New Virginia Governor Played To Suburbs In Win

Suburban voters in Virginia concerned with transportation and growth control may have swung the election to the Democrat Gov.-elect Timothy Kaine in the governor's race.

November 11, 2005, 11am PST | Brenda Meyer

"Not since L. Douglas Wilder's historic run for governor in 1989 has a Democrat captured a majority of the vote for governor in Loudoun County. Democrats in Prince William County have been waiting even longer.

...Kaine reached out to voters in these rapidly growing outer communities who are accustomed to the dust and traffic that come with new homes. The Democratic candidate proposed new tools for local governments to slow growth if they found that traffic would overwhelm the roads.

"Kaine ran this commercial on a big ad buy that showed bulldozers and said: 'I hear you. I'm on your side with this,' " said Robert E. Lang, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech."

Thanks to B. Pearl

Full Story:

Newcomers Push Outer Suburbs Left

Published on Thursday, November 10, 2005 in The Washington Post