LT. GOVERNOR RACE
Bill Bolling (R) – 56.41% (winner)
Jody Wagner (D) – 43.51%

ATTORNEY GENERAL RACE
Ken Cuccinelli (R) – 57.52% (winner)
Steve Shannon (D) – 42.39%

13th DISTRICT HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE (Prince William Campus) – 100% of Precincts Reporting
John Bell (D) – 38.6%
Bob Marshall (R) – 61.3% (winner)

37th DISTRICT HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE (Fairfax Campus) – 100% of Precincts Reporting
David Bulova (D) – 67.56% (winner)
Christopher DeCarlo (I) – 24.74%

40th DISTRICT HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE – 100% of Precincts Reporting
Susan Conrad (D)* – 36.81%
Timothy Hugo (R) – 63.06% (winner)

47th DISTRICT HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE (Arlington Campus) – 100% of Precincts Reporting
Eric Brescia (R) – 31.87%
Patrick Hope (D) – 63.89% (winner)
Josh Ruebner (I) – 4.11%

*George Mason University graduate student

When Virginians go to the polls on Nov. 3, they will not be voting for their three statewide officials as one party ticket. This means that the next administration could be a mixture of political parties.

It has happened before. When Democrat Tim Kaine won a surprise victory over Republican opponent Jerry Kilgore in the 2005 gubernatorial election, it was Bill Bolling, a Republican, who snagged the lieutenant governor’s seat.

With the race for governor turning out to be unexpectedly tight (Democrats were elected in 2001 and 2005 by comfortable margins), the battle to win the state’s second-highest office has been pushed to the side. The lieutenant governor, however, is the state’s second-in-command, and can ascend to the governorship in the death, resignation or disqualification of the governor.

The Constitution of Virginia states that the lieutenant governor must be a United States citizen who “shall have attained the age of thirty years and have been a resident of the Commonwealth and a registered voter in the Commonwealth for five years next preceding his election.”

The greatest constitutional difference between the governor and lieutenant governor is that while the governor may serve only one consecutive term, the lieutenant governor can seek reelection as many times as he likes.

Once in office, the lieutenant governor’s primary responsibility is to preside over the Virginia Senate, casting a vote only if the chamber is evenly divided on a piece of legislation.

Practically speaking, the lieutenant governor makes appearances on behalf of the governor, and, when the two are of the same party, advocates on behalf of the governor’s agenda. In cases where the administration is politically split, however, the lieutenant governor is largely free to push an agenda independent of the governor’s office, an ability whose importance has increased in recent years; since 1980, three lieutenant governors have gone on to take the helm of the state, making the office a springboard to greater political power.

Bolling, who is running again for the position, has a moderate lead against his Republican opponent Jody Wagner; an Oct. 7 Washington Post poll had him leading Wagner 49 to 40 percent.

Political terrain is never steady, though, and both candidates are hitting the trail in the last stretch of the campaign.

“As the state Treasurer and Secretary of Finance, I helped Mark Warner and Tim Kaine balance the budget, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and make record investments in education and job training,” Wagner said in a statement to Mason Votes. “I’m proud that our efforts earned Virginia the designation as the country’s ‘Best Managed State,’ and that we were named the ‘Best State for Business’ eight times during the Kaine administration alone. I plan to invest in high-growth industries like renewable energy production and biotechnology, utilizing George Mason [University], and other schools as incubators of research and development.”

Wagner said that education, job creation, and transportation would be her biggest policy priority concerns, promising to allow “every student” in Virginia the opportunity to attend college and come up with a permanent solution to the transportation problems in the region, proposing such remedies as public/private partnerships and incentives to get cars off the roads.

The Bolling campaign was skeptical of Wagner’s promises.

In a statement released to Mason Votes, a Bolling spokesperson said that Wagner’s “policies of higher taxes, more regulations and more government spending will kill jobs and drive our economy deeper into recession.”

Bolling pledged to serve “as Virginia’s chief jobs creation officer and oversee Virginia’s economic development and job creation programs,” a goal his camp said he would accomplish through deregulation and lower taxes

“Lieutenant Governor Bolling is uniquely qualified to perform this function because of his background in private business, his experience in state and local government, and his reputation of being one of Virginia’s most pro-business leaders,” the campaign said. “In addition, his policies, of reducing taxes and regulations and investing in proven economic development and job creation programs will help get our economy moving again and create jobs.”

]]> http://masonvotes.gmu.edu/2009/09/26/political-minute-sept-21-25/feed/ 1 http://masonvotes.gmu.edu/2009/09/24/mason-lt-gov-debate-canceled/ http://masonvotes.gmu.edu/2009/09/24/mason-lt-gov-debate-canceled/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:05:12 +0000 Cay Smith http://masonvotes.onmason.com/?p=1372 The debate scheduled for tonight at George Mason University between lieutenant gubernatorial candidates Bill Bolling (R) and Jody Wagner (D) has been canceled.

After Bolling pulled out from the debate on Sunday, Wagner had stated that she would still attend the event. The organizers, however, which included Mason and the Prince William Committee of 100, decided to cancel it altogether.

Click here to read more about why Bolling withdrew.

By Mason Votes Director Christian Smith

For the lieutenant gubernatorial candidates, Sunday was eventful for the usually relatively quiet campaigns (compared to their gubernatorial candidate counterparts). Jody Wagner (D) posted a press release on Sunday to her website stating that Bill Bolling (R) “threatened” not to attend the upcoming debate scheduled for this Thursday at George Mason University.

“It became painfully clear to us that the Wagner campaign was more interested in debating about debates than actually holding a debate,” wrote the Bolling campaign in a dueling press release that was subsequently published to their website.

Wagner then retorted with another online statement, “Bill has decided not to show up and I hope he reconsiders. I still plan on attending the event to show my commitment to the voters in Prince William and across the state.”

Matt Wells, Bolling’s campaign manager, wrote, “Unfortunately, the Wagner campaign has refused to discuss the rules of this debate in good faith, as is evidenced by their recent press release; and has now issued a factually inaccurate and misleading statement in an effort to try and score some cheap political points in advance of the debate. Given these developments, it is clear that the debate cannot move forward as scheduled on September 24th and we have advised the debate organizers of that fact.”

A little before 11 p.m. Sunday night, Wagner wrote, “My opponent is going to be a “no show” for the Prince William 100 debate–disappointing, but not surprising,” on her twitter page.

Monday morning, the organizers of the debate made the final call to cancel it. Its success had hinged on what is called a no-use agreement. Bolling had evidently asked for such an agreement which, according to their press release, would stipulate that neither campaign would be “allowed to use portions of the audio or video of the debate for political purposes.” Wagner’s campaign responded saying that, “Despite our opposition to the last minute rule change, we offered what we hoped would be a compromise that suggested the same terms of previous down-ballot debates this year. ”

The event was sponsored by Mason, Prince William Committee of 100, Prince William Regional Chamber of Commerce, Prince William County-Greater Manassas Chamber of Commerce and Northern Virginia Community College.

George Mason University has announced that it will be hosting two political debates this fall. The first will occur Sept. 24 between lieutenant gubernatorial candidates Bill Bolling and Jodi Wagner and will be followed by an Oct. 7 debate between attorney general candidates Ken Cuccinelli and Steve Shannon. The debates are being sponsored by Mason, Prince William Committee of 100, Prince William Regional Chamber of Commerce, Prince William County-Greater Manassas Chamber of Commerce and Northern Virginia Community College.

The Sept. 24 debate will be moderated by WJLA‘s Bruce DePuyt and will begin at 8 p.m. The Attorney General debate will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be moderated by Scott Thuman, also of WJLA. Both events will be held at the Prince William Campus‘ Verizon Auditorium.

Mason’s chapters of the College Republicans and College Democrats have been invited to provide questions for the candidates.

Wagner has a undergraduate degree in economics from Northwestern University and a law degree from Vanderbilt University. In 2005, she and her husband, Alan, opened a gourmet popcorn business in Virginia Beach called “Jody.”

Wagner and her husband have four children.