Hillary Clinton was able to win Virginia. But it was not as decisive a victory as many Democrats were hoping for.
Democrats took Virginia in 2008 and then again in 2012, leading many to believe that this formerly Republican state may no longer be a swing state at at all. Many Democrats were willing to believe that Virginia and it’s thirteen electoral votes had now moved into the blue column. But then election returns started coming in.
“But you know a win is a win," said Democratic Party chairwoman Susan Swecker. "So that’s one we are very proud of and we are going to take it to the bank."
Democrats might be taking their statewide victory to the bank. But it doesn’t have the value they hoped it would. Quentin Kidd at Christopher Newport University says Hillary Clinton just did not have the same kind of appeal that Barack Obama had.
“It looks like Latino voters especially in Manassas and Prince William and then on the eastern side of Chesterfield County turned out for her," Kidd said. "But her base was simply not as deep as Barack Obama’s had been."
Democrats won’t have long to dig through election returns and figure out how they could have done better. The next election for governor is only a few months away.