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Election 2009 stories

Gubernatorial race

• McDonnell calls for caution in surplus [with spending pie chart]
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RICHMOND -- His campaign was over, but governor-elect Bob McDonnell made another promise Wednesday as he began the transition from candidate to chief executive.

"I just want everybody in Virginia to know that I intend to govern the same way I campaigned," McDonnell said. "I try to tell people in a detailed way what we intend to do, and now that it's time to govern, I want to go about the business of getting the results and accomplishing those goals."

McDonnell was elected Virginia's 71st governor Tuesday, leading a Republican sweep that saw the GOP win all three statewide offices by wide margins and add at least five seats to its majority in the House of Delegates. McDonnell, the former attorney general, named key members of his transition team Wednesday and said he would go to work immediately on fulfilling a pledge to create jobs by "bringing in some of the best minds in Virginia and beyond to help in that endeavor."

McDonnell accepted congratulatory phone calls from President Obama and outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine, who vowed to make the transition "as smooth as possible." McDonnell will take office Jan. 16.

Bleary-eyed and a bit hoarse the day after his victory celebration, McDonnell told reporters at the state Capitol that he will stay focused on the same issues that dominated his campaign and earned him a mandate from voters.

"I intend to hold myself accountable for everything I said I was going to do," said McDonnell, who won 59 percent of the vote to defeat Democrat Creigh Deeds.

McDonnell will take office having to confront an ongoing budget crisis that has forced Kaine to reduce revenues by $7 billion over the past two years. State officials are anticipating an additional shortfall for the two-year budget period that begins July 1, conditions that Kaine said make a smooth transition critical.

"At a time when the economy and other issues are tough, it may be a little more important than normal," Kaine said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

Kaine will introduce his budget plan before leaving office, and said he hopes to "make an awful lot of the tough decisions to maybe enable the next governor to get a little breathing room, a little bit of momentum going."

McDonnell said he would discourage Kaine from proposing tax increases as part of a plan to offset a looming shortfall.

"I hope that we have some work together so that whatever the governor is able to propose, it's things that I would support," McDonnell said. "But he's governor. It's one governor at a time."

McDonnell said a strengthened Republican majority in the House of Delegates will help his chances to win support for policy proposals on economic development, transportation and education, but he still will need bipartisan backing to steer his agenda through the Senate, where Democrats have a slim majority.

McDonnell said personal relationships he developed during 14 years as a legislator and three and a half years as attorney general will be an asset.

"I feel like that's a great starting point to be able to talk about where the common ground is and where the areas of agreement are that we can get things accomplished," he said.

Republicans will occupy at least 58 House seats and two independents sit with the GOP caucus for organizational purposes. Republicans also could pick up a Democratic-held seat in Virginia Beach in a contest that appears headed for a recount.

House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said voters "clearly want to see us act like conservatives when it comes to dealing with the budget."

And, he said, "they want us to come up with some creative and innovative solutions for transportation."

House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, D-Henry County, said McDonnell will find Democrats receptive to proposals such as creating a bipartisan redistricting process and increasing funding for the Governor's Opportunity Fund, which provides grants to help attract businesses.

"I think we're with him on that,' Armstrong said. "We certainly want him to make good on his promise."

But Armstrong said Democrats will oppose efforts to divert money from core state services to pay for transportation improvements. And House Republicans may be less willing to embrace McDonnell's idea of establishing a bipartisan commission to draw legislative district boundaries, which will occur in 2011.

"This is an area where my good friend Bob and I just disagree," said Griffith, who questions whether partisanship can be removed from the process.

Tuesday's election results had Republicans buoyant and Democrats searching for answers. Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, made a round of appearances on morning news shows Wednesday trying to put a positive spin on the drubbing his party took at the polls.

"It's not quite the good morning I hoped it would be," he said at his news conference Wednesday morning. "But you can't revel in the good without accepting the bad. It was a disappointing night last night."

McDonnell's transition team includes Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, outgoing Attorney General Bill Mims, Dominion Resources CEO Tom Farrell, a longtime friend of McDonnell's, and Kay Cole James, who served in former Gov. George Allen's Cabinet and in President George W. Bush's administration. Phil Cox, who was McDonnell's campaign manager, will serve as transition director.