Welcome to the 6-part series on how the Tea Party has impacted America for the worse in the past 5 years. We're now on the 4th part of the series: the impact that the Tea Party made in the 2010 and 2012 elections.
This report will be a 6-part series on the Tea Party Movement 5 Years Later:
02.19.2014: The beginnings of the largely astroturfed Tea Party Movement
02.20.2014: Tea Party: Who's Who and the roles they played
02.21.2014: The issues that the Tea Party Movement has advocated for or against
02.27.2014: The Tea Party's impact on the 2010 and 2012 elections
02.28.2014: The impact of how the Tea Party's influence and governing has paralyzed governing in the nation and the states
03.01.2014: The future of the Tea Party Movement in 2014, 2016, and beyond
Hashtag to use: #TeaParty5YL
2009:
In Virginia, due to incumbent Democratic Governor Tim Kaine being termed out, there was a battle which would decide the mood of the nation for 2010.
The contestants were Creigh Deeds for the Democrats and Bob McDonnell for the GOP.
McDonnell won, but had a major scandal weighing him down at the end of his tenure.
Kaine went on to be a Senator in 2012.
Terry McAuliffe, who lost to Deeds in the primary, ran for Governor and won in 2013.
At the Attorney General level that same year in Virginia, Tea Party firebrand Ken Cuccinelli won his race.
He later lost his run for Governor in 2013.
In 2009, to replace the retiring Republican John McHugh, there was a special election that featured Dede Scozzafava as the GOP/Independence Party candidate, Bill Owens as the Democratic/Working Families Party candidate, and Tea Party favorite Doug Hoffman as the Conservative Party candidate.
Three days before the election, Scozzafava suspended her campaign and endorsed the eventual winner Owens (who would not run for re-election, effective the end of the 113th Congressional Session).
Maine's Question 1 (Vetoing Marriage Equality):
Vetoed, 52.75%-47.25%.
Maine will gain marriage equality back in 2012 on a ballot referendum.
2010:
Senate:
The Democrats lost seats, but still kept the majority of them due to-- ironically enough--- the Tea Party costing the GOP at least 3-5 seats.
To replace the deceased Progressive hero and Liberal Lion Ted Kennedy, there was a special election to fill out the remainder of his term.
For the Democrats, Martha Coakley was the candidate. The GOP ran Scott Brown.
Brown won the special to give the GOP a filibusterable minority, but then lost in 2012 to progressive hero Elizabeth Warren. Brown is currently a Fixed Noise contributor and is possibly considering a run for Senate in New Hampshire or the Presidency in 2016.
In Alaska, incumbent Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski ran again and lost in the GOP Primary to former Governor Sarah Palin-backed Tea Party lunatic Joe Miller.
Murkowski ran as a write-in Republican and won in the General that year.
She is expected to win her Senate race in 2016 if she survives a primary challenge from her party.
In Arkansas, Incumbent Senator Blanche Lincoln ran for re-election and had to fend off Bill Halter in the Democratic Primary. John Boozman was the GOP favorite to win the party's nomination.
In the general, a weakend Lincoln lost to Boozman.
In California, The GOP primary to decide who got to face off against incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer was pretty feisty between Assemblyman (and Tea Party favorite) Chuck DeVore, former HP CEO and Sarah Palin-backed Carly Fiorina, and former Congressman Tom Campbell.
Boxer ultimately won.
However, had this election been under Top 2 rules, the candidates for the November General would have been just Boxer and Fiorina, and Boxer would have still won.
In Colorado, due to incumbent Democratic Senator Ken Salazar's appointed to the Secretary of the Interior by President Obama, appointed Senator Michael Bennet had to ward off a primary challenge from Andrew Romanoff in order to get to the General.
The GOP had Tea Party crazy Ken "High Heels" Buck and former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton running.
Bennet's win kept this seat in the Donkeys' column.
In 2014, Bennet's primary challenger, Romanoff, is running against Congressman Mike Coffman in CO-06. Buck, the GOP primary winner, is running against Democratic Senator Mark Udall.
In Connecticut, to replace the retiring Democratic Senator Chris Dodd, WWE President and CEO Linda McMahon and Tea Party favorite Peter Schiff ran for the GOP.
Richard Blumenthal was the Democratic nominee.
In the general, Blumenthal won.
In Delaware, to fill in the rest of Vice President Joe Biden's term held by Democratic placeholder Ted Kaufman, a special election was held. The candidates on the GOP side were Congressman and former Governor Michael Castle (the more moderate of the two) and Christine O'Donnell (the more Tea Party-aligned of the two). Chris Coons was the Democratic Party's candidate.
In the end, the moment O'Donnell won her primary, Coons was the winner. This seat is up again in 2014.
In Florida, to replace the retired Republican Senator Mel Martinez and appointed replacement George LeMieux, the GOP primary was between then-Republican Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio (a Tea Party favorite). The Democrats had Congressman Kendrick Meek as their candidate.
After Rubio won the GOP primary, Crist switched to Independent (and in 2013, to the Democrats in a bid to take back the Governorship).
In the General, Rubio won over Crist and Meek, who both split the left-leaning/moderate vote.
Rubio has been speculated about as a 2016 Presidential candidate for the GOP. His support for immigration reform has branded him a "RINO" to the Tea Party and the anti-immigrant wing of the GOP. He will likely run for Senate in 2016, with him being a 50-50 favorite to hold on to his seat.
In Kentucky, to replace the retiring GOP Senator Jim Bunning, the more moderate-leaning (and McConnell-endorsed) then-Secretary of State Trey Grayson lost to the Tea Party-aligned (and outgoing Senator Bunning-endorsed) Rand Paul.
For the Democrats, Attorney General Jack Conway and Lt. Gov Daniel Mongiardo ran. Conway ran.
In the General, Rand Paul won over Conway.
Conway ran and won his AG race the next year. Paul has been bandied about as a potential GOP Presidential candidate in 2016.
Paul, if he decides not to run for 1600 or drops out of the Presidential race, could be a 50-50 bet to win or lose his Senate seat in 2016.
In Missouri, to replace the retiring Republican Senator Kit Bont, Roy Blunt (who survived a primary challenge from Tea Party-backed State Sen. Chuck Purgason) was the GOP candidate. Robin Carnahan was the Democratic candidate.
Blunt won the General in November.
Had this election been held in 2006, 2008, or 2012, then Blunt would very have lost.
In 2016, unless Jay Nixon runs against Blunt or gets primaried from the right, Blunt should still be the favorite to win.
In Nevada, incumbent Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) was in the fight of his life during most of the 2010 elections. The GOP's candidates were Sue "Chicken Lady" Lowden and Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle. Angle won the primary to face Reid.
As expected, Reid hung on.
In New Hampshire, to replace the retiring Republican Senator Judd Gregg, The Democrats ran Congressman Paul Hodes and the GOP ran former New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte and Tea Party favorite Ovide Lamontagne.
Ayotte won her primary and the General that year.
In 2016, she has a decent chance of losing her Senate Seat.
In Ohio, to replace the retiring Republican Senator George Voinovich, former Congressman and Bush 43 official Rob Portman was the GOP candidate and Lee Fisher was the Democratic candidate.
Portman won, and was on the shortlist of potential VPs for Mitt Romney in 2012.
In 2013, he came out and supported marriage equality, which infuriated the Rod Parsley/SoCon wing of the GOP in that state.
In 2016, he has a decent shot of holding on to the Senate seat depending on the Democratic candidate challenging him and the mood of the nation at that time.
In Pennsylvania, former Congressman Pat Toomey won this Senate Seat over Congressman Joe Sestak. Sestak defeated party-switcher Arlen Specter in the Primary.
Toomey is probably going to lose in 2016, if he decides to run again.
In Utah, incumbent Republican Bob Bennett was tossed out at the convention, in favor of Tea Party wunderkind Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater. Bridgewater had the most votes, but not enough to avoid the runoff against Lee.
Lee won the primary and general. He will likely run again in 2016.
In Wisconsin, incumbent Democratic Senator Russ Feingold lost in 2010 to Tea Party kook Ron Johnson.
Johnson is expected to lose if he runs again in 2016.
House:
The Democrats lost control of the House.
In Pennsylvania's 12th District, to replace the deceased Democrat John Murtha, Mark Critz and Tim Burns were the candidates to face off for their respective parties.
Critz won and held on in the 2010 general. He later lost in the 2012 general to Republican Keith Rothfus after defeating Jason Altmire in the 2012 Democratic Party primary.
In the 2010 general election, there were several losses for the Dems, but we're looking at the most notable events, such as Allen West and Joe Walsh.
FL-08: Progressive hero Alan Grayson lost to Daniel "Taliban Dan" Webster. Grayson ran for Congress in 2012 in FL-09, defeating GOPer Todd Long in his bid to get back into Congress.
FL-22: Allen West defeated incumbent Ron Klein. West lost to former GOP-turned Democrat Patrick Murphy in 2012. He accused his opponent of "rigging the election."
IL-08: Incumbent Democratic Congressman Melissa Bean lost to deadbeat dad Joe Walsh. Walsh lost in 2012 to Democrat Tammy Duckworth.
IL-17: Incumbent Democratic Congressman Phil Hare got caught napping, as Bobby Schilling won. In 2012, he lost to Cheri Bustos and is planning to run against her again.
MN-08: Longtime Democratic Congressman Jim Oberstar lost to 1-term Tea Partier Chip Cravaack. Cravaack lost to former Congressman Rick Nolan in 2012.
MS-01: In 2010, Travis Childers lost to Allen Nunnelee. Childers is possibly running for the Senate in 2014 against either incumbent Thad Cochran or Teabagger/Neo-Conferderate Chris McDaniel. Nunnelee is still in Congress.
MS-04: Incumbent Gene Taylor lost to Steven Palazzo. Palazzo's still in Congress.
MO-04: Incumbent Ike Skelton has lost his grip on the increasingly reddening seat, when he lost to Vicky Hartzler, a far-right loon with connections to the Tea Party movement. Skelton died in October 2013.
NC-01: Incumbent Bob Etheridge lost to Renee Ellmers. Ellmers is still in Congress, while Etheridge ran for Governor and lost to Walter Dalton (who lost to Pat McCrory).
NH-01: Carol Shea-Porter lost to hard-righty Frank Guinta. CSP got her seat back in 2012.
PA-11: Hard-right xenophobe Lou Barletta won over longtime incumbent Paul Kanjorski. Barletta is still in Congress.
SD-AL: Tea Party-aligned Kristi Noem defeated Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin. Noem is still in Congress.
TX-27: Solomon Ortiz lost to Blake Farenthold. Farenthold still represents Congress.
VA-09: Rick Boucher lost to Morgan Griffith. Griffith is still in Congress.
Governor:
In California, to replace term-limited Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governor Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman were the two main contestants (and would've been the Top 2 in the General had such rules been in effect then).
Brown won, and is a heavy favorite to win in 2014.
In Colorado, Incumbent Democratic Governor Bill Ritter retired.
That set up a three-way matchup between Democrat John Hickenlooper, Republican Dan Maes, and Constitution Party (and quasi-GOP) Tom Tancredo.
Hickenlooper won the election, and more importantly for the GOP, Dan Maes got 11%, which kept them above the 10% threshold of being declared a "major party."
Hickenlooper is favored to win in 2014, and is a pick for a potential Democratic candidate's cabinet slot or a VP slot in 2016
In Illinois, Incumbent Governor Pat Quinn ran for re-election. Both parties' primaries were very close, as Quinn held off Dan Hynes in his party primary. On the GOP side, it was a lot closer, as State Senators Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard were separated by less than 200 voters, in which Brady won that primary.
In the general, despite Quinn's initial running mate being forced off the ballot into an Independent bid and him losing in most polls, he pulled out the victory over far-right extremist Brady.
Had Brady won, marriage equality and medical marijuana would not be occurring right now in the Land of Lincoln.
The top 2 GOP primary challengers in 2010 are trying their luck to topple Quinn again in 2014.
In Maine, due to incumbent Democratic Governor John Baldacci being termed out, Tea Party extremist Paul LePage won with 38.33% of the vote, putting him at around 2% ahead of lead challenger Independent (and quasi-Democrat) Eliot Cutler. The official Democrat, Libby Mitchell, finished 3rd. The fourth candidate and the 2nd Independent, Shawn Moody, with his 5%, may have thrown the election to LePage.
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In Michigan, due to incumbent Democratic Governor Jen Granholm being term-limited, the candidates were Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero for the Dems and Rick Snyder for GOP.
Synder won the GOP primary over Pete Hoekstra and Mike Cox to win the general over Bernero in 2010.
Synder should be a 50-50 favorite to lose his slot in 2014.
In Minnesota, due to incumbent Governor Tim Pawlenty's decision to not run again in 2010.
The candidates were Mark Dayton for the Dems (who narrowly won his primary against Kelliher), Tom Emmer for the GOP, and Tom Horner for the Independence Party.
In one of the few good outcomes for the Dems that night, Dayton won. He's a heavy favorite to win in 2014.
Emmer is running to replace Michele Bachmann in her House seat.
In New York, due to incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson (who replaced Eliot Spitzer due to his resignation), the Dems' nominee Andrew Cuomo was a heavy favorite to win.
Rick Lazio lost the GOP primary to Tea Party nut Carl Paladino (also endorsed by the Conservative Party). Lazio did, however, win the Conservative Party primary, only to resign. Jimmy McMillan ran on the Rent Is Too Damn High ticket.
Cuomo won this race, and is on a potential shortlist for a potential 2016 White House run.
In Pennsylvania, due to incumbent Democratic Governor Ed Rendell being term limited, the battle to govern the state was down to Democrat Dan Onorato and Republican Tom Corbett.
Corbett won the election. He is likely projected to lose in 2014.
In South Carolina, to replace scandal-ridden termed out Governor Mark Sanford, Tea Party-backed Nikki Haley and Vincent Sheheen ran as the party's candidates (GOP and Democratic, respectively).
Haley won her race, and should narrowly hold on in 2014.
In Wisconsin, due to incumbent Democratic Governor Jim Doyle deciding to NOT run for re-election, Tom Barrett and Scott Walker were the candidates.
Walker won the election.
When the two faced off again in the 2012 recalls, Walker held on.
He is a 50-50 shot to lose his re-election bid in 2014, and is being talked about as a 2016 candidate for the GOP.
Other Statewide:
California's Prop 14 (Top 2):
Passed, 53.8%-46.2%
Missouri Prop C (Anti-Obamacare):
Passed 71.1%-28.9%. Tea Party groups in that state heavily supported Prop C.
In the Attorney General Election for Florida in 2010, GOPer and Tea Party-aligned Pam Bondi won.
State Legislative Control (only those that were contested in 2010): 14 with Dems controlling both, 6 split, 25 with GOP controlling both (11 switched hands to GOP)
2011:
House:
In New York's 26th District, to replace the scandal-ridden GOP incumbent Chris Lee, Kathy Hochul was the Democratic Party/WFP candidate, Jane Corwin was the Republican/Conservative/IPoNY candidate, Jack Davis was the Tea Party candidate, and Ian Murphy for the Greens.
The election was seen as a battle for the PPACA and its future, with Hochul supporting it and Corwin opposing it.
Hochul won the special, only for her to lose in 2012 to Chris Collins in the General.
Also in New York, to replace incumbent Democrat Anthony Weiner, a special was called.
David Weprin was the Democratic/WFP/IPoNY candidate and Bob Turner was the Republican/Conservative candidate.
Turner won, but decided not to run again due to redistricting.
California's 36th District had a special election to replace Democrat Jane Harman, with Janice Hahn (D) and Tea Party-backed Craig Huey (R) winning the special all-party primary, which was under special election rules.
Hahn won, and is still in Congress.
Other Statewide:
The Supposedly Non-Partisan Wisconsin Supreme Court Election was very controversial, in part due to Waukesha County.
GOP-aligned David Prosser won narrowly over Democratic-aligned JoAnne Kloppenberg.
Mississippi's Initiative 26 (aka Personhood Amendment):
Failed, 57.43%-42.37%.
Ohio's Issue 2 that vetoes SB5:
SB5 Repealed, 61.33%-38.67%
2012:
Senate:
The Democrats kept control and even added two extra seats, which could prove to be important for 2014.
In Arizona, to replacing retiring Republican incumbent Jon Kyl, Jeff Flake ran for the GOP and Richard Carmona ran for the Democrats.
Flake won, but with less than 50%.
In Indiana, as incumbent Republican Richard Lugar was going for his 7th term, he was buzzsawed by Tea Party groups in the primary by Richard Mourdock.
What happened next went from bad to worse for Mourdock: he made callous comments about abortion under the circumstance of rape.
Joe Donnelly (who was anti-choice with exceptions for rape, incest, and the mother's life) was the favorite the moment Lugar lost the Primary, but pretty much clinched it after Mourdock's remarks.
On election day, Donnelly won, giving the seat to the Democrats.
In Maine, to replace retiring Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, Former Maine Gov. Angus King ran as an Independent, Cynthia Dill was the Democrat, and Charlie Summers as the GOPer.
King won, as he would caucus with the Democrats.
In Massachusetts, for the new full 6-year term, Incumbent Scott Brown decided to run for re-election.
He was challenged by progressive hero and Democrat Elizabeth Warren.
Brown lost to Warren, and he's possibly running in New Hampshire for a Senate seat there 2014.
In Michigan, Incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow ran for re-election.
Her challenger was Pete Hoekstra, who ran the egregiously and racially offensive ad during Super Bowl Sunday that year .
Stabenow won.
In Missouri, Incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill ran for re-election, and was in deep polling trouble for most of the cycle.
The GOP primary was a three-way between Congressman Todd Akin, former State Senator (and Sarah Palin-backed) Sarah Steelman, and CEO John Brunner.
Akin won the primary, partially due to McCaskill's "Akin is too Conservative for Missouri ad."
On the August 19th, 2012 edition of KTVI (Fox affiliate in St. Louis)'s The Jaco Report, Mr. Akin became forever known as "Mr. Legitimate Rape" due to his views on the subject.
He lost any shot he had of winning the moment he uttered "legitimate rape."
McCaskill won in November.
In Nebraska, to replace the retiring Ben Nelson, the GOP had a competitive primary in Jon Bruning, Deb Fischer, and Don Stenberg.
Fischer won the primary and the general over former Senator Bob Kerrey.
In North Dakota, Incumbent Democrat Kent Conrad retired.
The contestants were Rick Berg for the GOP and Heidi Heitkamp for the Dems.
Heitkamp won narrowly.
In Texas, to replace the retiring GOP Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, there was a very competitive GOP primary.
The Primary had Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, and Canadian-born former State Solicitor General (and Tea Party-backed) Ted Cruz.
Dewhurst was seen as the favorite throughout the primary, but Cruz's goal was to force him below 50% to force it to a runoff.
Dewhurst had the most votes in the primary; however, since Cruz kept him below 50%, a runoff it went, and the latter won it, essentially giving him the Senate seat.
In Wisconsin, to replace the retiring Democratic Senator Herb Kohl, Tammy Baldwin won for the Democrats, and the GOP had a competitive primary between Eric Hovde, Mark Neumann, and Tommy Thompson.
Thompson won due to the Tea Party being split between Hovde and Neumann.
In the general, progressive icon Baldwin won.
House:
The GOP kept control of the House, but the Dems gained 8 seats.
AR-04: With incumbent Democrat Mike Ross retiring, Tom Cotton ran and won.
Cotton is the GOP nominee for Senate against Mark Pryor in 2014.
FL-03: Crazy Cliff Stearns lost to even crazier Ted Yoho in the primary.
FL-18: Allen West lost to Democrat Patrick Murphy.
FL-19: Trey Radel ran and won for the GOP.
IL-08: Deadbeat Dad Joe Walsh lost to Iraq War veteran and Democrat Tammy Duckworth.
IL-12: To replace the retiring Democrat Jerry Costello, Bill Enyart (who replaced primary winner Brad Harriman) and Jason Plummer were the candidates.
Enyart won.
IL-13: Due to redistricting, this became a Central/South Central/Metro East seat which had Rodney Davis run for the GOP (to replace incumbent Tim Johnson), perennial candidate David Gill, and independent John Hartmann.
Davis won, partially due to the 3rd party candidate.
IL-17: Bobby Schilling lost to Democrat with future statewide ambitions Cheri Bustos.
KY-06: Incumbent Ben Chandler lost to GOP candidate Andy Barr.
MI-11: Thad McCotter failed to make the ballot due to fraudulent signatures, was replaced with Santa Claus impersonator Kerry Bentivolio.
Bentivolio lost the short-term election to fill the rest of McCotter's term, but won the full term.
MN-06: 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate and person who started the Huma Abedin witchhunt Michele Bachmann barely held on to this very safe GOP seat against Democrat Jim Graves.
MN-08: Chip Cravaack lost to former Congressman Rick Nolan, who makes his return.
OK-01: John Sullivan was primaried by far-right loon James Bridenstine. Bridenstine won the general.
PA-12: Mark Critz won the Democratic Party Primary over Jason Altmire, but lost the general to GOPer Keith Rothfus.
TX-36: The return of Steve Stockman into Congress. He resigned to run for Senate in 2014.
Governor:
In Wisconsin for the Recall Election, It was a rematch of the 2010 elections with the incumbent Scott Walker facing a recall against him versus Democratic challenger Tom Barrett.
Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch was also subjected to a recall, facing off against Mahlon Mitchell.
Tea Party and right-wing interest groups went all in to defend Walker, Kleefisch, and other GOPers.
In the end, due to right-wing outside spending, Walker, Kleefisch, and all but one of the GOP Senators held on.
In Indiana, due to incumbent GOP Governor Mitch Daniels not being able to seek a third term due to term limits, there was a battle to replace him between GOP Congressman Mike Pence and Democrat John Gregg.
Pence won, but with less than 50%.
Due to the HJR3 drama as to whether it should have included or omitted the 2nd sentence, Pence will possibly lose in 2016.
In Montana, to replace term-limited incument Brian Schweitzer, there was an election held to replace him.
Steven Bullock held it for the Dems by defeating Rick Hill.
In North Carolina, due to incumbent Bev Perdue's decision to retire, there was a battle to replace her.
Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and former Congressman Bob Etheridge were the primary Dems running.
The GOP had former Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory running.
Dalton won the primary for the Dems, but got beat by McCrory in the general.
McCrory has wreaked havoc on that state (which will be explained in more detail in the next edition).
Other Statewide:
In the Wisconsin State Senate, the Wisconsin GOP used Fake Democrats to deceive folks in to supporting Walker's agenda. Thankfully, all four of the Real Democrats won their primary.
All except Van Wanggaard won their recall elections.
North Carolina's Amendment 1 (Constitutionally Banning Marriage Equality):
Passed, 61.04%-38.96%
Maine's Question 1 (Reinstation of Marriage Equality):
Passed, 51.5%-46.2%
Maryland's Question 6 (Legalization of Marriage Equality):
Passed, 52.4%-47.6%.
Washington's Referendum 74 (Legalization of Marriage Equality):
Passed, 53.7%-46.3%
Minnesota's Amendment 1 (Constitutionally Banning Marriage Equality):
Failed, 52.56%-47.44%
The next year, in 2013, Minnesota got marriage equality passed.
Colorado's Amendment 64 (Legalization of Marijuana):
Passed, 55.32%-44.68%
Washington's Initiative 502 (Legalization of Marijuana):
Passed, 55.7%-44.3%
2013:
Senate:
In New Jersey, due to the death of Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg, there was a special election to fill his term out.
GOP placeholder Jeff Chiesa did NOT run in the special.
The candidates were Steve Lonegan for the GOP and Cory Booker for the Democrats.
In the end, Booker won.
House:
In the South Carolina 1st Congressional District, to fill in Senator Tim Scott's seat, there was a special between Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch and scandal-ridden GOPer Mark Sanford.
In the end, Sanford won the seat.
Due to Repub Congressman Jo Bonner's retirement, Alabama's 1st Congressional District had a special election to determine who was its next representative.
The more moderate-leaning Bradley Byrne and more Tea Party-aligned Dean Young were the two candidates for the GOP runoff.
In the end, Byrne won.
In Duck Commander's home district (LA-05), due to Rodney Alexander's resigning, there was a jungle primary to decide who the top two were.
The top two ended up being GOP v. GOP, with Neil Riser being the more Tea Party aligned candidate and Duck Commander-backed Vance McAllister being the candidate that was more palatable to the Democratic voters of that district, due to his support for Medicaid Expansion and fixing the PPACA instead of repealing it altogether.
Thanks to the pull of Duck Dynasty, McAllister won.
Governor:
In Virginia, due to the 1-term rule for Governors, Bob McDonnell cannot run for this election.
The candidates were Terry McAuliffe for the Dems, Ken Cuccinelli for the GOP, and Robert Sarvis for the Libertarian Party.
McAuliffe defeated the TP favorite Kookinelli.
Other Statewide:
In the Lt. Gov race in Virginia, to replace incumbent GOPer Bill Bolling, the seat became open.
E.W. Jackson got nominated for the GOP due to the convention system.
The Dems got Ralph Northam in the primary and won the general over nutcase Jackson, thus getting to play the 21st Democrat in the Senate to cast tiebreaking votes in his party's favor.
In the Attorney General race to succeed Cuccinelli, Mark Herring and Mark Obenshain were the candidates for their respective parties in the Mark-on-Mark race.
Herring won the seat, putting it in Democratic hands.
The Democrats won both of the special elections to replace Northam and Herring, thus giving them control of the Senate.