Posted on 11/02/2009 6:10:43 PM PST by HokieMom
Virginia Democrats thought incumbent Delegate Dan C. Bowling had a safe seat.
That was before Republican James W. Morefield successfully turned the discussion in their Southwest Virginia coal-producing region into the negative effects of proposed federal cap-and-trade legislation, which would limit companies' carbon emissions.
Now Democrats are fighting to win the race that the political blog Swing State Project has reclassified from "likely Democrat" to a "toss-up."
That story has been repeated across Virginia, as voters awash in weighty national issues have a voice only in state elections this season. Democrats have seen their optimistic hopes of retaking the House of Delegates dim, as the top of their state ticket has fallen further behind in recent polls.
Currently, Republicans hold 53 seats in the House, while Democrats hold 43. Two seats are held by independents, and two are vacant. All 100 seats are up for grabs, but only 69 races are contested.
Republican House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith is predicting that Republicans could pick up two seats but added, "If it's a really good Republican night, we do have 12 seats that are close."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
http://www.billbolling.com/ for Lieutenant Governor
http://www.cuccinelli.com/ for Attorney General
All they need to do is hit one button, (R) one party vote!!
I see more pickups than that in the parking lot!
You must part of the NASCAR vote!
A 12-seat addition in the VA House would take the GOP back to tying its all time high (at least since Reconstruction) of 65 seats (which it had from 2001-03), and its first gain in 8 years. If only the Senate were up this year !
Virginia only added the party identification to the voting machines in recent years. Now we can vote R down the line. Local units still like to print and distribute sample ballots at the polls, though.
Is the Senate every six years? Then it’s not until 2013. Right, such a shame it’s not this year. Twelve pickups seems overly optimistic. So much depends on the demoralized blue zones not turning out. Since our people are so energized, where we have strong candidates running in Dem areas, we might get a few — but 12! That would be truly amazing.
No, no. State Senate is up every four. What’s peculiar is that the races aren’t staggered. Half the Senate seats ought to be up during a Gubernatorial election instead of all at once solely during the midterm of a given administration. If we do get to 10 or 12, and make breakthoughs in ultra-rodent NOVA, that’s gonna be a real embarrassment for them. Zero’s people will try to spin it, but you can’t, this is (to a degree) a national referendum.
Just as an aside, even when we won those 65 seats in 2001, which was on the basis of our finally getting to draw the lines for the first time since Reconstruction, Mark Earley lost to Mark Warner. That was fairly astonishing in that regard. Of course, Earley never recovered from that awful primary battle with John Hager (some of Hager’s supporters bolting to Warner).
So, according to Wikipedia the last Virginia Senate race was 2007, the next one will be 2011. Anti-Obama anger should still be running high. We have steady, strong leadership in place now who have done an excellent job recruiting a farm team and building the grassroots. I expect lots of candidates to be running hard and long and ready to capitalize on the angry mob vote in 2011. Even in the ‘ultra-rodent’ neighborhoods.
I like Mark Earley. I think he’s happy at Prison Fellowship.
Did you check your link? Did you mean to link to a different thread?
Looks to me like it’s going to the right place.
Whoa! That’s so odd. When I clicked on the link before it sent me back to this same thread. Thanks for checking.
The point of the article you linked to is so true. McDonnell’s stump speeches became more Reagan-like as the campaign progressed and his poll numbers soared in response.
If Gov. McDonnell does a good job, it should engender goodwill for GOP candidates in ‘11. I found it astonishing that Kaine didn’t sustain losses in ‘07, let alone gain control of the Senate on his watch, but I think some of it had to do with the national anti-Dubya/anti-GOP climate (although not helped by some RINO incumbents, such as Tom Davis’s wife, and sabotage to make sure Conservatives wouldn’t win).
You sure know a lot about Virginia politics for a Tennessean. Even down to the local scuttlebutt. At times, Tom Davis is a talented party-builder but his scandal hurt at a time when anti-GOP sentiment was high. Sometimes the conservative vote overwhelmed his efforts to moderate the party anyway.
The new RPV chairman, originally from West Virginia, I think; knows how to broaden the voter base without watering down what Republicans stand for. One case in point, the email arrived in the last day or two promoting the advance in Williamsburg. The two speakers Pat Mullins highlights in his email are none other than Susan Allen and Mike Farris. It’s been a very long time since Mike Farris has been elevated to such a high-profile position. At least that I’ve noticed.
Now I’ve got to try and sleep if I’m going to be at the polls at 6:00 a.m.!
Thank you, well I try to stay abreast of as many states as I can. VA, of course, is a neighbor state (and I have relatives there, my cousins — probably voting for Deeds, Loudoun County liberals).
Mike Farris. Another of John Warner’s hit-and-run Conservative victims (along with Lt. Col. North). Went out of his way to sabotage his Lt Gubernatorial run in ‘93 and helped the liberal rodent “Volvo Don” Beyer. Farris should’ve succeeded George Allen as Governor (with Gilmore following Farris). It’s despicable what Warner got away with for so long (I wouldn’t be surprised if he voted for Mark Warner).
I say it frequently, if only Dick Obenshain had never gotten on that airplane in ‘78, we might never have ended up with that weasel John Warner. VA would’ve been far better off today (and Obenshain might’ve ended up as President by the ‘90s for all we know, a Conservative giant the nation was deprived of). Even Wikipedia has a great quote of his... “The most important goal in my life is to have some significant impact in preserving personal freedom in the life of this country.” A great loss, indeed.
Good luck to all of you today !
John Warner definitely received a lot of boos in those days and stopped showing up for awhile. It’s a fun time to be a conservative again with things on the rebound!
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