Virginia Democratic Primary- June 9th

On June 9th, Democrats all around Virginia went to the polls to vote in the Virginia Democratic primary election. Primaries are internal party elections held in order to select that party's candidate for the general election in November. In other words, they're like playoff games held to select which teams will play in the championship game. Anywho, there were three main candidates seeking the Democratic nomination:

- Terry McAuliffe, the chief fundraiser and organizer of Bill Clinton's presidential election wins;

- Creigh Deeds, a state senator from Bath County and a bit of a moderate

- Brian Moran, former state delegate from northern Virginia

From the get-go, everyone figured that McAuliffe was gonna win this thing in a landslide. He's a fantastic fundraiser, had TOOONNNNSSSS of money, and instant name recognition. Everyone, that is, except for yours truly. You see, people don't get excited about primary elections. They've got better things to do, like watch paint dry. When election day came around, only 6% of Virginia's 5 million voters came out to vote! And most of that 6% were Deeds supporters!

So, this sets up an exciting gubernatorial election this November between moderate Democrat Creigh Deeds and moderate Republican Bob McDonnell. "Wait, moderate vs. moderate? How is that exciting?" you may be asking yourself. Simple....the Virginia gubernatorial election (along with New Jersey's) is the first election since we've had a new president. The national media and national politicians will be paying attention and viewing them as sort of opinion poll on how President Obama is doing. If Democrats do well in Virginia and Jersey, the media will view it as an approval of Obama's policies. If vice versa, then Obama will seek new changes in his policies. Keep an eye on the Virginia governor race!