Over the past week or two, we political junkies have seen a lot of comments from the pundits agreeing that Bob McDonnell won in VA because he ran as a moderate in a purple state, and asserting that his moderate approach should be the template for conservatives across the country.  (Translation:  He only won because he hid what he really is, and conservatives would be well advised to hide their true colors).  Any time such a large number of pundits converge on essentially the same line, it is usually because they have found partisan spin.  Here, it is partisan spin and sour grapes. 

One year ago, Obama won VA 53-46, a seven point margin.  Now, McDonnell lead the GOP with an 18 point victory, which marks a 25 point swing in one short year.  Whereas the independents were reliable Democrat votes a year ago, McDonnell dominated this demographic.  Obviously, this is a victory worthy of examination in developing a blueprint. 

But, it is erroneous to posit that the reason for that swing was any shying away from conservative principles.  Indeed, McDonnell stated he was proudly Pro-Life.  Thanks to Creigh Deeds and the tens of millions of dollars the DGA and others poured into the race, VA voteres were daily, and perhaps even more frequently, reminded he was an unabashed social conservative.  McDonnell never denied this, only denying the weak assertions that he was anti-woman.  McDonnell’s ground game was superb, precisely because he managed to rally social conservatives and fiscal conservatives.  A “moderate” approach would have failed on that score, and he may never have risen above the “thesis” attacks that at one point made it a 3 point race, just a few months ago. 

So without further ado, here are my top ten lessons from the recent elections:

1. Independents (and others) responded extremely well to McDonnell’s articulate, specific plans.  Having a policy wonk at the top of the ticket helped downballot as well.  McDonnell’s greatest victory was in capturing the mantle of the “ideas” candidate.  Conversely, he successfully painted Deeds as a shallow candidate who was short on ideas.
2. McDonnell ran a very positive campaign.  Even his critics in the Washington Post and other liberal media had to concede he was focused on a positive, idea-centered campaign.  There was a lot to attack with a candidate like Creigh Deeds.  But McDonnell did not go there.  The negatives of the opposing candidate got out without the negativity from a GOP candidate.
3. National headwinds favor the GOP.  McDonnell successfully tapped in to national issues discontenting VA voters, again with specifics.  He made it clear how VA jobs would be destroyed by cap and trade, etc.  He attacked Pelosi’s plans but not the (still) popular President.
4. McDonnell ran a disciplined campaign with a credible focus on job creation.  His focus was on bread and butter issues every day.  More, perhaps, than anything else, this resonated with voters.  I believe selecting candidates with a credible history of such focus and campaigns’ ability to stay on a job creation message when unemployment is at double digits is key.
5. VA may have trended blue in recent years, but it also trended into higher unemployment and higher taxes.  Democrats here, as everywhere else, promise many great things, but governed terribly in the final analysis.  In some parts of the state, unemployment was at depression era levels of 20-25%.
6. McDonnell avoided the pitfalls many VA GOP statewide candidates have fallen into.  The media constantly were on the lookout for a “macaca” moment (George Allen), but he did not give them one because he was wary of his audience.  He did not focus on “pet issue” with which he could be caricaturized like the car tax (Jim Gilmore, and now a running joke of an issue) or the death penalty (Jerry Kilgore, a former prosecutor who came across as a bit bloodthirsty).
7. The ground game was superb.  McDonnell won this on a number of fronts.  He was an unapologetic conservative.  This rallied the conservatives who could not bring themselves to volunteer for a John McCain.  I saw far more youths and McDonell campaign workers in an “off year election” than I ever did for McCain.  By contrast, Deeds’ efforts to run hard left failed miserably.
8. McDonnell built a meaningful coalition.  He had endorsements from key Democrats, business leaders, and virtually every job creating organization in the state.  With this he was able to credibly assert over and over his candidacy meant more jobs.  At the end, this lead to newspapers lining up to endorse him (except of course the Washington Post).  McDonnell took the time to woo key Democrats as well as Republicans.
9. He weathered the attacks on him well.  McDonnell was villified for his thesis in national media, and the Washington Post ran several front page stories on it for a while.  McDonnell and other key conservatives (Michael Barone of the Washington Examiner) called the Post out on its daily hack jobs, and they stopped in time.  He ran a few ads to show he was not anti-working woman, defending himself without getting personal and negative.  And, all the while, he continued to utilize the attacks as an opportunity to be the candidate to “refocus” the issues on matters that mattered to VA voters.
10. He never rested on his laurels.  His campaign frequently touted that even though they had a lead, they would run “like they were 10 points behind.”  They maintained the energy level needed.

Other reasons will be found, but those are the lessons I would commend to anyone looking to the VA landslide for a blueprint for conservative victories.