Murray Defeats Berry In Republican Primary

(Wednesday) June 9, 2010

By James Cullum
alexandrianews.org

J. Patrick Murray, winner of Virginia's 8th Congressional District Republican primary, holds up his cell phone after receiving a phone call from his opponent Matthew Berry. (Photo: James Cullum)

On Tuesday night, J. Patrick Murray defeated attorney Matthew Berry by 482 votes in the Republican primary for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District seat. Murray, who lives in Alexandria, served in the U.S. Army for 24 years and is an Iraq War veteran.  He will face 20-year incumbent Democrat Jim Moran and Independent Green candidate Ron Fisher this November.

Murray got 51.74%, or 7133 votes, and Berry got 48.25%, or 6651 votes, out of 448,236 total voters in the District, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections. He trailed Berry by up to 150 votes for more than an hour after polls closed and lost Alexandria and Arlington, but a strong showing in Fairfax County pushed him over the top.

Republican Primary Results 8:53 PM EST June 2010

“I had the honor of serving my country in the Army for 24 years and I returned to Alexandria with the crazy idea to run for Congress,” Murray said to a crowd of supporters at Pat Troy’s Ireland’s Own in Old Town. He thanked his opponent and said: “We know campaigns run on money and we didn’t have a lot of it. It just so happens that maybe we worked a little harder…  [A volunteer] just whispered in my ear that maybe this is a good time to ask for money.”

Republican candidate Matthew Berry lost Thursday to J. Patrick Murray. (Photo: James Cullum)

Berry was unavailable for comment. As of May 19, Berry had raised $159,296 and spent $113,369. Murray had raised $70,184 and spent $56,029, as of May 19, according to opensecrets.org. Murray spent $26,873 of his own money on the campaign.

In Fairfax County Murray got 55.82%, or 3560 votes versus 44.17%, or 2817 votes, for Berry. “We worked pretty hard on that area and I think it paid off,” Murray said. “But as of tomorrow, June 9, we are all Republicans moving forward against an adversary – and that is Jim Moran.”

Every Vote Counts

At Pat Troy’s, a nervous crowd watched the numbers trickle in. Joe McCain, brother of 2008 Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is a Murray supporter. “I’m so tired of losing!” he shouted while watching results. “We’re going to win this one, I know it!”

Meanwhile, Don Ledwig, a member of the Alexandria Electoral Board, sat in the conference room of the Alexandria General Registrar and collected the final votes from the City’s 27 precincts. “Murray is gaining,” he said. “Wow! John Adams [one of the polling precincts]. A 35 to 35 tie.”

The numbers exceeded expectations. Berry defeated Murray in Alexandria 1728 votes to 1605 votes, or 51.84% to 48.15%. Berry won 19 of Alexandria’s 27 precincts.

Alexandria General Registrar Tom Parkins walked into the conference room with the latest results. “I thought we might not have more than 1500 votes,” he said. “Alexandria had 1500 votes in 2008 in a two-way Republican primary, and, at 1:00 p.m. today we did a little survey and we already had almost 1800. And because Virginia voters do not identify their party affiliation, this helps Republicans identify some core voters.”

Ledwig responded: “What does this mean? Are there more Republican voters?”

Parkins, whose sleeves were rolled up and tie was loosened, stopped at the door and turned. “It just means that there are more people voting in a Republican primary,” he said.

Green Independent candidate Ron Fisher did not vote – the first time in years. “I did not vote because I really had a hard time. The two Republican candidates are smart, intelligent people, but they’re arguing over who is furthest to the right,” he said. “I just don’t see that much of a difference. We have to end these wars and get the money out of politics. I have a plan to do that. On my website there is an essay called ‘The Politics of the 20th Century’, written in 1980.”

Murray supporters at Pat Troy's Ireland's Own watch the numbers come in. (Photo: James Cullum)