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It's official: Cuccinelli wins
The results of a recount in Virginia's 37th Senate District race were certified in Fairfax County Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon. Incumbent state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R) will continue to represent his district.
Cuccinelli, considered one of the most conservative Northern Virginia legislators, defeated Democratic challenger Janet Oleszek, a former at-large Fairfax County School Board member, by just 101 votes – 18,611 to 18,510 – according to the recounted vote tally.
Last month Cuccinelli won the election by 92 votes in a race where 37,101 votes were cast. Oleszek opted for the recount since the final tally put her within a half of a percentage point of winning the seat.
The final count was 18,611 votes for Cuccinelli and 18,510 for Oleszek. One transcription error in the recount put 11 additional votes in Cuccinelli's favor.
A panel of three state judges presiding over the case signed the order declaring Cuccinelli the winner, and a copy of the order is being sent to the State Board of Elections.
Cuccinelli was one of the few Republicans to retain his seat in
Northern Virginia.
"Now there's not another Republican senator for 40 miles," he said, adding, "I'm glad [the recount is] done. She did a good job. She had to run against a five-year incumbent and she got doggone close."
"It was an extremely close race," Oleszek said. "There will be time for me to think about running again, but today is not the day to be thinking about that."
Cuccinelli said his team had focused on re-election for four years to win a race that he knew would be tough on Republicans.
"All that work paid off. In 2004 it didn't look like 2007 would look like this. But we'll do the same thing when I run again in 2011," he said.
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