Saturday, October 19, 2002; Page A22

THIS YEAR'S Senate race and Northern Virginia House elections feature familiar longtime winners facing minimal challenges. Once again, Republican Sen. John W. Warner has a near-clear path to reelection; the Democrats' failure to field an official party choice leaves him with two opponents: Nancy Spannaus, whose allegiance to Lyndon LaRouche ought to be enough to ensure her defeat, and relatively unknown independent Jacob G. Hornberger. When it comes to representing Virginia's interests in Washington, especially the military and defense constituencies, Sen. Warner's influence has been a great asset; so too his efforts for this region.

The House races in Northern Virginia feature three incumbents who have coasted to victory in the past, again challenged by candidates with little or no name recognition. Two of them -- Republicans Frank R. Wolf and Thomas M. Davis III -- continue to be most effective voices for regional concerns, with valuable access to the White House. The third incumbent, Democrat James P. Moran Jr., does not deserve the job anymore. His Republican challenger this time, small-business owner and civic activist Scott C. Tate, offers voters a serious alternative.

Mr. Moran has endured more than a few disturbing times during his congressional career, including a rough domestic scene, heavy financial losses, a pugilistic skirmish with an Alexandria boy and acceptance of an unsecured, open-ended $25,000 loan at below-market interest rates from a lobbyist -- followed five days later by the congressman's enlistment as a co-sponsor of a bill to help the lobbyist's company preserve its monopoly on an allergy drug. None of this kept Mr. Moran from an easy victory last time over an archconservative Republican.

But since then, Mr. Moran's messy financial dealings and personal debts have produced still worse conduct. He was found to have borrowed money from a party with direct financial interests in congressional legislation -- a favorable loan arrangement from MBNA Corp., a credit card lender that was looking to Congress to help it collect from debtors much like Mr. Moran. At the same time, the congressman was supporting a bill pushed by the credit card and finance industry that would make it tougher for borrowers to walk away from debts by declaring bankruptcy. Four days after his loan was final, Mr. Moran became the lead Democratic sponsor of an even broader bill. Weeks later he and an executive in charge of MBNA's loan department testified on the same day in favor of the bill before a House subcommittee. Mr. Moran said that "it never occurred to me to see any connection."

Even if you buy this flimsy denial of any connection between the congressman's personal finances and his sudden strong embraces of legislation dear to the moneyed hearts of those who offer to bail him out, the pattern of impropriety lingers. The failure of Democratic leaders in the 8th District to find a new standard-bearer -- the party has more than a few well-known, highly qualified people who could and would run -- ought to haunt them no matter how this election turns out.

Mr. Tate describes himself as a moderate whose views closely parallel those of Mr. Davis. He says he supports abortion rights; free trade; gun control measures such as mandatory trigger locks, closing of the gun-show loophole, ballistic fingerprinting and a continued ban on assault-style weapons; and District of Columbia voting representation in the U.S. House. On transportation, Mr. Tate favors a balanced approach, but he comes up short by not taking a stand on the critical sales tax referendum proposal that would provide money for roads and transit. But he correctly casts the key issue in this contest -- character -- and it ought to resonate when voters weigh their options.

In District 10, Mr. Wolf dented his own long record of courageous leadership on regional transportation matters last year; after hearing some protests of overly panicky property owners he suddenly turned tail and moved to call off a most useful federal study that he had instigated of Potomac River bridge options. That said, Mr. Wolf continues to tackle other regional transportation issues with energy and expertise, and he deserves reelection.

In District 11, Mr. Davis's canny grasp of regional issues and the workings of Congress -- coupled with his ability as an effective moderate Republican to forge bipartisan support for concerns in the District of Columbia as well as the suburbs -- should not be lost.