It came as no surprise to anyone following the polls: Former Gov. Mark Warner (D) trounced former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R) in the race for Senate.

Warner's landslide victory means Virginia will now be represented by two freshman Democrats in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Jim Webb won his post only two years ago, and the newly elected Warner will take the place of retiring Republican Sen. John Warner (no relation).

"By a record margin, Virginians said they want their next senator focused on results not rhetoric," Warner said, as he declared victory shortly after 9 p.m. "The challenges we face are more about the future than the past, and as long as we face that future and avoid political divisions, there is nothing we can't accomplish."

"A record margin" was hardly an understatement.

With 88 percent of precincts in just before 11 p.m., Warner held 63 percent of the vote, according to unofficial numbers from the State Board of Elections.

In Prince William, he was leading with 64 percent with 72 of 76 precincts reporting in.

That represents a shift in local voters from Warner's last run for statewide office.

During his successful run for governor in 2001, Warner lost Prince William County to Republican Mark Earley by a 7-percent margin.

But that was then, and this is now.

Warner had been up by as many as 30 points statewide throughout the campaign. He also had plenty of money for advertising, while Gilmore has been financially strapped.

Several hours before the polls closed on Tuesday, Gilmore spokesperson Ana Gamonal said the Republican candidate had spent the day shaking hands at precincts throughout Central Virginia.

"Turnout is extremely high but everything seems to be going very smoothly," she said.

However, she wouldn't speculate on the outcome of the Senate election and said the Gilmore campaign hadn't been doing any exit polling.

In an election year in which nothing has gone right for Republicans, Gilmore faced an uphill battle anyway.

Seriously underfunded and abandoned by the national Republican Party, which saw Warner as a shoo-in, Gilmore was also battling against the long memories of voters and state leaders.

His tenure as governor was marked by strife within his own party. While campaigning for governor in 1997, Gilmore pledged to phase out the car tax. It was an extremely popular position, and he rode it into office.

But the proposal turned out to be far more expensive than anticipated, and when the economy took a nosedive in 2001, moderate Republican legislators joined Democrats in trying to postpone the phase-out. After an epic battle between Republicans in the General Assembly, Gilmore prevailed and continued to phase out the tax.

But it came at a cost. Other programs were cut to fund the plan, and the Republican party was badly splintered by the infighting, which paved the way for Warner's gubernatorial victory in 2001.

Ancient history maybe, but this year's Senate campaign focused strongly on the records of the two former governors. And Warner won that PR fight easily.

A telecom multimillionaire, Warner made friends on both sides of the aisle during his tenure as governor and gained support — and financial backing— from business leaders and moderate Republicans.

That support was in evidence on Tuesday as voters flocked to the polls.

Voting at Nokesville Elementary, Dave Saunders of Nokesville cast his vote for Republican presidential candidate John McCain. But when it came to the Senate, he crossed over and backed Warner.

"I actually watched Warner’s career," Saunders said. "I believe Warner’s really out there to get the job done."

He wasn't the only one. Throughout the county, Republican McCain-backers leaving the polls said they had switched sides to support the Democratic candidate for Senate.

But not all of them.

"I think Mark Warner is full of crap. He’s a liar. He raised taxes," said Jack Schrand, voting at Marsteller Middle School in Bristow on Tuesday morning.

While running for governor, Warner promised not to raise taxes. But after he took office, the state was faced with a big revenue problem (widely attributed to Gilmore's car tax phase-out) and Warner broke his promise and raised taxes to balance the budget.

Gilmore's attempt to use Warner's broken promise against him resonated with many voters. But not enough. Schrand went on to admit that Gilmore had "hurt the budget" and he reckoned that’s probably why Warner raised taxes.

And from the results, it seems the vast majority of Virginians agreed.

- Staff writers Dan Roem and Kali Schumitz contributed to this report.