Warner clings to razor-thin lead over Gillespie

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) is clinging to a tiny lead in his surprisingly tough fight against former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie (R).

Warner leads Gillespie by less than 13,000 votes out of more than 2 million votes cast, an edge of less than 1 percent, with all precincts counted. The race has not been called by the Associated Press.

{mosads}The close results mark more bad news for Democrats in a washout night for the party. Warner was a heavy favorite just weeks ago.

The results leave the race too close too call. A full official statewide canvass of the vote will begin tomorrow and could take days or weeks, based on previous close races in Virginia.

Gillespie didn’t concede in a late-night speech, calling for patience.

“Unfortunately some campaigns last longer than others and I’m going to need a little more hard work,” he told supporters.

We are going to accept whatever is the final outcome but I owe it to the voters of Virginia, owe it to all of you to make sure that the outcome is final before we make any final decisions on this end,” he continued. “Let’s just stay together for a few more days, maybe longer.”

Warner’s campaign didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Warner was favored to win heading into the night and led Gillespie by double-digit margins in most polling until recent weeks.

But the race tightened in closing weeks as the national mood soured for Democrats. Warner’s lead shrank to the mid-single digits in some polls, as he faced questions about his role in trying to keep a state senator from resigning his office.

Gillespie ran a disciplined campaign focused on appealing to blue-collar voters and attacking President Obama, while Warner sought to recreate the magic of his earlier races and refused to go negative on Gillespie until the closing days of the race.

— This story was posted at 8:30 p.m. and updated at 1:40 a.m.