Posted on 10/09/2007 8:12:48 AM PDT by freespirited
Six state Senate battleground races to watch as Democrats try to gain four Republican-held seats needed to hold a majority of the 40 seats for the first time since 1995:
District 1 (Poquoson and parts of Newport News, Hampton and York County.)
Democrat: John Miller, Newport News, a former TV news anchor; now works for Christopher Newport University. Raised $194,705 as of Aug. 31.
Republican: Tricia Stall, Newport News, registered nurse and anti-tax activist. Raised $110,645.
Situation: Moderate GOP incumbent Marty Williams lost primary to Stall; transportation is dominant issue.
District 6 (Accomack, Mathews and Northampton counties and parts of Norfolk and Virginia Beach.)
Democrat: Ralph Northam, Norfolk, a physician and professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School; first race. Raised $567,686.
Republican: D. Nick Rerras, Norfolk, marketer for computer and technology firms. Raised $515,040.
Situation: Rerras won the seat in 1999, but Norfolk gives Northam a Democratic foothold.
District 28 (King George, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, Stafford, Westmoreland counties and parts of Fauquier and Prince William counties and the city of Fredericksburg.)
Democrat: Albert C. Pollard Jr., Mollusk, retired from family glass-etching and imprinting business; served three House terms. Raised $343,153.
Republican: Richard Stuart, Westmoreland County, lawyer and assistant commonwealth's attorney. Raised $384,861.
Situation: Influential incumbent Republican John H. Chichester retires after 30 years in GOP-friendly district.
District 34 (City of Fairfax and part of Fairfax County.)
Democrat: J. Chapman Petersen, Fairfax, lawyer who served two terms in the House before unsuccessful 2005 lieutenant governor bid. Raised $470,474.
Republican: Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, Vienna, partner in a technology consulting firm; served three House terms and won Senate seat in 2003. Married to U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis, R-Va. Raised $881,426.
Situation: Incumbent Devolites Davis has money edge and congressman hubby's help, but no GOP senator's district has so many Democratic voters.
District 37 (Part of Fairfax County.)
Democrat: Janet Oleszek, Fairfax Station, Fairfax County school board member, a former aide to a California congressman. Raised $328,744.
Republican: Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, Fairfax, an attorney in private practice; won Senate seat in 2002 special election. Raised $649,234.
Situation: Cuccinelli, a conservative, defends his seat in a district that has voted Democratic in statewide elections the past two years.
District 39 (Parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties.)
Democrat: George Barker, Clifton, health industry analyst who helped found several health organizations. Raised $271,715.
Republican: Jay O'Brien, Springfield, self-employed in office furniture industry; colonel in Army Reserves; served five terms in House; won Senate seat in 2002 special election. Raised $407,088.
Situation: Barker plays up O'Brien's vote for unpopular civil fees on bad drivers; O'Brien touts tough laws on illegal immigrants.
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All campaign fundraising figures are current as of Aug. 31, the most recent State Board of Elections reports, as compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project.
Sadly, Fairfax Co will continue its moonbat voting trend.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Yup. Instead of fighting Warner and Kaine, they’ve been willing accomplices.
Cuccinelli and O’Brien should win. Devolites-Davis is in for a tough race. Hopefully, she will pull it out.
What are you basing that on? It is by far not a foregone conclusion.
I thought the State Senate race in my part of Virginia would have been included.
My district is in northwest Virginia (Winchester City, Frederick County, Clarke County, and parts of the nearby counties of Loudon and Warren). The independent/moderate Republican Ross Potts (NOT Rusty) has retired, and has thusfar remained neutral.
The Republicans are going with Jill Holtzman Vogel, a lawyer, and a mainstream conservative; and, the Democrats with Karen Kennedy Schultz, a professor in the School of Pharmacy at Shenandoah University. Shultz’ commercials (which I had to endure while watching the Yankees lose to the Indians) imply that she is a fiscal conservative and supports 2ns Amendment rights. Holtzman has been endorsed by the NRA, the Farm Bureau, and our Congressman, Frank Wolf. There is a third candidate in the race, a fuzzy-headed independent. As a local newspaper put it, he “said his policies and platforms in full will be posted on a Web site that is still being developed.”
Holtzman has thusfar raised $783,000 ($1,500 from me); and Schultz, $398,000. Holtzman has less cash on hand, however, since a lot of her money was spent during the contested Republicans primary.
The district tends to vote Republican, and there is a pro-Winchester City/anti-Winchester City tendency that in net will hurt the Winchester-based Democrat. The third party candidate will siphon an unknown number of votes from the Democrat. Maybe I’m being too nervous about this race, and the reason this race didn’t make the list is that we’re going to win it. Such a thing happened last year, when the Democrats ran a left-wing professor against Congressman Wolf.
You want an anti-gun, self-proclaimed “RINO” like Devolites-Davis to win?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Yes, rather the Dem. The GOP needs to maintain its majority in the Senate. There is a census coming up and the party in control of the Senate will be responsible for redistricting, which could make the Dems in charge for the next decade. This is a very critical election for us. Personally, I am actively engaged in supporting a number of candidates including Jay O'Brien and Dave Hunt [delegate] with phone calls, lit drops, and contributions.
I might add that Devolites-Davis is starting to get some religion on immigration issues.
What makes you such an expert of VA politics?
I am shocked at the amount of money raised in the 6th district. My gut feeling is the VAGOP is going to lose that seat. Besides Norfolk, Northam is originally from the Eastern Shore and has been laying on that pretty heavily, in addition to really piling on Rerras about the abusive driver fees.
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