UPDATE: Valentine concedes election to Garrett

Updated 3:37 p.m.

Del. Shannon Valentine said this afternoon she has conceded to Republican Scott Garrett in the 23rd House district election.

Valentine said she will not seek a recount, although Garrett’s 203-vote win is within the margin that allows her to request a recount.

Earlier:

Republican Scott Garrett edged Del. Shannon Valentine for Lynchburg’s House of Delegates seat Tuesday in an election heavily influenced by Liberty University students.

Garrett, a Lynchburg city councilman, claimed victory with a 210-vote margin in complete but unofficial returns. He arrived to a hero’s welcome at a ballroom in downtown Lynchburg, where about 200 supporters had gathered.

“I can’t tell you how very humbled and grateful I am,” Garrett told the crowd.

Valentine refused to concede, saying she would wait until election officials canvass the votes today before announcing her next step.

If the vote count remains unchanged by the canvass, it barely falls within the 1 percent margin that allows the losing candidate to demand a recount.

Lynchburg City Councilman Michael Gillette said the results prove Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. and the students’ votes “are, in fact, a significant influence in the city.”

Falwell said, “I’m elated, to say the least.”

The precinct where Liberty University’s on-campus students voted, at Heritage Elementary School, gave Garrett 1,964 votes to 324 for Valentine.

Valentine had been ahead in the vote count by about 1,400 Tuesday night, but observers at both the Democratic and Republican post-election celebrations in downtown Lynchburg were waiting nervously to hear the numbers from the Heritage Elementary precinct.

Heritage Elementary was the last of the 23rd District’s 20 precincts to report.

“They’ve all seen first-hand now, what a few votes can do,” Falwell said.

Falwell said his happiness came “not so much because of who won and who lost, but because Liberty students got out and exercised their rights, and their civic duties.”

“We’re just thrilled beyond belief,” Falwell said.

Garrett apparently will be among eight new Republican faces in the House of Delegates in January. Republicans were counting a net gain of six seats in the House on Tuesday night.

House Republicans held a 53-45 advantage going into the election.

Valentine told her supporters, “The first thing I should say is, we may have had the closest election in Virginia, and because there has been some discrepancy with the numbers, we are not going to make a decision tonight.

“We are going to go through the canvass tomorrow,” she said to cheers from about 150 backers.

“We will see what happens in the morning, but no matter what, you all are the winners,” she told the crowd.

“This is the foundation from which we will move forward,” she said.

Garrett told his supporters, “Shannon Valentine ran a very strong race and a very strong campaign. She and her supporters, who are our friends and neighbors, have every reason to be proud and every reason to hold their heads up high.”

Garrett said he felt the defining issue of the race had been jobs.

“I don’t think there’s any question,” he said.

“I think that’s why Bob McDonnell did so extraordinarily well statewide” in winning the governor’s race.

“He represented the needs of the people,” Garrett said. “In this state and in this district, the issue is jobs. How can we get people back working?”

Garrett said he was looking forward to working with McDonnell and other members of the General Assembly to address the jobs issue.

Wendell Walker, former chairman of the Lynchburg Republican Committee, called Garrett’s win “nothing short of a miracle.”

“When I signed on to Scott, I committed to not only working hard for him but to praying for him every day,” Walker said to the gathering, going on to lead them in prayer. “I don’t know about you, but I believe in the power of prayer. I believe that tonight is a miracle.”

Del. Kathy Byron, who had kept an anxious vigil at a laptop monitoring the election results while people crowded around her, said she was excited to welcome Garrett to the team of Central Virginia legislators.

“He’ll be a great asset to Lynchburg,” she said. “I look forward to working together with Scott for Central Virginia. He is going to be a great representative, one that shares the values of the 23rd District.”

Garrett, who described himself as “tired but happy” following the hard-fought campaign, said he still considered Valentine a friend.

He described making the decision to take on the well-liked incumbent as the hardest part of his campaign.