As most of you know by now, Virginia will be holding elections this fall for all three statewide offices as well as the House of Delegates. One of the most interesting races for the House of Delegates will be in the 73rd District, represented by Republican incumbent John O'Bannon.
http://wheresericcantor.com/...
The 73rd District takes in the western half of Henrico County, a suburb of Richmond, and a precinct or two in the City of Richmond. Voters in this district are well educated and affluent. Many in the state are saying that Henrico County is becoming the "Fairfax County" of southern and central Virginia. Fairfax County is located in Northern Virginia and has, since 2001, been the keystone to Democratic victories in Virginia. President Obama was the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry Henrico County in half a century, winning Henrico by 20,000 votes. By comparison, Bush carried Henrico in 2004 by 11,000 votes.
Democrats in Virginia now control both U. S. Senate seats, the Governors office as well as the state Senate. Republicans control the House by about a half dozen seats so the Dems need to pick up at least six seats to take control. And the 73rd District is ground zero for Democrats to take control of the House.
And the Dems have a great candidate running against O'Bannon in the 73rd District by the name of Tom Shields. The 73rd District was once held by Eric Cantor, who, as you all know is part of the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives. Republicans are terrified of losing this seat - and they should be. Obama prevailed in this district last fall by 700 votes, which really showcases how this county is moving away from the Republican party. And quite frankly, if Tom Shields can win this seat in Eric Cantor's backyard, Cantor could in trouble in 2010, as demographics in Cantor's congressional continue to move towards the Dems.
Here is the link to Tom Shields' website:
http://www.shieldsfordelegate.com/
The next filing deadline to report contributions is this Monday, August 31st. People on both sides of the aisle will use those reports to judge Shields' campaign. In order to appear as strong as possible, O’Bannon and Cantor have turned to a small group of high-dollar contributors.
Shields does not have the luxury of Washington insiders or moneyed special interests financing his campaign. So, in order to compete against Minority Whip Cantor and his fundraising prowess – Shields campaign has set a goal of raising $5,000 online through this weekend. So please, if you can make a contribution, please click on the link below and contribute what you can - be it $25.00, $50.00 or $100.00. I know money is tight but there is no other race in Virginia or in New Jersey for that matter, where your hard-earned political dollars will pay huge dividends.
https://services.myngp.com/...
Remember, the 73rd District holds the key to Dems taking over the House of Delegates this fall and it also is the key to take down Eric Cantor in 2010.