[Posted Oct. 31, 2007]

Nov. 6 Election Likely To
Upgrade Dems’ Position

Leonard E. Colvin
Chief Reporter
New Journal & Guide
 
         Less than a week before Virginians go to the polls,  state and local Democratic party officials  say that tracking polls indicate that they will take control of  the State Senate and will gain enough votes to share power in the House.
         Political observers in both parties say that a hand full of  seats in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads could shift the balance of power to the Democrats. The Republican Party which has seen some of its more moderate members retire could lose control of the General Assembly for first time in a decade.
       All 140 seats in the House and Senate are being contested this year.  Of the 40 seats in  the Senate, Democrats say they only need four seats to take that chamber.
       In the House, Republicans have a 23-17 margin of control and will need  at least  six to come up even and seven to take outright control.
       Chesapeake Delegate Lionell Spruill, a ranking Democratic leader in the House,  says that his party is confident of taking the Senate and wants at least six to eight seats to share power or take all the marbles in the House.  Spruill said that the Democrats, however, have a uphill challenge. 
       “If we can get at least six of those eight targeted seats in the House, we can share the House in chamber,”  said Del. Spruill.  ”The Democrats will be one short on each of the important committees. They will have to share power. We will have greater influence on policy and bills in the House.”
       Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia may  share the responsibility for  giving the Dems their first sweep of the GOP in a legislative election in years.

     Northern Virginia is a precursor as to the direction, politically, the state is going.   With an influx of families and individuals from more liberal sections of the country, migrants and a more educated and wealthier working class, Northern Virginia and Fairfax County, especially,  is becoming a stronghold of Virginia Democrats.
       It was Fairfax County which put  U.S. Senator  James Webb over the top against incumbent George Allen last November. Current Governor Timothy Kaine and former Gov. Mark Warner, both Democrats, won statewide elections with the aid of  the region. Three of the races the Democrats need to win are in the Northern Virginia.

        In Hampton Roads, one of the most interesting contests involves Norfolk incumbent Senator  Nick Rerras, a Republican, against challenger Democrat Dr. Ralph Northam. This race  has the highest price tag and has captured voter interest in the region.
  It also has split Norfolk’s Democratic Party establishment with some high profile Black Democrats throwing their support to the Republican, including Norfolk Councilpersons Daun Hester or Paul Riddick,
       Rerras has been holding that Sixth  District Senatorial seat for eight years. Once a reliable Democratic district, it shifted Republican. Rerras has projected conservative stances on religion, supported a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, called for tighter control on abortion and a mandate for displaying “In God We Trust” on public buildings like public schools. The mentally ill, Rerras has said, are possessed by demons.
       Councilman Riddick told the Washington Post that Senator Rerras  was “a fair straightforward guy even though I don’t always support his decisions.”
The decision may be a strategic move politically. Rerras, if returned to office, could be a key ally if African American pols seek local judicial appointments or votes to support state funding for projects and institutions in their districts.
      On the other hand, new television commercials are showing Norfolk Sheriff Robert McCabe, who supported the Republican Rerras in the past, now supporting his Democratic opponent Northam. McCabe told the Washington Post  that the Senator was an “embarrassment.”
       Northam has raised some $1 million for the race and according to last campaign reports to the state, has some $336,000 on hand compared to $171,00 for the incumbent.
       Among the local house races,  the 83rd District in  Virginia Beach has enough African American votes to make a difference if there is a successful effort to get out the Black vote, according to Del. Spruill.  Democrat Joseph Bouchard is challenging Republican Chris P. Stolle for that open seat in the Beach. Several elections ago Beach NAACP President Georgia Allen ran for that seat, and Spruill said that it may be close enough for the Democrat to take.
      Spruill said that Black voter turn will be the key in this race and in many of the close Senate races. He has been traveling  about the southeastern part of the state, helping candidates drum up support in the Black community.

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