Senate Race Defies Labels

Davis Is Facing A Bluer Fairfax

Depending on who's talking, state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis is either running a smart campaign that takes nothing for granted or she's scared to death that her bluer-than-ever Fairfax County district is disinclined to pick a Republican this year.

The truth probably lies in between.

With the traditional start of the fall campaign season two months away, Davis (R-Fairfax), 51, has already mailed seven pieces of campaign literature to voters in the 34th Senate District, which includes Vienna, Oakton and Fairfax City. She has raised more than $750,000. Since the start of spring, she has spent nearly every weekend and many weeknights hitting neighborhood after neighborhood, knocking on doors, smiling, chatting and listening -- and making no mention of the "R" after her name.

Davis said she is working no harder than usual, reminding voters who she is and what she has accomplished over four years in the state Senate and six in the House of Delegates. But even Republicans nod gravely at how much Devolites is doing so early in the year, and how carefully she has crafted a moderate record in support of priorities such as highway spending and gun control. It is the only way, they say, she can win in increasingly Democratic Northern Virginia -- and even then there are no guarantees.

"It's the changing color of this area from red to blue," said Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-Fairfax), who shares two precincts with Davis but will retire at the end of the year. "She's done an outstanding job, but the Democrats smell blood, and they're going after her big-time."

The growing Democratic advantage in the 34th District is hard to deny: Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) won the district over Jerry W. Kilgore in 2005, and U.S. Sen. James Webb (D) beat George Allen there last year. Voters even defeated a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in the 34th, an initiative that was overwhelmingly approved statewide.

As a result, Davis's opponent, Democrat J. Chapman Petersen, is getting extra attention from state party leaders who view Davis's seat as their best chance to make gains against the GOP's 23-17 majority in the Senate.

"It's a seat we'd like to pick up," said Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax), the Senate minority leader. "That's largely a Democratic district. And Chap Petersen is probably the most tenacious campaigner in the state."

Although not as familiar as Davis, Petersen has more name recognition than a typical challenger. A lawyer, Petersen is a former Fairfax City Council member and a two-term state delegate, and was an unsuccessful candidate in 2005 for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

Fairfax City, where Petersen grew up and works, is indisputably his stronghold. Walking through a Fairfax neighborhood last weekend, Petersen, 39, chatted with the mother of a Fairfax High School classmate at one moment and old friends of his parents at another.

"He's lived here all his life," said Joan Meyer, who attends Truro Church with the Petersens and will vote for him despite her Republican leanings. "I know that he would be a wonderful advocate for our area."

An irony of the Davis-Petersen matchup is that Davis describes herself as a moderate Republican and Petersen's voting record indicates a conservative-leaning Democrat. Davis makes no mention of her partisan affiliation in her campaign literature. She takes credit for approval of a $1 billion-a-year transportation initiative during this year's General Assembly session, and she plays up her stewardship of gun-control initiatives such as a requirement that gun-show dealers run criminal checks on buyers.

Davis is accepting no help from statewide Republican leaders, and she hardly needs it. With the goal of raising $1 million clearly in sight, Davis has tapped into Northern Virginia's deep well of corporate contributors. Her marriage to U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), a prolific fundraiser and energetic campaigner, has helped. Many days, when Davis the senator is out knocking on doors, Davis the congressman is out walking another neighborhood doing the same thing.

Petersen, as a statewide candidate for lieutenant governor, pitched himself as a moderate Democrat who promised to keep taxes low and stimulate job growth. As a delegate, he opposed several gun control measures, including bans on guns in libraries and schools.

"I think of myself as being pretty independent," Petersen said. "I mean, I'm a Democrat and I'm proud of that. But I don't fit well into a stereotype."

In the end, the outcome of the Davis-Petersen race could rest on how closely voters are paying attention. If they come to know the candidates and their positions, Davis's moderate stands could pay off. If they don't, their increasing tendency to choose Democrats would favor Petersen.

By all accounts, the race will be close -- and increasingly nasty as November approaches. A whisper campaign has begun about Petersen's affiliation with Truro Church, which last year was among 11 Virginia churches that left the Episcopal Church in part because they viewed it as too permissive on issues such as homosexuality.

And Democrats are slamming Davis's support for a transportation package that includes steep fines for egregious driving offenses that are causing controversy.

"You've got two very able political figures -- it's a race of titans," said Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. "People are going to be looking less at ideology and more at pragmatic solutions to real problems."