Here's where we stand right now for the Dec. 11 special election to fill the seat of Rep. JoAnn Davis (R-VA), who recently lost her battle with breast cancer.
On Nov. 6, four days before both parties pick their nominee via convention, Virginia will hold elections for state and local offices. It's a possibility that a few more people who are running in one of those Nov. 6 contests could jump in the special election race afterwards, but not likely. They'd only have a couple of days to campaign for the nomination.
We could have as many as 17 candidates vying for the Democratic and Republican nominations, which will be decided on Nov. 10:
This is a slightly updated version of a diary I wrote on MyDD last week.
These Democrats are definetly running:
Phil Forgit, Williamsburg: In 2003 Phil ran for the House of Delegates and captured 46% of the vote in an extremely conservative district. Since then he's won the NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence for his work as a 4th grade teacher and a Bronze Star as a Naval Reservist while serving in Iraq.
Ted Hontz, Stafford: A retired Navy Captain, member of the Military Affairs Council of the Fredericksburg Area Chamber of Commerce and Vice-Chair of the Stafford County Economic Development Authority.
(Both Forgit and Hontz have picked up several key early endorsements. I wrote more about those on Raising Kaine. As things stand now, this is a two person race between Hontz, from the north part of the district, and Forgit, from the south.)
Lana Ingram, Spotsylvania: An active Democratic fundraiser, Lana is the owner of a company called Virginia Semiconductor. She was appointed by both Govs. Gilmore & Warner to represent Virginia High Tech industries on international trade missions. She also serves on the Virginia Small Business Commission & the Commonwealth Competition Council.
Right now I can't confirm if VCU Professor Dr. Deborah Brock, Retired Army Brigadier Gen. David McGinnis, or former Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) staffer James Romano are in or out of the race on the Democratic side.
As for the GOP field, they will also hold their nominating convention on Nov. 10. As of now 11 Republicans have announced. Among them are JoAnn Davis' husband, Chuck Davis; VA Club for Growth Pres. Paul Jost; Del. Rob Wittman; and fmr. Del. Dick Black.
This can be broken down pretty easily: Dick Black is the guy we want to win the nomination, Chuck Davis we don't.
Chuck Davis would be tough to beat for obvious reasons. In addition to being a widower, he's a former firefighter. His entry into the race caused a lot of other big names to withdraw from consideration, like Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.
Dick Black, on the other hand, is our dream candidate on the GOP side. He's not even from the district and rented an apartment in Fredericksburg just a few days after Congresswoman Davis passed away to qualify as a district resident. When he last held office, in Northern Virginia, he was booted for his extreme views. How extreme? He sent members of the Virginia General Assembly fetus dolls in the mail to try and persuade them to outlaw abortion.
Here's an interesting sidenote. Catesby Jones, yet another GOP candidate for the seat, is the founder of Peace Frogs. A Republican founded Peace Frogs? I wonder if he just sits around all day laughing at all the money he's making off liberals with questionable fashion sense.
Paul Jost seems to be the favorite of the conservative wing that dominates local politics in VA. But Chuck Davis shouldn't be counted out obviously.
For future update on this and other races in the Old Dominion, stop by Raising Kaine.
-Chris Guy