Dear Fellow Libertarians, The election is over and you're probably thinking the LPVA had yet another disappointing result. Well yes and no. While none of our candidates won their races, there are some significant signs of growth.
Traditionally Libertarian candidates in 3-way races get about 1-2% of the vote, while Libertarians in 2-way races get a little less than 20%. We did a lot better than that this year. The two candidates who were in 3-way races both did about 3 times better than our traditional results. The two candidates in 2-way races also both did better than the usual 20% Here is a quick recap of each campaign's achievements. Don Tabor running against Sen. Harry Blevins in the 14th district, had the best showing at the polls. Don scored almost 29% of the vote, blowing away the previous record for a 2-way senate race. Also Don actually won a precinct (VA Beach - 073 Dahlia, 218 to 217), which is something I cannot recall any LPVA candidate at this level doing. In the precincts in Virginia Beach, Don received almost 40% of the vote. Very impressive compared to what we usually see from Libertarian candidates. Matt Martin ran in Henrico County for Brookland District Supervisor. Matt ran in 2005 for House of Delegates and we saw some significant organizational improvements over that campaign. Matt doubled the number of active volunteers from his 2005 campaign. Over 7,000 homes received personal visits from volunteers. He had a much more visible campaign with ads in the local paper and a number of press mentions. Finally he participated in a debate with his opponents. Unfortunately a late third entry into the race, turned the race from a sure victory against an unpopular incumbent into a challenging three way race. This coupled with the abysmally low turnout (25%) allowed the little old lady vote to dominate and reelect the incumbent. Also in Henrico County, George Marchenko ran for Tuckahoe District Supervisor. George also managed to break the 20% barrier at the polls. His campaign also received some notable endorsements. Most importantly George got the media and his opponent to talk about her role in the County's expensive and shady land deals. The investigation is underway and the Henrico's land purchase practices will change because of George. Finally we had Arin Sime running against Sen. Emmett Hangar in the 24th district. Arin also suffered from a late 3rd person entering the race. However even with the 3-way race Arin achieved some notable results. In fund raising, Arim raised almost $45,000 the 2nd highest any LPVA candidate has ever raced for any race. Arin also got numerous mentions in the media. The Libertarian Party has three major tasks, to build a new 3rd political party, restore Constitutional government to the US, and to move the culture from dependence and oppression to self reliance and freedom. These are three monumental tasks which won't happen overnight. While this election proves we have not yet completed these tasks, it does show that we are making progress. Don, Matt, George, and Arin, their volunteers, and their donors all deserve a tremendous amount of thanks for their hard work. Convincing voters to support us, is a slow process done one voter at a time. However in Virginia we are fortunate to have an election every year and thus an opportunity to reach the voters every year. Next year I hope everyone will find some way to help move Virginia towards a more free society. Sincerely, Leonard T. Harris Chairman Libertarian Party of Virginia http://www.lpva.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] ############################################################# Have an announcement you'd like to post? SCC members & many committee heads are all authorized to post; or you may send your announcements to the List Master: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. ################################################## Unsubscribe: Send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with no subject and "Unsubscribe Announce" as the text. ############################################################# Libertarian Party of Virginia http://www.LPVA.com Phone: 703-715-6230
