After Democratic Candidate Ralph Northam wins the Virginia State Election, students share their opinions on the results

On November 7, Virginians went to the polls to vote for their respective candidates for Governor of Virginia. The candidates for Governor were Ralph Northam (Democrat), Edward “Ed” Gillespie (Republican), and Clifford Hyra (Libertarian). Along with Virginia, there was also an election for New Jersey Governor.

Democrat Ralph Northam was elected Governor with 1,405,041 votes or 53.9%, while Ed Gillespie got 1,173,326 votes or 45%. Justin Fairfax (Democrat) was elected Lieutenant Governor and Mark Herring (Democrat) was re-elected Attorney General. “I’m very happy about the results because lots of Democrats, women, and minorities like LGBT people and immigrants won,” said sophomore Molly Lum.

In Loudoun County alone, Northam won 59.40% of the vote versus Gillespie who won 39.49% according to the Virginia Board of Elections. “I’m very conservative, and I wish Gillespie would have won,” said junior Hayden Hawes. “Abortion is a big one for me because innocent human beings are being killed.”

The race, to some, was a referendum of the President’s job so far in office. The Democrats won by a nine-point margin which is their largest since 1985, when Gerald Baliles was elected Virginia Governor (NBC News). “This election really shows how I think a lot of people in Virginia feel about the presidency and a lot of other things happening,” said junior Gwyn Miles, members of the High School Democrats of America.

Danica Roem (Democrat) became the first transgender women to be elected to the Virginia state legislature. Roem won against Del. Robert G. Marshall (Republican) who wrote a failed, anti-LGBT law sometimes called the “bathroom bill” that would have restricted the bathrooms a transgender person could use. “It’s a big show saying that Virginia, which is usually a swing state and swung blue in the election, that we stayed with the Democratic party,” said Miles.

In addition to other gains, the Democrats also flipped at least 15 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates. Some local House of Delegates winners include Kathleen J. Murphy (D) (District 34), John Bell (D) (District 87), and David Reid (D) (District 32). “I’m also happy about Democrats winning seats in the Virginia House of Delegates because it’s the first step to better future presidents, or even impeaching the one we have now,” said Lum.

Governor-Elect Ralph Northam will be sworn in as Virginia Governor on January 13, 2018. The newly elected members of the Virginia House of Delegates will be sworn in on January 8, 2018.