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Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Battle for Senate control likely to have a high price tag
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FFX County Politics
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Date: July 19, 2011 01:44PM
Battle for Senate control likely to have a high price tag
Democrats look to maintain slim majority in state’s upper chamber
by Kali Schumitz, Staff Writer More News
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20110715/NEWS/707159820/1076/falls-church-delays-water-rate-increase/Battle-for-Senate-control-likely-to-have-a-high-price-tag&template=fairfaxTimes
Fairfax County likely will be home to some of the hardest-fought, most expensive state Senate races in Virginia history this year as Republicans try to reclaim control of the chamber.
“The basic reality is that the House of Delgates is out of reach for the Democrats,” said Stephen Farnsworth, associate professor of communications at George Mason University. “The real action is with the Senate.”
Democrats have a 22-18 majority in the state Senate, while the Republicans control the House, as well as the governorship. If Republicans can pick up two Senate seats, Farnsworth said, they essentially will control the legislature because the lieutenant governor casts the tie-breaking vote.
Given those stakes, voters should expect to see large amounts of money poured into local races, Farnsworth said. Spending on one of the county’s Senate seats in 2007 reached nearly $2.5 million, and the price tag is likely to be higher this year.
“We will see some of the most expensive races in Virginia history,” Farnsworth said.
The large number of safe legislative districts in the state frees up more funding for those that are up for grabs, he said.
Winning the Senate is a major priority for Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), according to Anthony Bedell, chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee.
And some of the most heavily contested seats are located in Northern Virginia.
Defending the local seats is a top priority for Fairfax County Democrats as well, according to Bedell’s Democratic counterpart, Rex Simmons.
“Holding onto our state Senate seats is so critical,” Simmons said. “We are the only thing standing in the way of some extreme policies put forward by the McDonnell-Cuccinelli administration.”
The 37th District, which includes parts of Clifton, Centreville, Fairfax and Burke, has a history of razor-thin margins. It went to Democrat David Marsden by a 300-vote margin in a special election last year. In 2007, current Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) held onto the seat by fewer than 100 votes.
This district is high on the list of three or four seats Bedell thinks Republicans have a shot at this year. The others are the 39th, in southern Fairfax County, occupied by Sen. George Barker (D); the 31st, an open seat previously held by Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D); and the 34th, in central Fairfax, occupied by Sen. J. Chapman Petersen (D).
“I feel very good about our chances in November,” Bedell said. “I do think that some of the national winds are still at our back,” he said, while cautioning that “sometimes that doesn’t always translate locally.”
The local Republican Party is much stronger, larger and better organized than it has been in years, according to Bedell.
“We were at rock bottom in December of ’08,” he said. Since then, paid membership has nearly doubled and the party’s email list has ballooned from under 1,000 to 12,000 subscribers.
In addition, the local party has made a concerted effort to recruit more women and minority candidates for this year’s state and local races, reflecting the diversity of the local population.
“It’s not all old white men anymore,” Bedell said.
Regardless of the national climate, no one should count out Democrats in Fairfax County, Simmons said, noting there were six races in the county last year, and Democrats won five.
“Fairfax County voters have a great appreciation for well-run government, and that’s certainly what we have here,” Simmons said, adding he doesn’t hear local voters clamoring for change.
“We’re the envy of the rest of the nation,” Simmons said. “Voters would be wise to want to keep what’s been so successful here.”
Although Republicans might have grown their database, Democrats already have a solid grassroots organization in the county, Simmons said.
The X-factor in this year’s races, Farnsworth said, is how the revised district boundaries will affect the elections. Virginia went through a redistricting process this year, following the 2010 census.
“When you redraw the lines ... you create added vulnerability for incumbents,” Farnsworth said, because they don’t necessarily have the name recognition and personal connection with voters that they had before.”This will be the most fought-out year in the next 10.”
Democrats look to maintain slim majority in state’s upper chamber
by Kali Schumitz, Staff Writer More News
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20110715/NEWS/707159820/1076/falls-church-delays-water-rate-increase/Battle-for-Senate-control-likely-to-have-a-high-price-tag&template=fairfaxTimes
Fairfax County likely will be home to some of the hardest-fought, most expensive state Senate races in Virginia history this year as Republicans try to reclaim control of the chamber.
“The basic reality is that the House of Delgates is out of reach for the Democrats,” said Stephen Farnsworth, associate professor of communications at George Mason University. “The real action is with the Senate.”
Democrats have a 22-18 majority in the state Senate, while the Republicans control the House, as well as the governorship. If Republicans can pick up two Senate seats, Farnsworth said, they essentially will control the legislature because the lieutenant governor casts the tie-breaking vote.
Given those stakes, voters should expect to see large amounts of money poured into local races, Farnsworth said. Spending on one of the county’s Senate seats in 2007 reached nearly $2.5 million, and the price tag is likely to be higher this year.
“We will see some of the most expensive races in Virginia history,” Farnsworth said.
The large number of safe legislative districts in the state frees up more funding for those that are up for grabs, he said.
Winning the Senate is a major priority for Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), according to Anthony Bedell, chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee.
And some of the most heavily contested seats are located in Northern Virginia.
Defending the local seats is a top priority for Fairfax County Democrats as well, according to Bedell’s Democratic counterpart, Rex Simmons.
“Holding onto our state Senate seats is so critical,” Simmons said. “We are the only thing standing in the way of some extreme policies put forward by the McDonnell-Cuccinelli administration.”
The 37th District, which includes parts of Clifton, Centreville, Fairfax and Burke, has a history of razor-thin margins. It went to Democrat David Marsden by a 300-vote margin in a special election last year. In 2007, current Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) held onto the seat by fewer than 100 votes.
This district is high on the list of three or four seats Bedell thinks Republicans have a shot at this year. The others are the 39th, in southern Fairfax County, occupied by Sen. George Barker (D); the 31st, an open seat previously held by Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D); and the 34th, in central Fairfax, occupied by Sen. J. Chapman Petersen (D).
“I feel very good about our chances in November,” Bedell said. “I do think that some of the national winds are still at our back,” he said, while cautioning that “sometimes that doesn’t always translate locally.”
The local Republican Party is much stronger, larger and better organized than it has been in years, according to Bedell.
“We were at rock bottom in December of ’08,” he said. Since then, paid membership has nearly doubled and the party’s email list has ballooned from under 1,000 to 12,000 subscribers.
In addition, the local party has made a concerted effort to recruit more women and minority candidates for this year’s state and local races, reflecting the diversity of the local population.
“It’s not all old white men anymore,” Bedell said.
Regardless of the national climate, no one should count out Democrats in Fairfax County, Simmons said, noting there were six races in the county last year, and Democrats won five.
“Fairfax County voters have a great appreciation for well-run government, and that’s certainly what we have here,” Simmons said, adding he doesn’t hear local voters clamoring for change.
“We’re the envy of the rest of the nation,” Simmons said. “Voters would be wise to want to keep what’s been so successful here.”
Although Republicans might have grown their database, Democrats already have a solid grassroots organization in the county, Simmons said.
The X-factor in this year’s races, Farnsworth said, is how the revised district boundaries will affect the elections. Virginia went through a redistricting process this year, following the 2010 census.
“When you redraw the lines ... you create added vulnerability for incumbents,” Farnsworth said, because they don’t necessarily have the name recognition and personal connection with voters that they had before.”This will be the most fought-out year in the next 10.”