On election night, want to know if Cooch is doomed? Watch the results in Chesterfield County
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Tomorrow, inquiring eyes will fall on Chesterfield County.
Various Virginia jurisdictions qualify as bellwethers and battlegrounds, but Chesterfield may offer the earliest omen of the outcome in a statewide election. The county consistently reports its totals before the commonwealth’s other populous localities. The winner in Chesterfield might not be in doubt, but the margin has decisive implications.
Republicans can count on carrying Chesterfield. The crucial question asks, “By how much?” A GOP candidate needs to hit 56 percent or even 58 percent to claim a Virginia win. Although Mitt Romney took Chesterfield in 2012, his unimpressive 53 percent doomed his prospects in the state as a whole.
Last year, we learned of the Chesterfield vote soon after the polls closed. We called the election by 8:30. Unless Nov. 5 produces an all-night cliff-hanger (and the three-candidate field could complicate instant analysis), we still expect Chesterfield’s numbers to allow us to go to bed at a reasonable hour — maybe before the candidates give their victory and concession speeches.
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