RICHMOND — Northern Virginia, the state’s economic engine and population center whose growing outer suburbs drove the latest round of legislative redistricting, boasts more primary elections than any other part of Virginia this year.
Of the 19 General Assembly primaries in Virginia in August, half are in Northern Virginia, including six for the state Senate and three for the House of Delegates.
The diverse crowd of 21 candidates, recently certified by the State Board of Elections, is made up of many familiar faces, some who previously held office or were active in politics.
The field for the Aug. 23 primaries includes a former delegate perhaps best known for distributing plastic models of fetuses to lawmakers preparing for an abortion vote; the state’s only openly gay legislator; a local businessman made famous at a Sarah Palin rally; and one of the first Hispanic women to run for the House.
Republicans are in a fierce battle to take control of the Senate, where Democrats hold a fragile 22 to 18 majority. If successful, it would be the second time since Reconstruction that the party held the governor’s mansion, House and Senate at the same time in Virginia.
Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and Speaker William J. Howell (Stafford) are looking for allies to pass school choice bills, immigration enforcement, pension reforms and other priorities that have died in past years at the hands of a Democratic-led Senate.
Already, Republicans have far outpaced Democrats in recruiting. Republicans have candidates running in 108 of the state’s 140 General Assembly districts — compared with just 75 for the Democrats, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in politics.
In the Senate, Democrats have candidates in the 24 districts where they hold the seat or where it is up for grabs, including the two newly added districts. They have not yet fielded candidates in any of the seats where a GOP incumbent is running. Republican have candidates in 36 districts, 25 of them already certified as nominees.
“I think all the energy right now, politically speaking, is on the Republican side,’’ said Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), who presides over the Senate. “I think that’s true on the national level, and I think it’s true at the state level. We probably have more Republican candidates running in the Senate than we ever have had before.”
Republicans are eyeing possible pickups in Southside, Hampton Roads and the southwest area. They also are hopeful that they can take both new Senate seats — one located in Northern Virginia and the other west of Richmond — and possibly the seat held by Democratic Sen. Linda “Toddy” Puller, which includes portions of Fairfax, Prince William and Stafford counties.
Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said his party is still recruiting candidates and expects to be competitive in the new districts and in the Republican-leaning district of a retiring longtime Republican senator in southwest Virginia. “It ain’t the quantity of candidates you have, it’s the quality,’’ Saslaw said.
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