RICHMOND — State Sen. Mark D.
Obenshain (R) conceded the race for Virginia attorney general to Democrat Mark
R. Herring on Wednesday, bringing the election to a belated end and giving
Democrats a sweep of statewide offices — but throwing control of the state
Senate into question.
The move allowed Herring to claim victory for the third time since
Nov. 5 in a contest that on election night was the closest statewide race in
Virginia history. It also spared a three-judge panel in Richmond from having to
continue slogging through more than 100 ballots that one side or the other had
challenged.
Attention turns to
the state Senate seat being vacated by Attorney General-elect Mark R. He
The choice angers
some abortion rights activists but is seen as the “best shot” for Medicaid
expansion.
And for the first time since Election Day, speculation in Virginia
political circles shifted from who would succeed Attorney General Ken
Cuccinelli II (R) to how differently the new attorney general would lead.
Herring spent much of the campaign promising not to run the
state’s law firm like Cuccinelli, a social conservative who waged high-profile
battles against a climate scientist, “Obamacare” and universities with policies
that protect gay people from discrimination.
“Virginians are looking for mainstream leadership,” Herring, a
state senator from Loudoun County, said during an afternoon news conference in
the Capitol on Wednesday. “They want good jobs. They want better education for
their children. They want a good transportation system that will serve our
growing economy.”
Obenshain conceded defeat after Herring’s attorney announced that
his client’s narrow lead had grown to more than 800 in a statewide recount that
began Monday and was scheduled to finish Wednesday.
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