Lining his political coffers with $34.4 million, including a surge of $8 million in the last week, former Democrat fundraiser Terry McAuliffe was able to squeak out a victory on Tuesday over Republican challenger Ken Cuccinelli in the Virginia governor’s race.
McAuliffe, a strident supporter of Obamacare, enjoyed a huge advantage early on in the contest. Yet, over the last month, in concurrence with the disastrous roll out of the Affordable Care Act, not coincidentally he saw the race tighten.
The upshot of Cuccinelli’s strong showing and the negative effect the Obamacare proceedings had on the race sends chills up the spine for some Democrat hopefuls in 2014. Runner up State Attorney General Cuccinelli offered what may be a mantra for other Republican candidates as the 2014 midterm elections draw closer. “I’m scared to death about what Obamacare is doing,” he repeated frequently during his campaign.
Decidedly, Cuccinelli could not overcome the early progress that McAuliffe harvested from the limited government shutdown. This, coupled with McAuliffe’s last minute advertising onslaught on Cuccinelli’s anti-abortion stance, dowsed the flame of a Cuccinelli triumph.
Last minute support from leading Republican supporters like Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. Marco Rubio (FL), and Rand Paul (KY) could not help propel Cuccinelli’s campaign to victory.
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