The images from the last weeks of the presidential Election of 2012 make it clear that it would be hard to overstate the importance of voting, especially in Virginia, especially in Northern Virginia.
Every vote will be important. What I wish for today from Northern Virginia, is record turnout and smooth sailing for voters casting their votes.
Writing this the morning of Election Day, it's still fair to say that the race for president and for U.S. Senate in Virginia is too close to call. It's hard to overstate the difference it will make when the election results are final.
Mitt Romney came to the George Mason University Patriot Center on Monday, also bestowing attention on Republican Senate candidate George Allen. It was one of several trips to the area.
President Barack Obama came to Prince William County on Saturday, along with Bill Clinton. On Monday, Vice President Joe Biden came to Claude Moore Park. Both visits gave a boost to Democratic Senate candidate Tim Kaine.
The money that has been spent—and raised—here in Virginia is daunting. At the end of October, in 2012, Romney had raised $10.1 million and Obama $8.2 million in checks of $200 or more from Virginians, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Inside the Beltway, donors (different from Northern Virginia in VPAP's categories) gave $3,193,148 to Obama and $3,104,160 to Romney. Northern Virginia outside the Beltway gave $2,694,030 to Obama and $3,525,796 to Romney.
While either way, about half of voters will be disappointed by the outcomes here, no one will be sorry that this campaign season is over. It's been fun to be a favorite child in some ways, but it will be OK to go back to addressing local issues without the magnification of such an important election.