Hang in there, Virginia. The seemingly endless statewide election season looks like it will now be extended to settle the attorney general’s race, which Republican Mark Obenshain leads Democrat Mark Herring by just 219 votes, is nearly certain to be recounted.
“The race is far from over,” Herring told WAMU around midnight as it appeared the race would be deadlocked.
Virginia election law does not include automatic recounts, but one can be requested by the trailing candidate when the margin of defeat is less than 1 percent. (And for anyone who cares about the math, 219 is exponentially less than 1 percent of the nearly 2.2 million votes cast.)
Obenshain, a state senator from Richmond, and Herring, a state senator from Loudoun County, exchanged leads a few times overnight as ballots came in, but neither one opened a big enough lead in their contest to succeed outgoing attorney general (and failed Republican gubernatorial candidate) Ken Cuccinelli.
Both candidates’ campaigns have said that they will request a recount, setting up a replay of the 2005 attorney general’s race, which went to a recount after Democrat Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell finished within 323 votes of each other.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Virginia Attorney General Race Heads Toward a Recount
The candidates are separated by just 219 votes.
Hang in there, Virginia. The seemingly endless statewide election season looks like it will now be extended to settle the attorney general’s race, which Republican Mark Obenshain leads Democrat Mark Herring by just 219 votes, is nearly certain to be recounted.
“The race is far from over,” Herring told WAMU around midnight as it appeared the race would be deadlocked.
Virginia election law does not include automatic recounts, but one can be requested by the trailing candidate when the margin of defeat is less than 1 percent. (And for anyone who cares about the math, 219 is exponentially less than 1 percent of the nearly 2.2 million votes cast.)
Obenshain, a state senator from Richmond, and Herring, a state senator from Loudoun County, exchanged leads a few times overnight as ballots came in, but neither one opened a big enough lead in their contest to succeed outgoing attorney general (and failed Republican gubernatorial candidate) Ken Cuccinelli.
Both candidates’ campaigns have said that they will request a recount, setting up a replay of the 2005 attorney general’s race, which went to a recount after Democrat Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell finished within 323 votes of each other.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
What It Felt Like for a Virginia Marching Band to Win Metallica’s Contest
What’s IN and OUT in DC Restaurant Trends for 2024
Introducing 8 of DC’s Most Stylish
Best of Washington 2023: Things to Eat, Drink, Do, and Know Right Now
Washingtonian Magazine
May 2024: Great Getaways
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
13 Major Concerts and Music Festivals in the DC Area This Spring
Mary Timony on Her Emotional New Album, “Untame the Tiger”
The Beatles in DC: A New Exhibit in Maryland Looks Back on Early Beatlemania
Northern Virginia High School Wins Metallica’s Marching Band Competition
More from News & Politics
These Volunteers Wake Up at Dawn to Collect DC’s Dead—and Injured—Birds
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This May
Democrats and Republicans Pass Balls, Not Bills, at Congressional Soccer Game
3 New Memoirs by Prominent Women
Everything You Wanted to Know About Urban Bear Sightings but Were Afraid to Ask, Because Who Wants to Get That Close to a Bear?
Rockville Police Are Searching for Culprits of a $4,500 Pickleball Paddle Heist
Dozens of Vintage Planes Will Fly Over the National Mall This Saturday
PHOTOS: “Rupaul’s Drag Race” Queens Work It at the National Mall