2009 Virginia gubernatorial election

The 2009 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2009, to elect the next governor of Virginia. The election was held concurrently with other elections for Virginia's statewide offices, the House of Delegates, and other United States' offices. Incumbent Democratic governor Tim Kaine was ineligible to run for re-election, as the Constitution of Virginia prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Republican Bob McDonnell was elected as governor as part of a Republican sweep. Republican Bill Bolling was reelected as lieutenant governor, and Republican Ken Cuccinelli was elected as attorney general. The winners were inaugurated on January 16, 2010, and served until January 11, 2014. State Senator Creigh Deeds was selected as the Democratic nominee, having defeated former Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe and former state Delegate Brian Moran in the Democratic primary election. This was the first contested Democratic primary in two decades. McDonnell, a former state attorney general, was selected at his party's nominating convention. The two major candidates competed in the 2005 Virginia Attorney General election, and were in a rematch, but in the Governor's race. McDonnell defeated Deeds in the general election by a margin of 59%–41%, much larger than the previous Attorney General election. This would be the last time until 2021 that a Republican would win any statewide election in Virginia. This is also the last time any of the following counties have voted Republican in a statewide race: Albemarle, Fairfax, Prince William, Henrico, Sussex, Brunswick, and the independent city of Suffolk. Additionally, this was the last gubernatorial election in Virginia to be decided by double digits until 2025, although it was the last time that Republicans did so as of 2026.