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Republican Bob McDonnell captured the Virginia governor's mansion back from Democrats last November.

Washington (CNN) – Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell will deliver the Republican response to President Obama's first State of the Union address next Wednesday.

McDonnell won the Virginia governorship last November, reversing nearly a decade of Democratic gains in the purple state. He was sworn in as governor of the commonwealth last weekend.

After his resounding victory over Democrat Creigh Deeds, Republican strategists pointed to McDonnell's path to victory - focusing on economic issues while remaining committed to conservative principles - as a blueprint for future GOP successes in the 2010 midterm elections.

In 2006, Democrats tapped then-Gov. Tim Kaine to deliver the response to President Bush's State of the Union speech for similar reasons; national officials saw Kaine's win in Virginia the previous year as a sign that Democrats were finding ways to win elections in traditionally-red states.
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Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia said it would be 'fair and prudent' to suspend health care reform legislation.

Washington (CNN) – A moderate Democratic senator is calling on his colleagues to shelve health care reform legislation until Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown takes his seat in the United States Senate.

"In many ways the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our government process, Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia said in a statement Tuesday after Brown defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in the special election for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat.

"It is vital that we restore the respect of the American people in our system of government and in our leaders. To that end, I believe it would only be fair and prudent that we suspend further votes on health care legislation until Senator-elect Brown is seated."

Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia said it would be 'fair and prudent' to suspend health care reform legislation.

Washington (CNN) – A moderate Democratic senator is calling on his colleagues to shelve health care reform legislation until Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown takes his seat in the United States Senate.

"In many ways the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our government process, Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia said in a statement Tuesday after Brown defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in the special election for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat.

"It is vital that we restore the respect of the American people in our system of government and in our leaders. To that end, I believe it would only be fair and prudent that we suspend further votes on health care legislation until Senator-elect Brown is seated."

Rep. Eric Cantor, R.-Virginia, is the House Minority Whip.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The small army of candidates seeking the GOP nomination in Virginia's fifth congressional district - several of them backed by Tea Party activists - have spent months accusing the National Republican Congressional Committee of supporting state Sen. Robert Hurt in the primary, a charge the NRCC denies.

But now another, more prominent target is in the conservative crosshairs: Eric Cantor, the most powerful Virginia Republican on Capitol Hill.

Cantor's political action committee and campaign fund have given a combined $7,000 to Hurt, and the House Minority Whip helped Hurt raise money in Washington last December. That support has infuriated other Republicans seeking the nomination, and not just because they view Hurt as too liberal to be the face of the party against vulnerable first-term Democrat Tom Perriello this November.

Though Cantor hails from Richmond and represents the congressional district abutting Perriello's, several of the Republican primary candidates said in interviews with CNN this week that they view the five-term congressman as a Washington insider meddling in local politics. That criticism has echoes of the contentious special election in New York's 23rd congressional district last year, when conservative activists refused to support a moderate Republican candidate backed by national party officials.

"We would like Cantor to stay out of the fifth district and let the people make the decision on his own," said Laurence Verga, one of seven candidates gunning for the nomination. Cantor's Washington fundraiser, Verga said, "gives Hurt a tremendous leg up in fundraising in these difficult times."

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Washington (CNN) – Democrats are celebrating an election victory in northern Virginia.

Democratic delegate David Marsden narrowly defeated Republican Steve Hunt Tuesday in a special election to fill the state Senate seat in Fairfax County that was formerly held by Republican Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinelli. Marsden won by 317 votes out of more than 23,000 cast. The district had been in Republican hands for nearly two decades.

The victory comes after the GOP made major gains in Virginia in November's elections, highlighted by Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell's trouncing of Democratic opponent Creigh Deeds to win back the governor's office for the first time in 8 years.

Republicans did win the other state senate special election Tuesday, holding onto a seat in Virginia Beach.

As of next week, the GOP will control the state's top three positions and will hold a larger majority in the assembly. Thanks to their victory in Fairfax County, the Democrats will now have a 22 to 18 seat advantage in the state Senate.

The Democratic National Committee sent out an e-mail Wednesday morning touting the election victory in northern Virginia.

Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn

Palin wasn't exactly a welcome presence in Virginia and New Jersey during both governor's races.

CEDAR CREEK, Texas (CNN) – Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell, the soon-to-be-governors of New Jersey and Virginia, both deflected questions Wednesday about why Sarah Palin did not appear with the two Republicans during their respective campaigns.

Christie said he only had three GOP heavyweights visit New Jersey during his campaign - Rudy Giuliani, Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney - and each came for a specific reason.

“I had a long standing relationship with Mayor Giuliani,” Christie explained. “Gov. Pawlenty and Gov. Romney both faced the same type of crises financially in their state when they took over that we did.”

McDonnell said his campaign had reached out to Palin nearly a year ago to campaign in Virginia, but said she was overwhelmed with requests at the time. When she stepped down as governor of Alaska in July, McDonnell said, their visitor lineup had already been set - a full four months before election day in Virginia.

“We thought she was a good leader for the party as the governor of Alaska and had some good reforms in the state, but she was in such incredible demand frankly for the longest time we were not able to work out anything for her to come in,” he said. “And then after she decided to leave office we had pretty much already arranged all of the folks that we had for the home stretch for fundraisers, including several current and former governors, and so we pretty much had our strategy set at that point.”

Christie and McDonnell made the comments at a news conference held during the Republican Governors Association's annual meeting near Austin.

Republican Bob McDonnell captured the Virginia governor's mansion back from Democrats earlier this month.

CEDAR CREEK, Texas (CNN) – Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell on Wednesday would not disavow Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson’s recent claim that Islam is not a religion, but “a violent political system.”

McDonnell, though, stressed that he reached out to Muslims and visited mosques in Virginia throughout the governor’s race and will continue to do so when he takes office in January.

Muslim groups have called on McDonnell to condemn the remark because Robertson is a longtime political benefactor of the Republican, who won a blowout victory in this year’s closely-watched gubernatorial election.

McDonnell attended law school at CBN University (now Regent University), founded by Robertson, and has accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the televangelist along with appearing on his show, “The 700 Club.”

“I’ve got probably 15,000 donors to the campaign and I can’t stand and defend or support every comment that any donor might make,” McDonnell said in response to a question from CNN at the Republican Governors Association annual meeting near Austin. “I think people are entitled under the First Amendment to express whatever opinions that they may have, but I can only say that as governor of Virginia, I intend to have an inclusive administration where we bring people across the political and religious system to help us govern.”

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Pelosi will be burned in effigy at a Tea Party rally in Virginia next week, the event's organizer told CNN.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The organizer of a "Tea Party" protest in Virginia says he intends to move forward with plans to burn House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Tom Perriello in effigy next weekend at a rally to protest Democratic health care legislation.

The event is scheduled for next Saturday in Danville, which borders North Carolina and sits at the southern end of Perriello's congressional district. Perriello, a Democrat, narrowly won his House seat in 2008 and is considered a top target of Congressional Republicans in next year's midterm elections.

When news of the rally surfaced Friday, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen condemned the plans as "shocking and despicable."

But Nigel Coleman, the organizer of the Tea Party, told CNN he doesn't see what all the fuss is about. The attention, he said, should be on the Democratic plans to overhaul the health care system.

"We're not going to actually set Perriello on fire or Mrs. Pelosi on fire," Coleman said. "But we have been trying to months to get our point across just how vehemently we are opposed to this health care legislation. For the House vote to come so close and to know that Mr. Perriello is on the other side, it's a kick in the stomach that a lot of people couldn't take."

Coleman said none of Perriello's potential Republican challengers have been invited to the event, which he expects will draw about 100 people.

"Something shocking and despicable is how they've handled this health care legislation," Coleman said, responding to Van Hollen's statement. "Going behind closed doors, writing a bill that is going to fundamentally change what America is. More people are going to be killed by this health care legislation than this bonfire."

Pelosi will be burned in effigy at a Tea Party rally in Virginia next week, the event's organizer told CNN.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The organizer of a "Tea Party" protest in Virginia says he intends to move forward with plans to burn House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Tom Perriello in effigy next weekend at a rally to protest Democratic health care legislation.

The event is scheduled for next Saturday in Danville, which borders North Carolina and sits at the southern end of Perriello's congressional district. Perriello, a Democrat, narrowly won his House seat in 2008 and is considered a top target of Congressional Republicans in next year's midterm elections.

When news of the rally surfaced Friday, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen condemned the plans as "shocking and despicable."

But Nigel Coleman, the organizer of the Tea Party, told CNN he doesn't see what all the fuss is about. The attention, he said, should be on the Democratic plans to overhaul the health care system.

"We're not going to actually set Perriello on fire or Mrs. Pelosi on fire," Coleman said. "But we have been trying to months to get our point across just how vehemently we are opposed to this health care legislation. For the House vote to come so close and to know that Mr. Perriello is on the other side, it's a kick in the stomach that a lot of people couldn't take."

Coleman said none of Perriello's potential Republican challengers have been invited to the event, which he expects will draw about 100 people.

"Something shocking and despicable is how they've handled this health care legislation," Coleman said, responding to Van Hollen's statement. "Going behind closed doors, writing a bill that is going to fundamentally change what America is. More people are going to be killed by this health care legislation than this bonfire."

Washington (CNN) - Fresh off his win last week in Virginia's gubernatorial race, Republican Robert McDonnell wasted no time Sunday taking issue with health care reform, the Democrats' biggest domestic policy item of 2009.

Asked about the public health insurance option contained in the House health care reform bill passed late Saturday night, and about the different variations of the public option that could still be included in the final version of the Senate bill, Virginia's governor-elect said he was not keen on having his state involved in government-provided health insurance.

"[T]he public option does not seem to be something that is going to help us in Virginia," McDonnell said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union.

"However they structure it," McDonell also told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, "if it gives flexibility to states, I think that's a good thing." He added that he was "very concerned about turning this signifcant section of the American economy over to the federal government."

McDonnell also stood by his campaign promise not to raise taxes in his state.

"I think that's the worst thing you do in a recession is to raise taxes on - on the citizens. We're going to have hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes at the federal level with this health care bill. When the tax cuts [passed under former Pres. George W. Bush] expire in 2011, it's going to be a crushing increase in new taxes."

"People want a better bang for their buck out of their government," McDonnell also told King, "and [they] don't want to have a tax increase every time we have an economic downturn."

Updated: 1:28 p.m.

Washington (CNN) - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour used the GOP's weekly address Saturday to argue that Tuesday's GOP victories in New Jersey and Virginia show that voters are more concerned about the economy and the jobs outlook than about health care reform.

Read Barbour's full address after the jump.

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Republicans are pointing to Bob McDonnell's winning formula in Virginia as a way forward for the GOP.

RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) – He has yet to been sworn in as the 71st governor of Virginia, but the Republican Party appears to have found its newest superstar in Bob McDonnell.

With his resounding win Tuesday in the battleground state of Virginia - a victory that halted a decade of gains for Democrats - top Republicans are boasting that McDonnell has uncovered a winning GOP formula for 2010 and beyond.

The blueprint, his supporters argue, is fairly simple: stay loyal to conservative principles, maintain a personal appeal that connects with voters, and focus like a laser on kitchen table issues.

Throughout the governor's race, Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds flogged McDonnell as a divisive social conservative preoccupied with issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and birth control. But McDonnell beat back those attacks by concentrating on the troubled economy with a simple message: "Bob's for Jobs."

"McDonnell is a candidate who is very conservative, but he's while he's philosophically sound, he's temperamentally moderate," said Ralph Reed, the former Christian Coalition director who is a longtime friend of McDonnell's. "He's a consensus builder. He's a reasonable guy. I think that's the kind of face Republicans need to start putting forward."

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Kaine downplays Democratic losses in Virginia and New Jersey.

RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) - Assessing the national political landscape on the morning after his party lost two closely-watched gubernatorial elections, Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine said Wednesday that voters shouldn't draw too many conclusions from the two Republican victories as they look ahead to the 2010 midterms.

"There isn't really any historical connection between off-cycle elections in New Jersey and Virginia and next year's midterm elections," Kaine said during a press conference at the State Capitol complex in Richmond, where he serves as Virginia governor.

Kaine said he had several conversations with the White House about the races since last night, but he has not spoken directly with the president.

The governor suggested that both races hinged on local rather than national issues and that the president "was not really a factor" in either contest. While a majority of voters in both states said the president did not influence their choice for governor, exit polls indicated that national issues like the economy and health care weighed heavily on voters' minds.

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White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called Tuesday's races in New Jersey and Virginia 'local elections.'

WASHINGTON (CNN) – White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs dismissed Democratic electoral defeats in New Jersey and Virginia as "two very local elections" that say nothing about President Barack Obama's standing with the American people right now.

"It's hard to pick national trends out of local elections," Gibbs told reporters at a Wednesday briefing just hours after incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine was knocked out despite Obama's two appearances in New Jersey on Sunday. Obama also had campaigned for Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for governor in Virginia, who lost as well.

Gibbs noted that exit polls showed the number two issue in New Jersey was local property taxes, and claimed that and other data shows the gubernatorial races were decided on local issues "that did not involve the president."

But Gibbs was eager to tout Democrat Bill Owens' victory in the hotly contested House special election to represent New York's 23rd Congressional District. The press secretary noted that GOP officials "purged" the Republican candidate in the race to make way for Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.
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(CNN) – Independents appear to be playing an important role in the country's two off-year gubernatorial races and in both states, and they are voting Republican.

In Virginia, where 30 percent of voters identify themselves as independent, 65 percent cast their ballots for CNN's projected winner, Republican Bob McDonnell. That's according to early CNN Exit Poll data. Democrat Creigh Deeds earned the votes of 34 percent of independents.

In New Jersey, the projected winner, Republican Chris Christie, took 60 percent of the independent vote while incumbent Governor Jon Corzine, a Democrat, got only 30 percent. The candidate running as an official Independent, Chris Daggett, got just 9 percent of the independent vote. Independents made up 28 percent of the voters in New Jersey race.

Updated 10:42 pm ET

Bob McDonnell captured the governor's mansion back from Democrats.

RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) – Buoyed by support from independent voters and lingering concerns over the state of the economy, Virginians elected Republican Bob McDonnell the 71st governor of the Commonwealth on Tuesday.

Republicans managed a sweep of the state’s top three offices for the first time since 1997, when Jim Gilmore helmed the ticket for the GOP. The election also upheld a familiar political pattern: going back to 1977, the party holding the White House has gone to lose the Virginia gubernatorial race.

The victory breathed new life into the Virginia Republican party, which has suffered a series of statewide defeats to Democrats over the last decade, including last November, when Barack Obama became the first Democrat to win the state at the presidential level since 1964. Democrats have won the governor's mansion in two consecutive elections and control both of the state's seats in the U.S. Senate.

“I pledge to you over the next four years action and results,” McDonnell told a gleeful audience at his victory party in Richmond. “We will leave Virginia better than we found it,” he said, invoking the old Boy Scout adage.

Two thirds of independent voters joined with a motivated Republican base to elect McDonnell, who vaulted to a 17-point victory over his Democratic opponent, Creigh Deeds.

“I wish tonight’s results were different,” Deeds said after the loss. “But now is not the time for bitterness, or retreat into our partisan corners - it’s time to overcome that disappointment with our determination to build a better Virginia, together.”

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - CNN projects Republican Bob McDonnell will be the next governor of Virginia. CNN also projects that the GOP will win the races for lieutenant governor and attorney general in Virginia, giving the Republican Party a complete sweep of statewide offices.

(CNN) – Independents appear to be playing an important role in the country's two off-year gubernatorial races and in both states, and they are voting Republican.

In Virginia, where 30 percent of voters identify themselves as independent, 65 percent cast their ballots for CNN's projected winner, Republican Bob McDonnell. That's according to early CNN Exit Poll data. Democrat Creigh Deeds earned the votes of 34 percent of independents.

In New Jersey, the projected winner, Republican Chris Christie, took 60 percent of the independent vote while incumbent Governor Jon Corzine, a Democrat, got only 30 percent. The candidate running as an official Independent, Chris Daggett, got just 9 percent of the independent vote. Independents made up 28 percent of the voters in New Jersey race.

Updated 10:42pm ET

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(CNN) - With Republican victories in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, two decades-long streaks continue: Since 1989, the party holding the White House has gone on to lose both the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey. The streak goes back even further in Virginia, where the party holding the White House has gone to lose the gubernatorial race since 1977.

Related: CNN projects Republican wins in Virginia, New Jersey