By Chris L. Jenkins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 9, 2005; A14
Democrats won several key House of Delegates races in Northern Virginia last night, but it was too early yesterday evening to tell whether the Republican Party would lose seats statewide. In a closely watched race for an open seat in the 37th District, Democrat David L. Bulova, son of Fairfax County Supervisor Sharon S. Bulova, defeated former Fairfax City mayor John Mason (R). Both parties made a priority of winning the seat, which is being vacated by Del. J. Chapman Petersen (D). In another race for an open seat, Democrat C. Chuck Caputo of Oak Hill beat GOP youth minister Chris S. Craddock of Fairfax in the 67th District of western Fairfax and eastern Loudoun counties. In a Prince William County race that generated more than $1 million in fundraising, county Supervisor Hilda M. Barg (D) had an early lead against Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick (R). Barg and Frederick battled each other with aggressive, glossy mailings. Democrat Dave W. Marsden of Burke defeated Republican anti-tax candidate Michael J. Golden of Fairfax in the 41st District race to replace Del. James H. Dillard II (R-Fairfax). Meanwhile, at least one Northern Virginia Republican was leading in early, unofficial returns. Del. David B. Albo (Fairfax) beat Democrat Gregory A. Werkheiser in a hard-fought campaign in the Springfield area. Outside Northern Virginia, Del. Thomas D. Gear (R) defeated independent Randy A. Gilliland in a closely watched race in the Hampton area. In southwest Virginia, Del. W.B. "Benny" Keister (D-Pulaski) lost to Republican Anne B. Crockett-Stark. Democrats, who picked up three seats in the 2003 election, set an ambitious goal of snaring three more. If Democrats can win a few races, they will gain a seat on key House committees. The House has 38 Democrats and two independents. Republicans are trying to shore up their 60-seat majority. They focused their efforts on winning a seat from the Northern Neck and in southwest Virginia while sustaining a Democratic charge in Northern Virginia. Both parties have said about eight races across the state are closely contested, six of them in Northern Virginia. Although the 52nd District of Prince William has long been a Republican stronghold for state offices, Barg has been entrenched as supervisor, and the Democratic presidential ticket won there last year. Merrill Hannis, 36, said she backed a straight Republican ticket, voting mainly to support Frederick. "I'm happy with the job he's done. I was happy that he voted against the big tax increase," she said, referring to the 2004 state budget. "I like his stance on immigration, and I'm also pro-life," said Hannis, a stay-at-home mother. Barbara Pinson, 68, said she voted a straight Democratic ticket. The retired software engineer said she always voted Republican in the past but has grown increasingly dissatisfied with transportation spending. "The infrastructure is not keeping up with the building," she said. "I'd also like to see more money spent on schools. All 100 House seats were on the ballot, but only about half were contested, including 18 in Northern Virginia. Party leaders were closely watching 12 key races across the state, including six in the Washington suburbs. House Democrats campaigned on a message of "keeping a good thing going," referring to Gov. Mark R. Warner's popularity and support by most Virginians for the $1.5 billion tax package he helped push through last year. On campaign literature and in cable TV advertising, candidates talked up their association with the governor. In addition, the well-funded Democratic candidates tried to exploit President Bush's low approval ratings and a difficult couple of months for congressional Republicans. At each turn, Virginia House Democratic leaders and candidates tried to appeal to voters by contrasting Virginians' general happiness with state government against apparent voter dissatisfaction with national politics. Republicans responded with promises to curb state services for illegal immigrants, fund transportation initiatives without raising taxes and continue to phase out the state's hated car tax. The pledges were part of a GOP attempt to link candidates' themes statewide. Republican leaders said they were worried about the impact of national politics on delegate races, particularly in Northern Virginia. "When you're the party with the president in power and he's popular, it will help you in elections," Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) said. "But if the president is not popular, it can hurt." Democrats ran against lawmakers who opposed the $1.5 billion tax package that raised money for education, health care and public safety. Republicans were guardedly optimistic throughout the campaign, aware that they might lose seats, particularly in Northern Virginia. Several operatives said privately that they would be pleased if the party maintained the status quo. The stakes were high for the GOP: After losing the three seats in 2003, the party lost a Norfolk special election in 2004. Republicans had seats they believed they could swipe back from Democrats, including Robert J. Wittman on the Northern Neck.
