Lesson from Tonight...

[BlueDemKev]

We may have pulled it out tonight in Virginia, but the closeness of this race is a powerful reminder of how important voter turnout is. Clearly, there is NO DOUBT that numerous Obama voters in Virginia didn't bother to go out and vote this year. This problem has plagued the Democrats for decades and we will lose the Senate next year if we don't focus on get-out-the-vote efforts.

Yes, we are starting to gain the upper-hand, but there are too many conservatives in this country to take anything for granted. It is imperative that Democratic voters get out and vote in every election, every time. We are in a war for the heart and soul of America and we are nowhere close to winning it.

[TroyD]

1. You are completely right

Dems sat on their butts in 2010, and some are doing so in 2013.

All those young voters, racial minorities, women etc. who voted for Obama need to realize that the off-year elections matter. It's important not to just show up in Presidential years, but in the other years as well!

[RBInMaine]

3. Yup. These people need to WAKE UP AND VOTE ! Also, Libertarians switched to the Cooch-Hole in the

end. No doubt. He was polling as high as 13% and got 6%. Also, some Indies and maybe even some D's went for the Libertarian as a protest vote, not liking either major candidate. I'm sure some of that went on too.

[BlueDemKev]

8. The sad thing is...

...this unexpected squeaker of a win is going to encourage the Republican Party and its tea party wing. They will believe that the closeness of the race was due to the problems with the Obamacare rollout and that they would have won had it not been for the federal government shutdown. I admit that McAuliffe wasn't the strongest candidate given his reputation as a political hack, but Cuccinelli was an extreme right-winger backed by the tea party, and his stances on women's issues should have sent women flocking to the polls voting for McAuliffe.

[calimary]

4. AND to be vigilant on the down-ballot races too.

DON'T give an inch!

DON'T concede ANYTHING (Dems in NJ, I'm talking to YOU)!

DON'T let them get a foothold. A toehold. An ANYTHING hold.

And DON'T take your eyes off them for an instant. They're ALWAYS up to no good. Never forget what Mad-Eye Moody always warned Harry Potter: "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!!!!"

[joshcryer]

2. Don't forget the voter suppression BS the Republicans did.

I think it also accounts for the closeness of the race.

[johnnyrocket]

5. Yes, if the sentiment is +12 points, we should not win by only 2. That's ridiculous.

It's the Democrat's long standing problem. They HAVE the people, but the people don't get off their asses and vote. C'mon!

[davidpdx]

6. The race was a lot closer than the polls were showing

Whether that was turnout or election suppression or possibly both we'll have to see.

In 2009:

Turnout was 35.6%
Voters: 1,985,103

[lunasun]

7. +100 = so much truth not a time to rest