Political Reporter Andy Fox here at a boisterous victory party for Virginia Beach’s Bob McDonnell.  As one speaker said, “Bob has lead the republican party out of a seven year wilderness politically.”  The last time Republicans won all three statewide offices was back in 1997.

National Republican Chair Michael Steele told WAVY.com, “Bob ran a campaign that reached out.  He won back independents…no one cared about his 1989 Thesis because they care about jobs.  They care about roads. They care about education.”

Early results show Deeds failed to generate the needed turnout in African American Communities, women and Hispanics.

Republicans are using the victories tonight in Virginia to re-energize a Republican Party that has failed to win a gubernatorial race since 1997.

WAVY News 10 and FOX 43 want to spread some great news. Meteorologist Jeremy Wheeler is the proud father of a beautiful baby girl. Jeremy, his wife and their son welcomed her into the world Tuesday night.

He sent along these pictures and wanted to let you all know that he will be back on air soon.

Blog by WAVY News 10 reporter Derrick Rose:

———-

Wow. What an amazing day and experience. I almost don’t know where to begin.

Right now its about 1030 a.m. and I’m not too far from the Capitol bldg but I have a huge jumbotron in front of me.

The best part about this moment is spending it with my family-mother, father, sister and cousin. We braved the cold at 5am to hit an enormously crowded metro rail system. I’ve taken the metro hundreds of times but obviously it’s never been at the capacity it’s been today. That’s what happens when everyone wants to be a part of history.

I wish everyone who wanted to be here could come because just like covering major breaking news like Katrina or 9/11, it’s one thing to see it on TV but when you’re here, you’re in the moment and words alone do not come close to doing these moments justice.

The members of the US House are making their entrance now and we are just moments away from history.

Members of Hollywood are all over. On the jumbotron I’ve seen Dustin Hoffman, Steven Spielberg, and Muhammad Ali but no Andy Fox. I’m sure the Foxxer is around here somewhere scoring an exclusive with some big name.

The weather just in case you haven’t been watching TV is cold but not bad considering I’m in a direct beam of sunlight and I packed on more layers than the cold weather story I did last Friday morning on WAVY News 10 Today. I’m having flashbacks to my days at the ages of 3 to 5 when my mom used to bundle me up in this little navy blue snowsuit with the knit gloves safety pinned to the sleeves. I couldn’t raise my arms then, I don’t think I can raise them now. Speaking of the weather there was music playing and everyone was bouncing and moving but I’m convinced it was more to keep warm than to keep the beat.

Its about 1040 am now so it’s a little more than an hour until the Transition of Power.

I’ll be sending in more photos to our webdesk throughout the day.

Derrick Rose
Reporter, WAVY News 10

Blog from Jenn and Amanda:

9:20 a.m.

So a little more than two hours now until the start of the Inauguration. The giant TVs are replaying Sunday’s HBO concert special, so we’re kept entertained as we anxiously await the President-elect.

The only real problem out here is the cold. It seems our many layers of clothes are not holding up to the nearly freezing temperatures. Despite the weather, though, it is still a very exciting place to be! And this crowd is growing bigger and bigger!

More to come…

Jenn and Amanda

Blog from Jenn Rojsuontikul and Amanda D’Attilio:

At about 3:15 a.m. our alarm went off and we got up to prepare for our train ride into D.C. from Manassass, Virginia. The Virginia Railway Express sold special tickets for today’s Inauguration, so we were guaranteed a seat. Still, we wanted to be sure. So we arrived at about 4:45 a.m. at the train station. Just after 5 a.m. the train pulled up and we got on.

We were told not to bring a lot with us for the sake of security. So we just packed some snacks and a blanket to sit on while on the Mall. Once we arrived we saw the mass of people moving toward the capitol. There were vendors selling all things Obama, hoping to profit a little from this historic event. We were really surprised there were no security checkpoints for those of us watching from the National Mall. But we hear random searches could be in place.

Huge TVs are set up for all of us to watch! We’ve tried to send some pictures but it seems that cell service is either weak or jammed. So we’ll send those pictures along after the event.

Aside from the crowds we’re also dealing with the cold. We both have dressed in warm layers: 2 pairs of Under Armor pants, a pair of jeans, two Under Armor shirts, a Northface, and a jacket! So we’re keeping nice and toasty.

As soon as things start going we’ll send along more updates!

- Jenn Rojsuontikul and Amanda D’Attilio
William & Mary and George Mason students

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Latest report from WAVY meteorologist Jeremy Wheeler:

It’s about 8:30am and I’m at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront around 16th street. Don’t come down for a visit though. Rain is very heavy now. Winds are gusting possibly up to 50mph as measured by one of our weathernet sites. Our van is lightly rocking so it is definetly gusty. Waves are running about 5-7ft now (estimated). There was a surfer earlier, but he even headed home now. Remember the rough surf is very dangerous, so please don’t try to surf until condtions calm down a little.

If I saw the radar right, then it looks like this storm may be a little ahead of schedule. Jon Cash is updating on WAVY-TV and information is crawling on WVBT.

- Meteorologist Jeremy Wheeler

Meteorologist Jeremy Wheeler is at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront covering Tropical Storm Hanna. He filed the following blog:

It’s about 7:30am on Saturday morning. I’m live at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Winds have steadily increased over the past couple of hours. We’re seeing wind gusts (estimated) at about 25mph. Rain is coming in in bands. Waves are running about 3-5ft with a few waves probably up to 6ft. High tide will be in the early afternoon, and that is when the winds will be 10-20mph stronger than they are now. Could see some beach erosion and minor tidal flooding then. I’ll try to report back later this morning. Lots of people out earlier. A lot of them have cleared out now.

- Jeremy Wheeler