Amherst voters’ support for GOP is solid

By Scott Marshall

Published: November 12, 2008

Click here to see how Amherst County residents voted on Election Day

Amherst County remains solidly Republican, and by the same percentage of voters who cast ballots in the 2000 election, though slightly less than the 2004 presidential election.

But last week’s election energized the Democrats, they say.

“Locally, it’s been quite a ride,” said Dave Burford, acting chairman of the Amherst County Democratic Party.

“The Amherst County party is energized in a way it hasn’t been, certainly in my memory, probably for many years.”

The Republicans note that the Democrats flooded organizers and money into the state effort

“In Virginia, Obama outspent (McCain) four to one,” said Stephen Witham, head of the Amherst County Republicans –– 275 paid Obama staffers worked in the state, compared with 26 for the McCain campaign, he said.

“My guess on this, because of the disparity, is that this might be the end of the public financing of things” for campaigns, Witham contended.

What he was referring to was the fact that McCain accepted federal matching funds and was limited to $84 million nationwide for the fall campaign. Obama agreed to do the same, changed his mind and then raised and spent much more than McCain was allowed, according to an Associated Press analysis.

As of mid-October, Obama had spent about $240 million on television and radio ads. McCain had spent about $115 million, and the Republican National Committee spent another $80 million on his behalf, according to AP.

More than 57 percent of Amherst County voters cast ballots for McCain, to more than 41 percent for Obama. Those are the identical percentages of voters who supported President Bush in 2000 election, compared with those who supported former Sen. Al Gore.

In this election, a majority of voters in all but one of the county’s 11 precincts (which was Wright Shop Road) voted for McCain. A slight majority of absentee ballots were cast for Obama, and a handful of provisional ballots, according to the State Board of Elections.

In this election, 8,470 people voted for McCain, compared to 6,094 for Obama. In 2004, 7,756 voted for Bush and 4,864 for John Kerry. In 2000, 6,660 people voted for Bush and 4,812 for Al Gore.

In other 2008 races in Amherst County, incumbent Rep. Bob Goodlatte beat challenger Sam Rasoul with 62 percent of the vote compared to nearly 36 percent. Former Gov. Mark Warner beat former Gov. Jim Gilmore for the Senate seat being vacated by John Warner, 57 percent to 41 percent.

The 2008 race was different, partially because “a lot of that had to do with the candidate himself,” Burford said of Obama. “It was a great learning experience for us.”

Local Democrats believe the 2008 presidential race made them stronger because of Obama’s organizational effort.

“Really, part of their mission, from the beginning, was to come and organize and get Obama elected, but to leave us with a better organization, stronger local committee,” Burford said.

Republicans still are examining what happened.

“The interest level was greatly heightened,” Witham said. One cause behind Virginia’s shift to become Democratic was “most likely, the growth of population in Northern Virginia,” he said. “If people are mostly working for the federal government or have a company with a contract with the federal government, they’re probably more liberal,” Witham said. Another possible factor, he said: “Both of the George Bushes had the experience of ending their career with an economic downturn.”

Polling was, for the most part, smooth, said Amherst County Registrar Gary Beasley.

Voting machines malfunctioned temporarily in the Temperance, Coolwell and Lonco precincts. “We had to use paper ballots (temporarily) at Temperance and a short while at Coolwell and Lonco,” Beasley said.

Both sides examined voting machines at some point, either during absentee balloting or on Election Day, he said.