Democrat Ralph Northam Trounces Anti-Gay Bigot Ben Loyola

I've written recently about the hideous anti-gay flyer distributed against Virgina 6th District incumbent Senator Ralph Northam. Northam's challenger, Ben Loyola's campaign denied any knowledge of the flyer with a wink and a nod even though (1) the wording in the flyer seemed to tract directly from Traditional Values Coalition ("TVC") so-called "reports" and (2) Loyola's campaign managers had ties to TVC when it ran Scott Rigell's congressional campaign - Rigell was endorsed by TVC founder, Lou Sheldon. Well, today, the dirty tricks failed to pay off as Loyola lost by a 13% spread. These highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

Democrat Ralph Northam outpaced his Republican challenger in a district that straddles cities and counties on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay.

Ben Loyola had strong support from leading Republicans and spent almost $173,000 with top contributions from both the Republican Party and tea party backers, but lost in his second bid for public office.

Northam, 52, an East Beach resident and a pediatric neurologist at the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughter’s Hospital, has strong ties to both Norfolk and the Eastern Shore, where he grew up.

Loyola’s platform for the state office had echoed his previous campaign for Congress, pitching lower taxes and less government as the remedy for the economy, unemployment and other ills.

With two defeats now, one can only hope that Loyola returns to the political wilderness.