Virginia gubernatorial election, 2005

Virginia gubernatorial election, 2005
Virginia
November 8, 2005
Turnout 45.0% (voting eligible)[1]
 
Nominee Tim Kaine Jerry Kilgore
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,025,942 912,327
Percentage 51.72% 45.99%

Virginia gubernatorial election results map.
Blue denotes counties/districts won by Kaine.
Red denotes those won by Kilgore.
Governor before election

Mark Warner
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Tim Kaine
Democratic

The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2005 was a race for the Governor of Virginia, United States, held on November 8, 2005, and won by Democrat Tim Kaine. Virginia is the only state in the United States to prohibit governors from serving successive terms, so the popular incumbent, Mark R. Warner, could not run for reelection.

Primary elections

Democratic Party

Republican Party

Republican primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jerry Kilgore 145,002 82.78
Republican George Fitch 30,168 17.22
Total votes 175,170 100.00

Independents

General election

Campaign

The general election itself was expected to be close with Independent candidate Russ Potts as a possible spoiler candidate. Kaine remained behind in polls throughout most of the campaign, at one point 10 points behind Kilgore, but captured a slight lead in the final weeks of the campaign. Kaine led in some polls for the first time in October 2005, and held his lead into the final week before the election.[3]

Kaine closely associated himself with popular outgoing Democratic Governor Mark Warner during his campaign; he won his race by a slightly larger margin than Warner. He promised homeowner tax relief, centrist fiscal leadership, and strong support for education.[4] A number of factors, from the sagging poll numbers of President George W. Bush to a public disgust over the death penalty ads run by Kilgore, have also been cited as key to his decisive win.[5][6]

The election was the most expensive in Virginia history, with the candidates combined raising over $42 million [7]

Opinion Polls

Source Date Kaine (D) Kilgore (R) Potts (I)
Survey USA November 7, 2005 50% 45% 4%
Mason-Dixon November 4, 2005 45% 44% 4%
Rasmussen November 4, 2005 49% 46% 2%
Roanoke College November 2, 2005 44% 36% 5%
Washington Post October 30, 2005 47% 44% 4%
Rasmussen October 28, 2005 46% 44% 4%
Mason-Dixon October 25, 2005 42% 44% 5%
Rasmussen October 24, 2005 46% 48% 2%
Hotline October 18, 2005 40% 38% 5%
Survey USA October 17, 2005 47% 45% 4%
Rasmussen October 12, 2005 44% 46% 1%
Rasmussen September 28, 2005 45% 45% 5%
Survey USA September 19, 2005 43% 46% 4%
Mason-Dixon September 18, 2005 40% 41% 6%
Rasmussen September 16, 2005 40% 43% 5%
Survey USA August 9, 2005 43% 48% 3%
Rasmussen August 4, 2005 39% 45% 5%
Mason-Dixon July 24, 2005 38% 37% 9%
Rasmussen July 14, 2005 41% 47% 4%
Survey USA June 30, 2005 39% 49% 5%
Rasmussen June 16, 2005 40% 46% 2%
Survey USA May 17, 2005 40% 44% 5%

Results

Majority results by county, with Kaine (Dem.) in blue and Kilgore (Rep.) in red.
Virginia gubernatorial election, 2005[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Tim Kaine 1,025,942 51.72% -0.44%
Republican Jerry Kilgore 912,327 45.99% -1.04%
Independent Russ Potts 43,953 2.22%
None Write-Ins 1,556 0.08%
Majority 113,615 5.73% +0.60%
Turnout 1,983,778 44.96% -1.4%
Democratic hold Swing

While the previous Democratic Governor, Mark Warner, was credited with doing especially well for a Democrat in rural areas of the commonwealth, Kaine's win featured surprising triumphs in traditionally Republican areas such as Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and the Northern Virginia suburbs of Prince William County and Loudoun County, as well as impressive showings in Democratic strongholds such as Richmond and Norfolk.[9]

Balance of power

Office Party Before Election Party After Election Result
Governorship Democrat Democrat Democratic-Hold
Lieut. Governorship Democrat Republican Republican pick-up
Attorney General Republican Republican Republican-Hold
Virginia House of Delegates Republican (61 Seats) Republican (57 seats) Republican-Hold

See also

References

  1. ↑ Virginia Department of Elections (2016). "Registration/Turnout Statistics". The Commonwealth of Virginia. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  2. ↑ http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/ElectionResults/2005/Junr2005Primary/index.htm
  3. ↑ VA: Kaine 49% Kilgore 46% – Rasmussen Reports, November 4, 2005
  4. ↑ Brodnitz, Pete. "Why Tim Kaine Won". www.bsgco.com. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Death penalty demagoguery". (October 13, 2005). The Roanoke Times.
  6. ↑ "RealClear Politics – 2005 Virginia Gubernatorial Election". Retrieved November 4, 2005.
  7. ↑ "Virginia governor's race a costly one", (October 31, 2005) USA Today
  8. ↑ http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/Files/ElectionResults/2005/nov2005/html/
  9. ↑ Shear, Michael D. (October 18, 2005). "Kaine Sounds Slow-Growth Note in Exurbs". Washington Post.
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