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499 Votes for Liberty
Chantilly - November 9, 2005 - Outspent over 100 to 1*, Libertarian candidate Chuck Eby still managed to collect almost 500 votes in a hotly contested race in the 67th House of Delegates district. “499 voters heard my message of small government and overcame the ‘wasted vote syndrome’ by coming out and supporting me,” said Eby. Eby was referring to the problem facing all third party candidates where voters are reluctant to vote for them because it might result in the less-desirable major party candidate getting the win. “Only by voting for the best candidate will we get the best government,” said Eby. “499 voters recognized that fact and voted their conscience rather than selecting the lesser of two evils.” At an election night celebration, Eby said he was heartened by the response to his message. “During the entire course of the campaign, I received positive feedback from almost everyone I talked to,” said Eby. “This campaign has been a very rewarding experience for me personally.” Eby did best in his home precinct of Fair Lakes where he personally greeted voters all day asking for their vote. "I met over 1,000 voters and shook so many hands that my shoulder actually got sore," said Eby. "Still, I was able to convince 5% of those voters to vote for me." Eby had many interesting stories from his day at the polls. "One Democrat poll worker pulled me aside and in confidence told me that he had actually voted for me, said Eby. "I approached another voter who told me he had been a member of the Libertarian Party in the past and was planning on voting for me. After emerging from the polls, I discovered that he was a Republican poll worker. I trust he truly voted for me for the rest of the day, he never mentioned my opponent's name to voters." Eby's district, historically a safe Republican haven, was won by Democrat Chuck Caputo in an upset victory. His Republican opponent, Chris Craddock, lost by a wide margin. "Craddock relied almost exclusively on negative campaigning, and his reliance on persistant phone calls and door-to-door canvassing by volunteers in the final days were seen as harrassment by many voters," said Eby. Craddock also suffered from much bad press, ultimately brought on by himself, when it was brought to light that his campaign manager during the Republican Primary had been charged with cocaine possession, that Craddock himself had received ten traffic citations including speeding, reckless driving, and driving with an expired registration in the preceding five years. But the most devastating press came from his telling a high school government class (in response to a question about the AIDS epidemic) that "Africans will have sex with anything that has a pulse," as well as other questionable comments about gays. * according to Virginia Public Access Project (www.vpap.org) |
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Libertarian Party of Northern Virginia |
