Vienna area voters returned Del. Steve Shannon (D-35) to Richmond for a second two-year term. "I'm grateful that folks looked at me, and that they were willing to re-elect me," he said.
Unofficial results have Shannon winning big. With 94 percent of precincts reporting, Shannon won with 60 percent (13,717 votes) to Republican Jim Hyland's 39 percent (9,037 votes). The swing district had been a safe Republican seat for many years, but recently has been trending Democratic.
Shannon tied much of his campaign to outgoing Gov. Mark Warner (D), featuring the popular executive in much of his literature. Shannon touted his record as a former prosecutor and in developing Virginia's Amber Alert system to protect children from abduction.
His platform also included heavily relying on the 2004 tax increase which included funding increases for schools and public safety. Shannon largely stayed out of some hot-button development issues, like the MetroWest project, instead trying to broker more dialogue between various parties.
Shannon said he is most proud of staying positive throughout the campaign. "You can win by staying positive in Virginia," he said.
His challenger, Jim Hyland (R) ran decrying the tax hike because it did not dedicate sufficient funding to transportation. Hyland dove into the MetroWest issue, considering legislating a decrease in density from Richmond.
"I had many people come up to me and say they voted for me because of my stance on MetroWest," said Hyland. "If I'd run solely on that issue, things might have been different."
Hyland plans to continue to be active in the party, and congratulated Shannon on his victory. Hyland ran unsuccessfully for supervisor in 2003.
Overall, the night was a win for Democrats statewide. While still the minority party, Democrats held on to the governor's mansion and were able to pick up three seats in the House of Delegates in Northern Virginia.
Shannon attributes much of this success to Warner. "I think that the legacy of Gov. Warner is that he taught us to move in a bi-partisan manner," he said. "I think we need to continue that."
"I think trying to overcome a Democratic tide, and trying to overcome a Democratic incumbent was just too much," Hyland said. "I really have no regrets."
The assembly session will start in January with a new Governor, Tim Kaine (D). The upcoming session is a budget year for Virginia, which means that the Assembly will remain in session longer, until mid-March, as it develops a budget that will guide state spending for the next two years.
Connection Reporter Jason Hartke contributed to this story.