The final election of 2013 draws to a close Wednesday afternoon, when Virginia Republican Mark Obenshain is set to concede the state attorney general's race to Democrat Mark Herring.
Obenshain's defeat, the one of the narrowest in state history, completes the first Democratic sweep of the state's top five offices since 1969.
The State Board of Elections certified Herring's victory by just 165 votes after the November 5 election, a margin so thin it automatically triggered a government-funded recount. Herring's lead has swelled to some 800 votes, with fewer than 120 votes "challenged" and 73 percent of ballots recounted.
“We continue to gain margin at a steady pace, and we expect to continue to do so through the rest of the day and through the rest of the recount,” said Herring attorney Marc Elias. “We remain confident that Mark Herring will be declared the winner of the recount.”
Herring will succeed Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican who lost the governor's race to Democrat Terry McAuliffe. Ralph Northam, also a Democrat, will be sworn in as lieutenant governor in January after defeating conservative firebrand E.W. Jackson.
Virginia is represented by former governors Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, in the U.S. Senate.
[Washington Post]
