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January 2001: John McLaughlin & Associates Congratulates Yet Another Winner in the Virginia Special Elections!

Congratulations to our client John Welch on his victory in the January 9 special election to fill the 21st District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. Delegate-elect Welch came away with an overwhelming 61% of the vote, bolstered by Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore's New Majority Project, the political action committee behind the successful effort to bring the first bicameral Republican majority this century to the General Assembly. Governor Gilmore and the New Majority Project also aided in the winning December special-election campaigns of Melanie Rapp (HD-96), Tommy Wright (HD-61), John O'Bannon (HD-73), and Frank Wagner (SD-7).

Since Governor Gilmore's election in 1997, there have been thirteen special elections to the House of Delegates and State Senate. Virginia Republicans have emerged the winners in twelve of them.

This week's round of special elections marks the latest in a string of Republican successes dating back to November 1993, with George Allen's election as Governor and Jim Gilmore's election as Attorney General. This was followed in 1997 by Jim Gilmore's election as Governor in a come-from-behind upset over opponent Don Beyer; Republicans also won races for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General in that same election. Since then, Virginia Republicans have captured and built majorities in both the House of Delegates and the State Senate, and in this year's general election former Governor George Allen became the only challenger to unseat a sitting Democrat in the U.S. Senate.

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