Independent voters reversed field from 2008 when they backed Barack Obama and broke heavily for Republican Bob McDonnell Tuesday, exit polls show.
The sluggish economy in the commonwealth proved to be the crucial issue with voters, according to polls.
The same unaffiliated swing voters who helped put Mark Warner in the governor’s mansion in 2001 flocked to McDonnell by nearly a 2 to 1 margin.
“The independents are pivotal in Virginia,” said former Virginia Gov. George Allen, a Republican. “You can’t win with just Republicans, the Democrats can’t win with just Democrats … now, they’re on our side.”
The race saw a reversal of traditional partisan tactics, with the Republican focusing heavily on Northern Virginia and speaking chiefly of economic matters, and the Democrat injecting social issues into the discussion. Deeds spent substantial time and money criticizing McDonnell for his 1989 master’s thesis, which disparaged gays, cohabitators and working women. The Deeds campaign had hoped to use the document to alienate independent voters from McDonnell.
But McDonnell — who said his views had changed since the 20-year-old thesis — continually steered the focus back to the economy. Almost 50 percent of voters said the economy and jobs were the single largest deciding factor in their vote, exit polls showed. McDonnell was more trusted to handle those issues over Deeds 57 percent to 43 percent.
More than half of Virginia voters said President Obama was not a factor in their vote. Only a quarter said they cast their ballot to express opposition to the Obama administration.
