Virginia gubernatorial election, 2005

Infobox Election
election_name = Virginia gubernatorial election, 2005
country = United States
type = presidential
ongoing = no
previous_election = Virginia gubernatorial election, 2001
previous_year = 2001
next_election = Virginia gubernatorial election, 2009
next_year = 2009
election_date = 8 November 2005

nominee1 = Tim Kaine
party1 = Democratic Party (United States)
office = Lieutenant Governor
home_state1 = Virginia
popular_vote1 = 1,025,942
percentage1 = 51.7%

nominee2 = Jerry Kilgore
party2 = Republican Party (United States)
office = Attorney General of Virginia
home_state2 = Virginia
popular_vote2 = 912,327
percentage2 = 46.0%

map_

---

map_size = 350px
map_caption = Gubernatorial election results map. Red denotes counties won by Kilgore, Blue denotes those won by Kaine.

title = Governor
before_election = Mark Warner
before_party = Democratic Party (United States)
after_election = Tim Kaine
after_party = Democratic Party (United States)

The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2005 was a race for the Governor of Virginia, United States, held on November 8, 2005, and won by Democrat Tim Kaine. Virginia is the only state in the United States to prohibit governors from serving successive terms, so the popular incumbent, Mark R. Warner, could not run for reelection.

The primary election was held on June 14, 2005. Tim Kaine was unopposed for the Democratic nomination, and Jerry Kilgore easily defeated George Fitch with 82.5% of the vote for the Republican nomination.

The general election itself was expected to be close with Independent candidate Russ Potts as a possible spoiler candidate. Kaine remained behind in polls throughout most of the campaign, at one point 10 points behind Kilgore, but captured a slight lead in the final weeks of the campaign, due in part to a series of gaffes by the Kilgore campaign.

Some of these gaffes included:

* A television commercial launched by Kilgore accusing Kaine of being so against capital punishment that he wouldn't have executed Adolf Hitler or Saddam Hussein.
* A gaffe by Kilgore during a debate in which he refused to give a straight answer on whether he would sign a law banning abortion if Roe v. Wade was over-turned.
* Trying to back out of an October 9, 2005 debate that he previously agreed to with Kaine.

The final results of the election were 51.72% for Kaine, 45.99% for Kilgore, 2.22% for Potts, and 0.08% for other candidates.

The election was the most expensive in Virginia history, with the candidates combined raising over $42 million [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-31-virginia-gov_x.htm] .

Candidates

Democrats

* Tim Kaine - Lieutenant Governor and former Richmond Mayor

Republicans

* Jerry Kilgore - former Attorney General (Kilgore resigned in February 2005 to campaign full-time)

Independents/minor parties

* Russ Potts - Republican state senator from Winchester running as an independent.

Former candidates (unsuccessful primary candidates)

Republicans

* George Fitch (Virginia) - Mayor of Warrenton

Opinion polls

Results

Official results from the [http://www2.sbe.virginia.gov/web_docs/Election/results/2005/nov2005/html/ State Board of Elections] :Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Tim Kaine
votes = 1,025,942
percentage = 51.72
change = -0.4Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Jerry Kilgore
votes = 912,327
percentage = 45.99
change = -1.0Election box candidate
party = Independent
candidate = Russ Potts
votes = 43,953
percentage = 2.22
change = "N/A"Election box candidate
party = None
candidate = Write-Ins
votes = 1,556
percentage = 0.08
change = +0.1Election box majority
votes = 113,615
percentage = 5.73
change = +0.6Election box turnout
votes = 1,983,778
percentage = 44.96
change = -1.4Election box hold with party link
winner = Democratic Party (US)
swing = An underdog for most of the race, Kaine led in some polls for the first time in October 2005, and held his lead into the final week before the election. [ [http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2005/Virginia%20Governor_November%204.htm "VA: Kaine 49% Kilgore 46%"] - Rasmussen Reports, November 4, 2005] While the previous Democratic Governor, Mark Warner, was credited with doing especially well for a Democrat in rural areas of the commonwealth, Kaine's win featured surprising triumphs in traditionally Republican areas such as Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and the Northern Virginia exurbs of Prince William County and Loudoun County, as well as impressive showings in Democratic strongholds such as Richmond and Norfolk. [Shear, Michael D. (October 18, 2005). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/17/AR2005101701638.html?sub=AR "Kaine Sounds Slow-Growth Note in Exurbs"] . "Washington Post".]

Kaine closely associated himself with popular outgoing Democratic Governor Mark Warner during his campaign; he won his race by a slightly larger margin than Warner. He promised homeowner tax relief, centrist fiscal leadership, and universal pre-kindergarten. Fact|date=July 2008. A number of factors, from the sagging poll numbers of President George W. Bush to a public disgust over the death penalty ads run by Kilgore, have also been cited as key to his decisive win. [ [http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/wb/xp-36011 "Death penalty demagoguery"] . (October 13 2005). "The Roanoke Times".] [ [http://realclearpolitics.com/Congressional/VA_Gov_05.html "RealClear Politics - 2005 Virginia Gubernatorial Election"] . Retrieved November 4, 2005.] Kaine was inaugurated in Williamsburg on January 14, 2006. This makes Kaine the first Governor since Thomas Jefferson (in 1779) to be inaugurated in Virginia's colonial capital. Virginia's Capitol in Richmond was under renovation at the time, with the process completed in mid-2007.

External links

* [http://www2.sbe.virginia.gov/web_docs/Election/results/2005/nov2005/html/ Official Results] , Virginia State Board of Elections

ee also

*Commonwealth of Virginia
*List of Governors of Virginia