Former Gov. George Allen won Tuesday’s Virginia GOP primary, fending off challenges from E.W. Jackson, Del. and .
Allen will face former Gov. Tim Kaine (D) in the race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by U.S. Sen Jim Webb (D).
Speaking from Richmond Tuesday night, Allen thanked his supporters, his wife and others, and called himself a "common sense conservative nominee."
Allen wrote in a statement posted on his website Tuesday evening, “Today, thousands of Virginians sent a message to President Obama, Tim Kaine and their allies in Washington that they have had enough of the failed policies coming out of Washington. The way to get America creating jobs again is to reinvigorate the entrepreneurial spirit of America with pro-job growth policies, unleash our American energy resources and creativity, and rein in an overreaching, overspending federal government."
Allen commended Radtke, Jackson and Marshall for their passion and their concern for the future of Virginia.
Allen's opponent in the November election, former Gov. Tim Kaine, wrote in an email to the media, "As we move into the general election phase of this campaign, Virginians are faced with a stark choice between two very different visions for our country's future. ... Voters already had the chance to experience George Allen's vision during his last term in the Senate, which turned record surpluses into massive deficits, added trillions to our debt, and put opportunity for a select few ahead of opportunity for all our businesses and families. George Allen's approach helped create our economic mess; Virginians can't afford six more years."
Low Voter Turnout
Early this morning, Allen and his wife, Susan, in their home neighborhood in the Mount Vernon area of Fairfax County.
“Well, our goal obviously is to win and the bigger the turnout the better," Allen told Patch from Washington Mill Elementary School early this morning, a precinct in the Mount Vernon District. "We have good friendships and relationships throughout Virginia, so the bigger the turnout, the better it’ll be for us. We’re cautiously optimistic.”
Relatively low turnout on Tuesday did not seem to hurt Allen at the polls, however. According to unofficial results from the Virginia State Board of Elections, fewer than 5.1 percent of active voters cast ballots.
In Fredericksburg, Allen won all five precincts in Fredericksburg. Only 428 of 13,826 registered voters went to the polls Tuesday.
As of 10 p.m., with 99.5 percent of precincts reporting, Allen had received 65.4 percent of the votes. Radtke came in second with 23.1 percent, Marshall had 6.8 percent and Jackson had 4.7 percent.
with Gov. Bob McDonnell.
Tuesday night, McDonnell wrote in an email, "I want to congratulate my great friend George Allen for a very well-deserved victory tonight.This November, Virginians have a critically important decision to make. These are tough times in America. Our next Senator must be a proven leader. Someone who is committed to growing our economy, promoting American energy independence, and getting spending under control. George Allen is that leader, and he will be that Senator.
"I look forward to traveling all across Virginia and working hard to ensure that George Allen is elected to the United States Senate this November.”
Del. Bob Marshall, who represents the greater Manassas area, told Patch Tuesday evening, "I wish [George] well and if he wants my help, I'll help him. I just have to make sure I can change some of the stuff in DC — maybe I can do it through the state level. I haven't thought this out to the extent that I'd like to, but I'm thinking maybe we need to develop state compacts, to neutralize some of what's going on in Washington."
Marshall said he really looks forward to continuing to be a delegate in Virginia.
Patch editor Jamie Rogers contributed to this report.
Republican, Democrat, light-skinned, dark-skinned...I am sometimes embarrassed to just be a part of this thing we call the human race...
-Three former college football teammates of Sen. Allen say that he repeatedly used the “n-word” and demonstrated racist attitudes toward blacks during the early 1970s. -For a long time Sen. Allen refused to speak of his Jewish heritage and then said it was because his mother did not want him to talk about it. -Sen. Allen wore a Confederate flag pin for his high school senior class photo. He also had a Confederate flag in the front license plate frame. - Sen. Allen included a Confederate flag in one of his first TV campaign ads for governor. - At a campaign stop in 2006, Sen. Allen loudly, in front of the crowd, called a Webb campaign volunteer “macaca,” condescendingly adding, “Welcome to America!” (The campaign worker was American and had been born and raised in Fairfax County). - Sen. Allen opposed a state holiday commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. - As Governor, Sen. Allen kept a Confederate flag and a hangman's noose in his office. - In a speech while Governor, Sen. Allen encouraged the Republicans to knock the Democrats' "soft teeth down their whiny throats." At the very least, it could be reasonable to say that Sen. Allen is insensitive and tends to engage in bully-like behaviors. It is hard to imagine how a legislator could fairly represent ALL the people of our diversely populated Virginia, or attract investors to Virginia, investors who respect diversity.
“Macaca,” which, if you go to the Oxford English dictionary you cannot find the word. It isn't there. Nobody knows what it means, so it was free to be defined by the leftists in Virginia like Ben Tribbett, and they defined it as a racial slur, and George Allen's time in the U.S. Senate was history.
So if you want Kaine, who spent most of his time as governor campaigning and fund raising for the national dem. party and trying to deliver VA to Obama, Pelosi and Reid, than go for it. Just don't whine and complain about new taxes, job losses, (good by Exxon..) budget deficits, etc.. Hopefully No. Virginians will come to their senses this time around and realize it's time for a change in direction..
That's great! I think the "Allen for Governor" campaign would be lucky to have you. With your incredible writing skills, don't be surprised if they make you Director of Communications" on your first day. Best of luck getting him elected "Governor"!
As for Allen and his "lower taxes, smaller government," etc., please give it a rest. Slogans don't make policy. The REALITY is that there has been a vast expansion of oil exploration and development in the private sector under President Obama and we are now producing far more oil than we did under President Bush. But guess what? We're EXPORTING that oil. As for the drilling offshore of Virginia, the Obama administration AND Senator Webb have both promoted this to an extent which makes liberals like me very uncomfortable, so please identify what Allen would do that's so different and "job creating"? As for smaller government, last time I checked Allen was in favor of the anti-woment legislation in the General Assembly, the demand for a medically unnecessary transvaginal ultrasound for women wanting an abortion, and limits on the availability of contraceptives.
We really appreciate you taking the time to comment on this story, but please keep your comments on-topic and civil. Jessie Biele, Local Editor.
As a kid, growing up in a portuguese speaking family, this is what we called Monkeys. I am sure the word nor the meaning has changed.