Virginia Governor Race: McAuliffe wins nailbiter Virginia governor's race

 

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) addresses the crowd during an election night rally for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe in Tyson's Corner, Virginia November 5, 2013.

(Reuters) - Democratic Party insider Terry McAuliffe won the Virginia governor's race on Tuesday by narrowly beating Republican Ken Cuccinelli, a Tea Party favorite who seized on the rocky launch of the U.S. healthcare program to try to keep the contest close.

State election board results showed McAuliffe, a Democratic fundraiser and close friend of former President Bill Clinton, had 48 percent of the vote to 45 percent for Cuccinelli, Virginia's attorney general, with almost all precincts reporting.
McAuliffe squeaked to a win in the Southern state with a strong showing from wealthy, liberal-leaning Washington suburbs. His victory cemented Virginia as a battleground state for both parties ahead of midterm congressional elections next year and the presidential election in 2016.
McAuliffe, who had never held elected office, told cheering supporters in Tysons Corner, a Washington suburb, that the race had never been simply choosing between Democrats and Republicans.
"It was a choice between whether Virginia would continue the mainstream bipartisan tradition that has served us so well over the last decade," he said, his voice hoarse.
Record amounts of outside money flowed into the campaign as McAuliffe heavily outspent Cuccinelli and national Democratic figures attempted to make the vote a referendum on the Tea Party, a small-government wing of the Republican Party.
Trailing in polls, Cuccinelli, 45, attacked President Barack Obama's signature healthcare program, which has been plagued with technical difficulties since its October 1 launch, and narrowed McAuliffe's lead. McAuliffe supports the law known as Obamacare.