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HOUSE RACES

NEW summaries of key House of Delegates races in Virginia.

These brief reports are updated daily, where needed. Much more information on campaigns, the candidates, their districts, their finances and their positions on important business issues is available in the members-only section at www.vafree.com

(* indicates incumbent)

H 05 * Bill Carrico (R)
Susie Dixon Garner (D)

Ms. Garner is a CPA in Galax and served on the local school board. She has an MBA from Chapel Hill.

Bill Carrico is a native of the district, a former state trooper, and a graduate of Virginia Highlands Community College. A conservative Christian, he is known for his emotional efforts to restore prayer in public schools. First elected to the House in 2001, he defeated incumbent Democrat John Tate, a task made easier by a GOP redistricting plan that stripped Tate of much of his Smyth County base. He was re-elected with 55% in 2003. In 2006, he challenged US Rep. Rick Boucher in Virginia's "fightin' 9th," and lost 68% - 32%. Carrico's Virginia FREE business ratings range from a high of 79 in his first year in office to a low of 54 in 2006.

This is a strong Republican district, voting 60% or more for Allen, Kilgore, Bolling and Bush. It is cobbled together from all or part of five localities in far Southwest Virginia. The district's southern anchor is Grayson County, which runs along the North Carolina line and features Mount Rogers, Virginia's highest peak (5,729 feet). The rest of the district runs along the Interstate 81 corridor, from the New River Valley to the edge of the state's coal region.

H 07 * Dave Nutter (R)
Peggy Frank (D)

Republican Dave Nutter, a Virginia Tech spokesman, has represented this New River Valley district in Southwest Virginia since 2002. His cumulative Virginia FREE business rating is 69, with a pro-business voting percentage ranging from a high of 85% to a low of 50%. Nutter takes unpaid leave from his state job with the land-grant university during the annual legislative sessions. In 2004, he was one of 17 House Republicans who broke a budget logjam by voting for higher taxes. The former Reagan-administration appointee has been active in local GOP committees since he moved from Washington to the Blacksburg area in 1988.

Nutter defeated Jim Shuler in 2001, ran unopposed in 2003 and clobbered Democrat Barbara Chrisley in 2005, capturing 62% of the vote.

Peggy Frank is a lawyer in Christiansburg and a former Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Montgomery and Pulaski counties. She has a degree in business administration from East Carolina University and a law degree from Campbell University School of Law. She is a member of the Montgomery County, Radford City and Pulaski County Chambers of Commerce and previously served on the New River Valley Community Corrections Board. She and her husband Marshall are native Virginians and have lived in the New River Valley for more than 20 years. They have three children.

House District 7 takes in the city of Radford, southern Pulaski County and most of Montgomery County (excluding Virginia Tech). The district’s blue-collar leanings and area universities make it a swing district, but the GOP-controlled legislature nudged it toward Republican column in the last redistricting.
The district voted 55% for Allen, 50% Kaine, and 62% Bush.

H 09 OPEN - Allen Dudley (R) retires
Eric Ferguson (D)
Charles Poindexter (R)

In 2005, Democrat Eric Ferguson challenged Dudley with a folksy, populist campaign engineered by the irascible consultant Dave “Mudcat” Saunders. Ferguson called himself an “old-timey Democrat” and featured bluegrass music legend Ralph Stanley in his radio campaign ads. Ferguson raised $200,000 and captured 47% of the vote in a safe Republican district. Ferguson is a lawyer in Rocky Mount.

Poindexter, 65, is a native of Franklin County, with family roots dating back to the late 18th century. He spent much of his career working as an engineer and site manager for Mitre Corp.'s Air Force Systems Engineering Operations for the Air Force Command in Hampton. After retiring from Mitre, he has served two terms on the Franklin County Board of Supervisors. He said in a press release that he thinks individual freedoms are best protected through a "lean and hungry" government.

Franklin County forms the core of House District 9, which also includes rural Floyd County in the Blue Ridge to the west and five precincts in tobacco-rich Pittsylvania County to the east. President Bush carried the district with 63 percent in 2004; George Allen captured 61% in 2006. Moonshiners in overalls sometimes rub shoulders with Jersey retirees in golf knickers in Franklin County. While Scots-Irish settlers learned to squeeze liquor from corn, the county’s moonshine trade went big-time during Prohibition, earning Franklin County the nickname of “Moonshine Capital of Virginia.” Smith Mountain Lake, a hydroelectric reservoir created in the mid-1960s, has drawn a host of newcomers, among them scores of retirees from Northeast states. Traditional industries include tobacco farming and light industrial plants that produce mobile homes and windows.

H 13 * Bob Marshall (R)
Bruce Roemmelt (D)

This is a re-match from 2005 when Roemmelt came up 3,000 votes short, capturing 44% of the vote while outspending the incumbent nearly two-to-one. Over the years, Marshall has fended off several challengers seeking to portray him as an extremist preoccupied with a right-wing social agenda. Roemmelt is taking a different tack, focusing instead on transportation. Marshall voted against the GOP-authored transportation plan in 2007, giving the opposition more fodder on the number one issue in Northern Virginia politics.

Roemmelt is a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam and served as captain of the Prince William County Department of Fire & Rescue for 21 year. He and his wife Beth have lived in Prince William County since 1976 and have an adult daughter. He holds a doctorate in education and is an adjunct assistant professor at George Washington University. Roemmelt said the greatest problems facing Virginians are transportation, growth, education and a greater need for health care services.

The 13th district spans Prince William and eastern Loudoun counties and has seen explosive growth in recent years with a huge influx of new voters. That lends encouragement to Roemmelt who seeks to build a base among new residents with no loyalty to the veteran incumbent. The district remains safe Republican territory, though, voting 61% for Bush, and 54% for both Kilgore and Allen. Marshall remains a heavy favorite. Virginia FREE rates him a “swing” supporter of business issues, even though his district would be expected to produce a “base” supporter. His pro-business voting record ranges from a high of 78% to a low of 40%, with a cumulative VAFREE business rating of 63.

H 14 * Danny Marshall (R)
Adam Tomer (D)

Danny Marshall has one of the most pro-business voting records in the General Assembly. He has not had opposition since succeeding Whitt Clement in the House with a 60% win over Democrat Joyce Glaise in 2001. Marshall was one of 17 House Republicans who broke ranks and supported an increase in the state sales tax during the tumultuous session of 2004. In 2006, he stood with the House majority in opposition to increased taxes for transportation. A native of Danville, he is a businessman and an avid racecar driver in the Rolex GT series. He attended Danville Community College and Averett College before going to work in the family concrete business.

Adam Tomer is a Danville city councilman. He was the number one vote getter in the 2006 city council elections, indicating a base of support in the district's only urban center. However, he did not waltz to the nomination. Tomer backed Bern Ewert over Al Weed for the nomination to challenge Republican US Rep Virgil Goode in 2006. Now there are grumblings among party activists who question Tomer's loyalty, suggesting that he had little enthusiasm for the Weed campaign.

Danville is the heart of the district and was built on textile manufacturing, an industry now fading from the landscape. Nearly one in four residents are African-American. George Allen carried the district with 54%, Bolling with 52%, Kaine captured 51% and McDonnell and Deeds split the vote 50-50.

H 16 OPEN – Robert Hurt (R) runs for Senate
Donald Merricks (R)
Andy Parker (D)

This district includes a large swath of Pittsylvania County and most of the city of Martinsville. It is strongly Republican, voting 60% Allen, 56% Kilgore and 62% Bush. In three elections, retiring incumbent Robert Hurt’s margin of victory has never dipped below 62%. The GOP is favored to win here – although historically this region will consider local Democrats more than those running statewide.

Republican Don Merricks, 55, is a small business owner and a native of Pittsylvania County. He and his wife own and operate J.W. Squire Co. and RiverCity Specialties & Interiors Inc. in Danville. He attended local public schools and earned a certificate in Bank Administration from the University of Wisconsin.

Democrat Andy Parker is expected to make a strong showing in the Martinsville end of the district. He lost his job at Tultex Corp. after the giant textile and sportswear company went belly up in December, 1999. He started a successful recruiting firm and, in 2003, was elected to the Henry County Board of Supervisors.

H 19 * Lacey Putney (I)
Lewis Medlin. Jr. (D)

Lewis Medlin Jr., 56, is a graduate of the candidate-training program at the Sorensen Institute at UVA. He lives in Bedford County, where he runs a family business in Montvale that manufactures metal brackets used in commercial construction. He is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Lacey Putney, an independent first elected in 1962 and the longest-serving member of the General Assembly.

Putney appears invincible, but jockeying has begun in both parties for inside position when Putney decides to retire. "Eventually there's going to come a point where Putney says he's had enough," Medlin said. Putney has not revealed his plans but many expect he will run again this year. If not, several candidates would likely emerge, including John Putney, Lacey's nephew, who recently returned to the area and has established residence in the district.

The Democrats reportedly will nominate a candidate by caucus this spring.

Putney, a Bedford trial attorney, is a strong ally of business with effectiveness ratings consistently among the highest in the House and a cumulative business rating of 74.

Medlin says he will run on four issues: getting public schools to provide preschool classes, refunding excess tax dollars from the state budget back to taxpayers, improving safety on rural roads and cracking down on parents who don't pay child support.

H 21 * John Welch (R)
Bobby Mathieson (D)

Mathieson is a former Virginia Beach police officer who recently retired from his appointed position as chief deputy of Criminal Justice Services in Richmond. He now works in business development for Rileen Innovative Technologies, a Virginia Beach firm providing biometric security solutions. He presents a formidable challenge to the six-year incumbent Republican. This is the only House district in the GOP stronghold of Virginia Beach carried by Democrats Tim Kaine, Jim Webb and Phil Kellam (for congress in ’06).

Welch, a chiropractor, first won the seat in a special election to replace Frank Wagner who moved to the State Senate after then-State Sen. Ed Schrock was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Five months after his first session, Welch was facing a re-election challenge from within his own party. He defeated Republican Peggy Totin and was unopposed in the general election. He clobbered a weak Democratic challenger in 2003 and again ran unopposed in 2005. In the fall of 2005, weeks before tougher bankruptcy rules went into effect, Welch quietly filed a bankruptcy petition that wiped away $100,000 in credit card debt but left him with $15,000 in unpaid federal taxes. Welch has not distinguished himself as a champion of business, earning a cumulative VAFREE business rating of 64.

House District 21 contains a thickly populated section of Virginia Beach that runs north and south along Independence Boulevard. The 21st District offers a diversity of races. Blacks make up nearly one-quarter of the district’s residents, and there are sizeable Hispanic and Filipino communities. Nearly one-third of the district’s residents are renters, and area military bases ensure a transient population.

This race is expected to be close.

H 26 * Matt Lohr (R)
Carolyn Frank (I)

Matt Lohr is the odds-on favorite to win re-election in this strong Republican, Shenandoah Valley district. He first took the seat at age 33 following the retirement off Glenn Weatherholtz in 2005. It was a hard-fought battle against Lowell Fulk, a popular conservative Democrat. The candidates brought in political heavyweights and spent more than $500,000 with Lohr capturing 54% of the vote.

Lohr grew up on a farm owned by his relatives for more than 100 years, producing chickens, beef cattle, wheat and pumpkins. While still farming, he and his wife operate New Directions Communications, a motivational speaking business. In his first session, Lohr did not distinguish himself as a strong supporter of business. He voted wrong on several key issues, including Machinery & Tools Tax Reform, and Communications Tax Reform. His main legislative thrust was a bill to ban gay-oriented clubs from public schools. He is a self-described conservative Republican who said he would have voted against Gov. Warner’s tax package in 2002.

The district includes Harrisonburg and northern Rockingham County, where Pilgrim's Pride Corporation employs thousands at its poultry processing plant. Republicans consistently carry more than 60% of the district vote.

H 31 * Scott Lingamfelter (R)
William Day (D)

Part of the fast-growing Northern Virginia suburbs, House District 31 displays some contrasting landscapes. The western precincts are part of the Fauquier County horse country. To the east, Prince William County subdivisions, townhouses and box stores are part of the nouveau commuter landscape. This is one of three new House seats awarded to Northern Virginia after a decade of suburban growth. It is considered a swing district in statewide contests but leans decidedly Republican in legislative races.

Lingamfelter, a retired Army colonel who now works for a defense contractor, is a relentless opponent of government spending and a social conservative. One of the first bills he introduced would have required public schools to post the Ten Commandments. Born in New York City, Lingamfelter was raised in Richmond and graduated from Benedictine High School and Virginia Military Institute. He served 28 years in the Army and is a veteran of the first Gulf War.

Bill Day is a 54-year-old licensed conselor who lives near Warrenton in Fauquier County. He has a bachelor's from Arizona State, a master's from West Virginia State, and an MBA from Harvard. He desribes himself as an avid tennis player, golfer, and horseman who is very involved with Habitat for Humanity. He is a member of the Faquier and Prince William Chambers of Commerce, the Sierra Club, the Piedmont Environmental Council, and the League of Conservation Voters.

There is a bogus Web site masquerading as the Day campaign site that falsely claims Day proposes hypnotizing the entire General Assembly. The actual Web address for the Day campaign is http://dayfordelegate.org

Lingamfelter was first elected in 2001 with 56% of the vote, despite being outspent by nearly two-to-one by Democrat Micke Krause. In 2003, he beat a popular challenger in former Delegate David Brickley who served more than two decades in the House.

H 32 * David Poisson (D)
Lynn Chapman (R)

David Poisson is among the most pro-business legislators in Virginia, and he is the only member of the House of Delegates to support business on every vote used in VAFREE voting records in 2006.

Chapman, from Ashburn, came in third during a 2006 Republican primary for a special election to fill the state senate seat vacated by Bill Mims. Chapman is a graduate of Brigham Young University, an electrical engineer, and a former CEO of Netrix Corporation. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and has seven children.

In August, controversy swirled around a Chapman campaign “push poll” implying that Poisson is a “closet homosexual,” that he “harbors illegal immigrants,” and that he has close ties to disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The campaign was roundly criticized for the controversial polling tactics.

Poisson is a native of Massachusetts who moved to Northern Virginia in 1978 and has made his living in and around the federal government – as a Capitol Hill staffer, an association executive, and a lobbyist. He has four degrees, including a Ph.D. in higher education and a law degree from the University of Arizona.

He defeated former incumbent Republican Dick Black, a champion of the right to life movement, with 53% in 2005.

The district is nestled against the Potomac River in northeastern Loudoun County with an annual growth rate of nearly 13%, among the highest in the country. On average, residents of this district have lived there just 2 years – a statistic that tends to diminish inherent incumbent advantage. Traditionally safe Republican territory, the Loudoun County Republican Committee is in the midst of a meltdown, plagued by bitter infighting and disarray. Both Webb and Kaine carried the district with narrow margins.

H 33 * Joe May (R)
Marty Martinez (D)

Fernando "Marty" Martinez is a Leesburg Town Councilman and describes himself as a "bi-partisan bridge-builder" who wants to be "part of a coalition of legislators that will work for solutions." His first challenge in this race will be to gain name recognition beyond Leesburg.

Joe May, inventor and entrepreneur, is a consistent champion of business and earns high ratings from Virginia FREE. He is respected on both sides of the aisle and is well known and well liked across the district. First elected to the House in 1993, May has not had general election opposition since winning handily in a three-way race in 1997. In 2005, he easily survived a primary challenge from his party's anti-tax forces, trouncing Chris Oprison with 60% of the vote. He chairs the House Science and Technology Committee, serves on the influential House Appropriations Committee and is a member of the Transportation Committee.

The 33rd District includes Loudoun County from Leesburg west, and all of Clarke County. Once considered a strong Republican district, it has taken on shades of blue in recent statewide races, voting 50% for Kaine and Byrne, 49% for Deeds and 48% for Webb.

H 34 OPEN - Vince Callahan (R) retires
Margi Vanderhye (D)
Dave Hunt (R)

Vince Callahan, the venerable House Appropriations Chairman, former House Minority Leader, and the chamber’s longest-serving Republican, is stepping down after 30 illustrious years in Jefferson’s capitol. Even before this became an open seat, Democrats were emboldened by recent returns in the district: Webb, Byrne and Deeds all garnered 57%, Kaine 59%. Now, without Callahan on the ballot, this seat becomes an even more attractive target for the Democrats.

Margaret "Margi" Vanderhye defeated Richard "Rip" Sullivan in a June 12 Democratic primary with a margin of 148 votes. Vanderhye is a graduate of Northwestern University with a masters degree in International Relations and Economics from Johns Hopkins. She’s a graduate of the Sorensen Institute at UVA and was appointed by Governors Warner and Kaine to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the National Capital Planning Commission and also previously served as assistant to both Henry Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft at the National Security Council.

Republican contender Dave Hunt ran for the senate against Janet Howell in 2003. He fell 5,000 votes short of a win, despite raising half a million dollars to keep pace with the incumbent. The 34th House district is contained almost entirely within Janet Howell’s Senate district. Hunt, a former aide to Callahan, works for Landon IP, an Alexandria firm specializing in professional patent and trademark services and business intelligence. He will be a strong contender in this district.

H 40 * Tim Hugo (R)
Rex Simmons (D)

Rex Simmons captured the Democratic nomination over Morris Meyer in a June primary that saw record-low turnout of just 1,500 voters. Simmons recently retired as an executive in the FDIC Office of Inspector General after 32 years of federal civil service. He has been a 26-year resident of the community.

Tim Hugo is a former Capitol Hill staffer who worked briefly in the Bush administration before moving into the lobbying world. He currently works for the Free File Alliance, a coalition of companies working with the IRS to provide taxpayers with free electronic tax filing. A Norfolk native, he earned a bachelor's degree from William and Mary in 1986. He first won his House seat in a special election to succeed Jay O'Brien who moved to the Senate after redistricting in 2001. He ran unopposed in 2003 and 2005. He is a reliable pro-business vote with Virginia Free ratings consistently in the high 70's.

Like many Republican districts in Fairfax, the 40th is showing some shades of blue, voting 50% for Webb and 52% for Kaine, but it is still considered safe territory for Hugo. An interesting note: Two GOP state senators - O'Brien and Cuccinelli - live in Hugo's district, a unique arrangement that will benefit Hugo at the polls.

H 50 *Jackson Miller (R)
Jeanette Rishell (D)

This is a rematch from a special election in November 2006 to fill a vacancy caused by the death of longtime Del. Harry Parrish. Miller won that contest by 860 votes.

This is a swing district with Republican instincts that includes Manassas, Manassas Park and a small portion of Prince William County that borders the cities. Allen for US Senate and Kilgore for Governor each garnered 51% of the vote.

Miller, 39, is a real estate agent and a part-time Prince William police officer. He is a former member of Manassas City Council who has focused his energy on illegal immigration. In 2007, his first legislative session, Miller sought to prohibit charitable organizations from using taxpayer money to benefit illegal immigrants. The bill passed the House of Delegates and died in a Senate committee.

"Immigration [is] one of those issues that really pushed me into politics," Miller said. "I want our community to be livable, friendly and clean. I don't want our community to become a third world slum."

Rishell, 57, is a project assistant to the chief financial officer at Carteret Mortgage. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, she is a member of the Greater Manassas Chamber of Commerce, and is a former Vice Chair of the Manassas Park Electoral Board. She is a resident of Manassas Park and has three granddaughters.

H 51 OPEN - Michele McQuig (R) runs for Clerk of Court
Paul Nichols(D)
Faisal Gill (R)

Michelle McQuigg’s bid for Clerk of Circuit Court in Prince William County makes this an open seat in a very competitive district.

Faisal Gill, an attorney, narrowly defeated popular school board member Julie Lucas in a June convention for the GOP nomination. Gill captured a razor-thin majority of convention delegates, winning the tally by eight votes. Lucas is challenging the outcome, citing discrepancies in some precinct tallies where the number of ballots cast reportedly exceeded the number of people registered to vote at the convention. She has appealed to the 51st District Republican Committee, which has only one member: Tom Kopko, chairman of the Prince William County Republican Committee.

Gill is allied with Prince William County chairman Corey Stewart, and also Steve Chapman, who challenged the late Delegate Harry Parrish in a 2005 GOP House primary. He was the subject of controversy two years ago when he was briefly removed from a senior intelligence post at the Department of Homeland Security due in part to a past association with an American Muslim leader under indictment on terrorism-related charges. Gill has a BA and a JD from American University. Before joining the Bush Administration, he was the field director for Jay Katzen, the Virginia GOP candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2001.

Paul Nichols is a principal in the firm of Nichols, Bergere, Zauzig & Sandler, with offices in Woodbridge and Tyson’s Corner. He specializes in family matters. He was graduated from Kings College in 1974 and received his law degree from George Mason University in 1978. Another Democrat, Jeff Dion, withdrew from this race in late May following publicity surrounding his sexual orientation. Dion, a lawyer with the National Center for Victims of Crime in Washington D.C., reportedly came under pressure from party leaders to quit the race.

H 52 * Jeff Frederick (R)
Chris Brown (D)

Jeff Frederick has represented this district in southern Prince William County since narrowly defeating long-time incumbent Jack Rollison in a bitter GOP primary in 2003. In the general election campaign that year, Frederick refused to take the 2003 Virginia FREE candidate questionnaire and canceled a scheduled interview with Virginia FREE members, explaining that to meet with business leaders from around the state would be “like walking into the lion’s den.”

Two years later, Frederick won by just 340 votes over a strong Democratic contender, Prince William supervisor Hilda Barg. Frederick’s cumulative VAFREE business rating is a mediocre 55.

Chris Brown is a former Mayor of Dumfries and a CPA with his own local firm of Brown & Uvena.

H 59 * Watkins Abbitt (I)
Eric Winslow (I)
Connie Brennan (D)

While Watkins Abbitt turned Independent in 2001 he still maintains some of the best committee assignments in the House of Delegates, serves on the Manufacturing Development Commission and has consistently leaned pro-business. A farmer, Abbitt also owns Conner Insurance and Abbitt Realty in Appomattox and has received numerous awards for legislative, civic and charitable work.

Connie Brennan is the first woman to serve on the Nelson County Board of Supervisors, now in her second term, and is a former member of the Nelson County School Board. She is a nurse practitioner with the UVA department of student health and was educated at the UVA School of Nursing and VCU. She has a long record of community service and civic involvement.

Eric Winnslow, 36, is a machinist from Buckingham County who has collected the 125 petition signatures needed to run as an independent.

House District 59 spreads across seven rural counties, stretching from the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville to the hardscrabble tobacco fields in Prince Edward County. The district is so diverse that it’s difficult to find a common thread, even in recent election returns. The voters seesaw back and forth, supporting both parties in statewide races but consistently awarding Abbitt more than 60% of the vote.

H 67 * Chuck Caputo (D)
Marc R. Cadin (R)

This is a competitive district with a freshman delegate making his first bid for re-election.  Chuck Caputo won his House seat over Chris Craddock, a 27-year-old youth minister who defeated Gary Reese in a GOP primary. Craddock stumbled often enough in the general election campaign to be named by the Washington Post as the “worst candidate of the season.” The gray-haired Caputo presented voters with a more moderate, mature disposition and a long record of community involvement, including a stint on the Fairfax County School Board. Caputo earned a perfect score on the VAFREE candidate questionnaire and received the highest ratings of all open-seat candidates in the VAFREE candidate interview forum in 2005.

Marc Cadin is vice president of legislative affairs at the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting, an association of life insurance planners. He grew up in Syracuse, N.Y and earned a law degree in 2006 from Catholic University by taking night classes. He is a former civics teacher at the Flint Hill School in Oakton.

Historically a Republican district, the 67th voted 53% for Webb and 54% for Kaine.

H 68 * Katherine Waddell (I)
Manoli Loupassi (R)
Bill Grogan (I)

Richmond lawyer Manoli Loupassi is a former president of Richmond City Council. He is a first-generation native Virginian; his father immigrated to the US from Crete and became a restaurateur and real estate investor. He has the backing of US Rep Eric Cantor, Attorney General Bob McDonnell, and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, and he had raised $140,000 for this bid as early as June, 2006. His campaign treasurer is Rose Ann Janis, wife of Delegate Bill Janis.

Loupassi trounced Chesterfield attorney Will Shewmake in a firehouse primary in May to win the GOP nomination.

Katherine Waddell won a razor-thin margin in a long-shot bid as an Independent candidate in 2005 ousting conservative Republican Brad Marrs. She won by 42 votes after Marrs caused a firestorm with a campaign mailing that referred to one of Waddell’s major contributors as a “wealthy homosexual businessman” –a reference perceived as intolerant and déclassé. Both candidates brought in the heavyweights – US Rep. Bliley appeared in TV ads for Marrs and Gov. Warner publicly endorsed Waddell – and they spent a combined total of $650,000.

William K. "Bill" Grogan - an Independent with Democratic roots - is a late entry in the race. He is a native of Bassett Virginia and the head of a three-member, general-practice law firm. He spent two years at the U.S. Military Academy before shifting to Lynchburg College, from which he was graduated. He earned a law degree at the University of Richmond.

Waddell has a tough battle to hang on to this seat.

H 72 OPEN – Jack Reid (R) retires
Jimmie Massie (R)
Tom Herbert (D)

Jimmie Massie clobbered Jimmy Wheat in a June Republican primary, winning 58% of the vote in a contest that is tantamount to election in this strong GOP district. Massie is a conservative member of the Henrico County Republican Committee and a former Director of the Family Foundation. He has the backing of VCAP, the Virginia Conservative Action PAC.

James C. “Jimmy” Wheat III, 54, has ties to both major political parties - a pedigree that hurt his bid in this Republican primary. He was campaign treasurer for successful Republican gubernatorial candidate George Allen in 1993, and then lead efforts to enlist Republicans and independents for successful Democratic gubernatorial nominee Timothy M. Kaine in 2005. A third candidate in the primary, Dr. Bill Subramaniam, garnered just 614 votes.

Tom Herbert, who owns a consulting and software engineering business in Henrico, is running as a moderate Democrat. Herbert has lived in Henrico since 1997. A published author and frequent speaker at technology conferences, he faces a steep uphill battle in this district.

The district encompasses Richmond’s far West End, including the Short Pump area and Innsbrook Corporate Center. It is among the strongest Republican districts in the state.

H 74 OPEN – Don McEachin (D) runs for Senate
Joe Morrisey (D) Wins Primary

Former Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Joe Morrissey, disbarred from the practice of law, won a five-way primary in the 74th House District to replace Delegate Don McEachin, who gave up his seat to run a successful primary campaign against incumbent state senator Benny Lambert. Morrissey is expected to win the general election in this strong Democratic district.

One glance at this House District 74, created in 2001, makes clear that the General Assembly had more on its mind than creating compact, contiguous communities of interest when it drew these lines. The District was gerrymandered to squeeze one additional black-majority district out of the Richmond area. It is a Democratic stronghold, voting well over 70% Democratic in all recent elections.

H 79 * Johnny Joannou (D) Defeats Henry Light (D) in Democratic Primary

Johnny Joannou won a convincing victory with 58% of the vote in this primary that is very likely tantamount to election in a solidly Democratic district.

Joannou all but invited an intra-party challenge, siding with House Republicans often enough to be rewarded with seats on the powerful House Appropriations and House Rules Committees. A native of Brooklyn, the Greek-American Joannou received a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and a law degree from the University of Richmond. He practices in a small law firm in old town Portsmouth. Joannou is believed to be the first Virginia lawmaker to go from the House to the Senate and back to the House. He represented the 79th District from 1976 to 1984, when he was elected to the 13th District Senate seat. He lost the Senate seat in 1991 to Republican Frederick M. Quayle. After failing to regain the seat in a 1995 rematch, Joannou returned to the House in 1997, winning a closely contested open-seat race. His pro-business voting record averages 53% over the past 9 years.

Henry Light retired from Norfolk Southern Corporation’s Law Department in 2005 after 32 years of service. He now serves as of counsel with the law firm of Crenshaw, Ware & Martin in Norfolk. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of Norfolk State University.

H 82 * Bob Purkey (R)
Bob MacIver (D)

Republican Harry R. “Bob” Purkey is a Merrill Lynch investment manager and a solid business ally who cultivates a streak of independence. He has served in the House since 1985, during the days of Democratic dominance, and he became chairman of the powerful House Finance Committee following the death of former chairman Harry Parrish in 2006. For the past decade, Purkey has never garnered less than 63% of the vote in this Republican district.

Bob MacIver is a a retired management consultant to Fortune 500 companies and a former Air Force Lieutenant who served as a Minuteman launch control officer. He is a native of Virginia Beach who attended area public schools and was graduated from the Norfolk College of William and Mary (now Old Dominion University).

House District 82 covers the northeastern tip of Virginia Beach, from the crowded boardwalks on the oceanfront to Seaside State Park at Cape Henry. Virginia Beach, with thousands of Navy families and hordes of summertime visitors, is the state’s most populous city and one of its most solid Republican territories.

H 83 OPEN – Leo Wardrup retires
Joseph Bouchard (D)
Chris Stolle (R)

Dr. Chris Stolle, a physician and the brother of Senator Ken Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, defeated Carolyn Weems in a GOP primary in June. Wems was Leo Wardrup’s choice for his replacement. She’s been a member of the Virginia Beach School Board since 2002, and announced her candidacy for this House seat almost simultaneously with Wardrup's announcement of his retirement.

Robert Rummells, legislative aide to Del. John Welch III, R-Virginia Beach, announced by e-mail in early April that he would seek the GOP nomination but soon withdrew from the race, citing family illness.

Bouchard is a retired Navy captain who once commanded NAS Norfolk, and a military analyst who served as a military adviser in the White House during the 1990’s. He is currently executive director of the Center for Homeland Security and Defense at ZelTech, in Hampton.

In the past decade, suburban Virginia Beach became the most populous city in Virginia and emerged as a Republican stronghold in the state legislature. House District 83 covers the northwest corner of Virginia Beach and includes the Pembroke area. In socio-economic terms, the district lies somewhere between urban Norfolk to the west and the glittering oceanfront to the east. The median income is below the statewide average and the district has a relatively high concentration of renters. Politically, the district leans firmly to the Republican column, although Tim Kaine captured 50% of the vote here in 2005. George Allen carried the district with 51%.

H 86 * Tom Rust (R)
Jay Donahue (D)

Tom Rust is a moderate Republican and a strong business supporter with very high ratings from Virginia FREE. He served for 19 years as the widely popular mayor of Herndon, the epicenter of this district in the heart of the Northern Virginia technology sector. During the 2004 budget impasse, Rust was one of 17 Republicans who backed the sales-tax increase. Despite upsetting his party’s anti-tax wing, he was re-elected without opposition in 2005. Rust is both Hokie and Wahoo, earning a civil engineering degree from Virginia Tech and a master’s in urban planning from the UVA.

Donahue, 60, retired after a 32-year career with the American Automobile Association. He is vice chairman of the Herndon Planning Commission, and serves on the Boards of the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association and the Dulles Region Chamber of Commerce. He previously served on the Dulles Rail Land Use Commission. He holds a JD from University of the Pacific School of Law.

House District 86 was dropped into Northern Virginia following the 2000 census to sop up some of the excess population spilling out of western Fairfax into Loudoun County. Located along the Dulles Access Road, the 86th District is home to America Online and a host of other high-tech companies. The district historically has a Republican tilt but, like many Northern Virginia districts, it is taking on shades of blue. Democrats Mark Warner and John Kerry both captured narrow majorities here, and Jim Webb and Tim Kaine both garnered an impressive 58% of the vote – cause for concern among the GOP.

H 87 * Paula Miller (D)
Hank Giffin (R)

Vice Admiral Henry C. Giffin, USN (Ret.) reportedly will launch a challenge to Delegate Paula Miller in this competitive Norfolk district that is squeezed between the Norfolk Naval Base on the Elizabeth River and the Navy Amphibious Base on Little Creek.

Giffin served for 33 years in the U.S. Navy retiring in 2000 as commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic Fleet. In 2005, he became a senior vice president with AMSEC, a corporation jointly owned by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Northrop Grumman Newport News. AMSEC is a full service supplier to the Navy and commercial maritime industry. Giffin graduated with distinction from the National War College. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, with a masters degree from George Washington University.

Paula Miller won a 2004 special election to succeed Thelma Drake who was elected to Congress, then won re-election in 2005 with 50% of the vote in a three-way race. She was an on-air reporter for WTKR-TV in Hampton Roads for 15 years, and now works as a spokeswoman for the Virginia Beach sheriff’s office. Her husband, George Schaefer, is clerk of the court in Norfolk.

This is a swing district, voting 51% Webb, 53% Kaine and 52% Bush.

H 88 * Mark Cole (R)
Carlos Del Toro (D)

                     Two Navy Commanders will do battle in this Stafford county district that is home to the US Marine Corps base at Quantico.

Carlos Del Toro, 36, is a Commander in the U.S. Navy and Director of Training for all Aegis cruisers and destroyers. A native of Cuba, Del Toro was raised in New York City. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with post-graduate degrees in national security from the Naval War College, and in legislative affairs from George Washington University. He served as a Tactical Action Officer during Operation Desert Storm.

Delegate Cole is a project Manager and Systems Analyst for Northrop Grumman supporting the Navy's Aegis program at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren. He served in the U. S. Navy as Ordnance and Missile Officer on board the USS Mississippi, and continued to serve in the Navy Reserve reaching the rank of Commander before retiring in 2004. He is a graduate of Mary Washington College, Germanna Community College, and Western Kentucky University with degrees in Computer Science and Civil Engineering Technology.

The district includes a southern slice of Fauquier County and two precincts in Spotsylvania County. It leans firmly Republican, voting 57% Allen, 56% Kilgore, 60% Bolling and McDonnell, and 64% Bush.

H 96 OPEN - Melanie Rapp (R) retires
Troy Farlow (D)
Brenda Pogge (R)
Pamela Pouchot (I)

Melanie Rapp is stepping down after three terms in the House, making way for a competitive race in this district that claims some of the most historically significant areas in the world.

The 96th House district stretches along the southern shores of the York River, encompassing Jamestown, the site of the first permanent English settlement in 1607; Yorktown, scene of the final battle in the War of Independence; and Williamsburg, the colonial capital. It reaches from Chesapeake Bay west to the Chickahominy River, and from Norge and Toano to Newport News. It is reliably Republican, voting 56% Allen, 51% Kilgore, 58% Bolling and McDonnell, and 63% Bush.

Troy Farlow is a native of Virginia’s Eastern Shore and a graduate of Elon College with a B.S. in Accounting. He worked for several years as a management consultant with Information Technology Solutions and PricewaterhouseCoopers, before starting his own home improvement and painting company. He worked as a legislative assistant to Delegate Lynwood Lewis in 20004 and, in 2006, he married Dr. Laura Kerbin, a practicing oncologist in the Williamsburg area. He is a member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association and the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance.

GOP activist Brenda Pogge won a 23-vote margin over York County Supervisor Sheila Noll in a June 9 firehouse primary. Noll contested the outcome, alleging violations of the election rules.

Pogge is an experienced grassroots activist with a right-of-center background. She has harshly criticized Sen. Marty Williams, R-Newport News, for supporting the 2002 transportation referendum, and she worked in support of anti-tax activist Paul Jost's brutal campaign against Sen. Thomas K. Norment, R-James City.

Independent Pamela Pouchot is also in the race. Pouchot, a resident of Yorktown, is a lobbyist who has worked to tighten gun controls.