A bipartisan group of Virginia voters have started a campaign to recall newly elected Gov. Terry McAuliffe as a protest against the poor choices offered by both political parties in yesterday's gubernatorial election.
McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman, defeated Tea Party-backed Republican Ken Cuccinelli, the state attorney general, with 48 percent to Cuccinelli's 45.5 percent on Tuesday. Libertarian Party candidate Robert Sarvis received 6.6 percent.
Carrie Mathison, a spokeswoman for the bipartisan recall campaign group, Virginians for Good Candidates, said it had plans to start collecting signatures for the recall effort regardless of who won the election. Since it formed last month, the group has collected nearly 100,000 signatures from "deeply concerned voters across the state" who were unimpressed with both McAuliffe and Cuccinelli.
"I voted for McAuliffe, but only reluctantly," Mathison said. "I mean, McAuliffe was in charge of the Democrats when John Kerry lost to George W. Bush in 2004. Just imagining what he'll do as governor scares me.
"If Cuccinelli had won, we would also recall him because he's a nutjob. I wasn't impressed with Sarvis, either."
As a key swing state, Virginia's gubernatorial election was seen as a testing ground for the 2016 presidential election, given Cuccinelli's ties to the conservative Tea Party and McAuliffe's key support from Hillary Clinton, a possible presidential candidate.
During the bitter campaign, however, voters came away with an unfavorable view of both candidates: McAuliffe was seen as a self-promoting Washington insider with no governing experience and a shaky business record, and Cuccinelli as a divisive right-wing ideologue whose proposals included a ban on oral sex between consenting adults. Some newspapers refused to endorse either candidate.
Election officials in Fairfax, Essex, Prince William and Chesterfield counties reported that dozens of voters became ill and had to seek medical help after casting their ballots.
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Both Democratic and Republican voters indicated they would support a recall of whoever won Tuesday's election.
"I'm really happy Ken Cuccinelli lost the election, but I can't believe Terry McAuliffe won," said Katerina Petrova, a Democrat from Richmond. "I think it's time to hold another election for governor. Maybe somebody good will run this time."
"McAuliffe is a dick, and Cuccinelli wants to arrest people for oral sex," said recall supporter Saul Berenson, a security adviser and registered independent from Arlington. "What kind of choice was that? It's no wonder some people don't bother to vote."
"I want a recall so we can send a message to both Democrats and Republicans that we don't want candidates this lousy," said Stan Smith, a Republican and insurance agent from Langley. "I'm tired of this 'vote for the lesser-of-two-evils' nonsense. How about giving us good candidates who will provide leadership?"
"I held my nose and voted for Terry McAuliffe," said Donna Tubbs-Brown, a Democrat and office secretary from Virginia Beach. "This two-party system we have is ridiculous. I thought about voting for a third party, but everyone said I was wasting my vote. So I guess I'll vote again in the recall."
"Since I'm a Republican, I reluctantly voted for Cuccinelli even though he's a jackass," said Lester Krinklesac, a self-employed television critic from Goochland County. "They both sucked. Honestly, I'd vote for that crack-smoking mayor (Rob Ford) up in Canada. People actually like him."
