an elementary school in Virginia Beach, where he served 14 years in the House of Delegates. Tonight McDonnell will await the returns at the Richmond Marriott.

Democrat R. Creigh Deeds voted this morning in Millboro, near his family’s Bath County home. He is spending the afternoon meeting voters at polling locations in Charlottesville, which is also part of his state Senate district. This evening Deeds will await the returns at The Westin Hotel, just outside Richmond.

—Andrew Cain
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

1:05 p.m.

Creigh Deeds’ campaign manager, Joe Abbey, reports strong midday turnout in Northern Virginia and the Richmond area.

“We are seeing encouraging numbers in key parts of the state.  Northern and Central Virginia in particular look strong,“ Abbey said.

“The Charlottesville area, which includes areas represented by Creigh Deeds in the state Senate, is particularly strong and 10 percent of voters in key Democratic precincts had already voted by 10 AM.  Meanwhile, voters in the populous and Democratic precincts of Alexandria and Arlington have been voting at rates well above the average in other parts of the commonwealth.”

—Andrew Cain
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

1 p.m.

Updates from Chesterfield County and the city of Richmond:

Almost 30,000 people had voted in Chesterfield by mid-morning, or 14.4 percent of those registered, said Registrar Lawrence C. Haake III. The turnout in the last gubernatorial race, in 2005, was about 17 percent at the same time of day, Haake said, but absentee voting is up significantly over four years ago. In 2005, about 1,300 people cast absentee votes prior to Election Day. This year, more than 2,200 voted that way. “We may yet hit at 50 percent” forecast, Haake said.

In Richmond, a city work crew starting digging in front of a polling place on West Grace Street but quickly shut down after being informed that the street needed to remain open for voters, said Registrar J. Kirk Showalter.

Showalter also offered some further perspective on comparing absentee ballots. She said the city had 1,643 absentee ballots cast in 2005, the last gubernatorial election, compared to 1,931 this year.

Absentee balloting was huge last year because of the intense interest in the presidential race. For that race the city received 8,000 absentee ballots by mail and another 4,000 people voted absentee in person before Election Day. This year about 600 voted in person before Election Day.

—Michael Martz
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

12:35 p.m.

Some people didn’t vote out of apathy. Antoine Mansfield has another reason.

“I’m a felon. I can’t vote,“ said Mansfield, 26, of Richmond.

Mansfield said he was convicted in 2005 of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute and served 4½ years in prison.

Mansfield said he plans to try to get his voting rights restored. The issue is one that has drawn more attention recently. The Sentencing Project says that there are 377,847 disenfranchised felons in Virginia.

—Rex Springston, Frank Green
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

12:25 p.m.

A former campaign manager for President Barack Obama said this morning that any losses by Democratic candidates today don’t necessarily reflect on the president’s popularity.

“The results of these elections tend to be overread,“ David Plouffe said on NBC’s “Today.“ ‘'These are local races. There’s 18,000 lifetimes between now and next November,“ he said in reference to next year’s midterm elections.

—Tom Kapsidelis
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

12:15 p.m.

Voter turnout statewide appears to be similar to the 45 percent mark in the last election for governor in 2005, said Ryan Enright, a spokesman for the State Board of Elections.

“Everything is going to plan from our end,“ Enright said.

No major voting problems have been reported, he added.

—Rex Springston
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

11:05 a.m.

The Associated Press just reported: A few Suffolk voters had registration problems when they appeared in the electronic poll log as absentee voters, but the problem was quickly corrected, deputy registrar Burdette Lawrence said.

So far, no major voting problems have been reported.

—Tom Kapsidelis
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

10:30 a.m.

A computer glitch slowed the checking in of voters at the Chickahominy precinct in Hanover County from 6 a.m. to about 8:30 a.m.

Until the glitch was fixed, voters were checked in using paper rolls, said the precinct’s chief officer, Howard Ostergren.

No one had to wait longer than 10 minutes to vote, Ostergren said. “We still had a steady flow.“ By 9:30 a.m., about 325 people had voted.

The precinct is at Chickahominy Middle School.

—Rex Springston
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

10:20 a.m.

In Colonial Heights today, about 250 people had voted by 10 a.m. at the precinct at Colonial Heights Middle School. Shirley Tucker, the chief poll official, called it a “steady crowd for us.“ Voter turnout there may see an uptick from interest in a lively race for commissioner of revenue.

—Michael Martz
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

10 a.m.

Outside Precinct 207 at Retreat Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond’s Fan District, people were arriving in ones and twos earlier today.

“I’m used to last November” when a line went down Grove Avenue and around the corner, said Lee Downey, a volunteer for Del. Jennifer L. McClellan, D-Richmond. “So this is a shock for me.“

Allen Roots Sr., the precinct’s chief officer, said the turnout was about average for an off-year election.

—Rex Springston
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

9:50 a.m.

In Petersburg, voter turnout wasn’t overwhelming but officials were busy dealing with issues stemming from a flurry of interest in some local races, the registrar said.

“Sometimes the local ballots create the increased activity,“ said Registrar Dawn E. Williams, who added that her staff had to take care of complaints that the representatives of some candidates weren’t abiding by laws governing their activities at polling places.

So far this morning, she said, about 1,000 out of more than 20,600 registered voters had gone to the polls.

Elizabeth Cuthbert, a longtime Democratic activist, said voter fatigue may contribute to holding down the numbers at the polls today. She noted that all-out efforts were made last year to get people to vote in primary and general elections. She also said she did not believe that the Virginia elections could be viewed as a referendum on President Barack Obama’s administration.

Obama last year became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry Virginia since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. But since 1977, Virginians have elected governors from the party opposite the one holding the White House.

—Michael Martz
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

9:10 a.m.

Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates cast their ballots this morning.

Republican Bob McDonnell voted at River’s Edge Elementary School in the Glen Allen area of Henrico County. McDonnell arrived just before 8:40 a.m., accompanied by his wife, four of his five children and a security detail.

McDonnell’s twin sons, Sean and Bobby, both seniors at nearby Deep Run High School, cast their first ballots.

McDonnell, who holds a solid lead in the polls over Democrat Creigh Deeds, said, “It feels good but we can’t take anything for granted.“

Deeds voted at 6:25 a.m. at the Millboro Ruritan Club near his home in rural Bath County in western Virginia.

He was accompanied by his wife, Pam, and voting-age children Amanda, Rebecca and Gus, the Deeds campaign said. Afterwards he had a biscuit breakfast with his family and supporters.

—Jim Nolan
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

8:40 a.m.

Richmond Registrar J. Kirk Showalter says you can look at absentee ballots as an indicator of how voter turnout may fare today.

She said that last year the city received 8,000 absentee ballots by mail and another 4,000 people voted absentee in person before Election Day. This year the numbers are 1,300 and 600, respectively.

Voting this morning has been steady but light, she said, with no problems reported.

—Michael Martz
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

8:30 a.m.

Henrico County Registrar Mark J. Coakley said about 400 people have voted so far this morning at the Glen Allen library branch on Staples Mill Road. He described that as good, though “nothing like last year.“

Coakley said balloting had been going smoothly with the exception of confusion among some voters in the Varina area. He said a precinct there that formerly voted at the American Legion Hall on Old Hanover Road changed a couple of years ago to the nearby Oak Hill Baptist Church. Some voters were still showing up at the old spot, he said, so Henrico is putting a sign there to direct people to the proper polling place.

In terms of the weather, Coakley said, it’s an excellent morning for voting.

“This is the first time its ever been dry in November in the morning, and I’m excited about that,“ he said.

—Michael Martz
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

7:45 a.m.

Lawrence C. Haake III, Chesterfield county registrar, said early voter turnout has been consistent with expectations. He predicts about 50 percent of registered voters will cast ballots for this election.

At the Genito precinct, he said, about 230 votes had been cast so far this morning.

Still, said Haake, “We are not looking for anything like what we had last year.“

—Michael Martz
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

7:40 a.m.

Chesterfield County’s J.G. Hening Elementary School was one of the polling places that ran out of ballots during the Democratic presidential primary in February 2008.

This morning just more than 60 people had voted by 7:30 a.m.

“It’s a little lighter than usual at this point,“ said Jean Marrow, the chief poll official.

Marrow said there had been substantial absentee voting in the precinct. She expected the pace to pick up by noon and later in the afternoon.

—Michael Martz
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

7 a.m.

About 75 people had cast ballots in the first hour of voting at the South Richmond polling place of Branch’s Baptist Church on Broad Rock Road. That’s a little more than some other precincts checked this morning, but still on the light side, officials said.

—Michael Martz
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

6:55 a.m.

Among the places with light turnout this morning was the South Richmond precinct at Hobson Masonic Lodge off Broad Rock Road.

About 20 people had voted by 6:45 a.m.

Walter Smith, a campaign worker handing out literature outside the poll, said it was different from November’s presidential election.

“That was a major election,“ he said. “They don’t consider this to be major.“

Another campaign worker, Wilbur Howlett Jr., said he was confident that turnout would pick up later. He expected more people to vote later in the afternoon on their way home from work.

—Michael Martz
(This has been a breaking news update. Read earlier updates below. Check back throughout Election Day for continuous coverage.)

6:45 a.m.

With the polls open across Virginia this morning one thing is practically certain.

The turnout isn’t likely to be anything like it was for the landmark presidential race in November between Barack Obama and John McCain.

That played out this morning in a South Richmond polling place at Woodland Heights Baptist Church.

By 6:30 a.m., about 20 people had voted.

“I can’t believe no one is here,“ said voter Dana Roussy, who recalled the line extending to the street at the same hour in November.

It should be a good day for voting, though. No rain is forecast and the high will reach 64.

Polls close at 7 p.m. across the state.

—Michael Martz