Pro-Life, Pro-Family Bob McDonnell Wins Governors Office in Virginia

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - The Gubernatorial election in Virginia has been called by every major news source. The winner is the former Attorney General of Virginia, Bob McDonnell. He is now the Governor Elect of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The only question is by just how wide a margin of victory?

The night is still early and the votes are still being counted. However, there is no doubt that the margin is substantial. There is also no doubt that the pundits will have a field day speculating over what this significant victory portends in the weeks and months ahead.

All I know is that a truly good man, good husband, good father, good public servant, and good Catholic Christian will now have the privilege - and the weighty responsibility - of governing my home State. He and his family need our prayers.

Governor Elect McDonnell was born in Philadelphia but raised in Virginia, in a military home. He graduated from Bishop Ireton, a Catholic High School in Northern Virginia. He did his undergraduate work at Notre Dame and graduate work at Boston University. He also obtained another graduate degree and a law degree from Regent University, a predominantly Evangelical Protestant School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The Governor Elect and I have are both comfortable working with Evangelicals. We have that and much more as a common bond. We both developed close working relationships with many evangelical Christians through our Pro-Life and pro-Family work.It is also where our paths first crossed.

Governor Elect Bob McDonnell served in the military with honor. His wife Maureen and he raised five children with love, sacrifical dedication and living faith.

He has had a distinguished record in political office as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and as a very effective Attorney General. He resigned that position on February 4, 2009 in order to run full time for Governor. He will now carry on his record of dedicated service on behalf of the people of Virginia.

Governor Elect McDonnell is truly Pro-Life. He is also dedicated to supporting true marriage and the family and society founded upon it. His record on these foundational issues is clear, uncompromised and consistent. He ran an effective campaign speaking to the issues which are of deep concern to Virginians, such as jobs, good governance and expanding economic opportunity.

He avoided all efforts to caricature him or to move him off his message. His manner and his method of campaigning reflected the even temperedness of the man. His message and manner appealed to a broad cross section of the electorate.

As the results of this race are parsed over the coming days it will become clear that Governor Elect McDonnell won the large base of support he did by appealing beyond Party and beyond the increasingly ineffective labeling so rampant in current political parlance.

He is a model for the next election cycle and his campaign should be studied by any candidate intent on winning.

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