Eric Cantor loses the number two spot in the House of Representatives, former Governor Bob McDonnell is convicted on corruption charges, and Mark Warner almost loses his U.S. Senate seat after one term.
Political analyst Bob Holsworth told social studies teachers at a Civics Summit that if he had predicted several years ago what happened to Virginia's most popular politicians this year, he probably would not have been invited to speak. But he offered some enlightenment about the Commonwealth’s recent electoral politics.
Holsworth says it's about the message. In Cantor's case, constituents believed he was out of touch with his base.
He says in Senator Warner's case, although people who voted for him the first time shifted their vote this time, it wasn't because he was unpopular.
And Holsworth says while he did see a small number of Republicans shift toward Robert Sarvis when the Libertarian ran for Governor, he saw more Democrats shift toward Sarvis during this Senate race—almost costing Warner the election. Holsworth also says voters in Democratic strongholds took the race for granted, and simply did not come out to vote.
