Collegiate Times

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Democratic supporter Imran Chaudhry said the energy shown by last year’s Democrats has been more apparent in the Republican Party this year.

“Democrats should learn their lesson,” Chaudhry said. “The Republicans had a better outreach program, without a doubt they were more aggressive. Democrats were unable to inspire the base of the supporters.”

Garland Tillery, a Democratic supporter, said the young vote that Obama garnered for the Democrats did not materialize for |Deeds.

“It was crucial and it didn’t come out,” Tillery said. “I thought that Obama had energized the young people and they would continue with their interest in politics and recognize that they have to be a part of something or else we’re going to lose everything of value to us.”

Small business owner LaMar Dixon, also a Democratic supporter, said lessons from this campaign could be applied to future endeavors in the state.

“I think that hopefuls will take the lessons learned from the campaign and move forward for a greater success in the future. It has been proven over the last eight years that the Democratic thought process of people first is better,” Dixon said.

Cranwell said the party’s general strategy would remain intact, but said Deeds may have been disadvantaged by the party’s primary elections.

“I’m not sure that we need to be tweaking a whole lot,” Cranwell said. “We need to take a hard look at the primary and whether we’re putting ourselves six to eight months behind.”

Cranwell also pointed out a continuing trend of Virginia electing a governor of the opposite party than the current president.

“We’re running against history,” Cranwell said.

Deeds said he was proud of his campaign.

“This journey through public service has been the highlight of my life,” Deeds said. “Carrying this banner for governor has been the greatest honor.”

As a state senator, Deeds has a chance to continue to serve the state.

Kaine said Virginia’s role as a swing state has been further solidified by this election.

“Nobody takes Virginia’s votes for granted anymore,” Kaine said. “Both parties are competitive in the state.”

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