Bob McDonnell cruised to an easy victory in the Virginia governor’s race, leading a sweep of the state’s three top offices that decisively ended a string of Democratic victories in the state.

McDonnell defeated Democrat Creigh Deeds in a replay of their race for attorney general four years ago, which McDonnell also won. He will be Virginia’s first Republican governor in eight years and gives the GOP reason for optimism that the Democratic trend that climaxed with President Barack Obama’s carrying the state in 2008 may not have been permanent.

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