High-Stakes Battle To Fill Potts's Seat

Jill Holtzman Vogel is a conservative Republican lawyer who has roots in the national GOP. Karen K. Schultz is a Democrat and an educator who is promoting herself as the moderate alternative. And Donald Marro, an independent, is a businessman and animal rights activist.

The three are locked in an intense battle in Virginia's 27th Senate District to succeed H. Russell Potts Jr. (R-Winchester), who is vacating what both parties regard as a swing seat. A victory by Schultz on Tuesday could help tip the scales in favor of the Democrats, who are hoping to wrest control of the Senate from the GOP.

The high stakes help to explain the hundreds of thousands spent in this race. As of Sept. 30, Schultz and Holtzman Vogel, the two front-runners, together had spent nearly $1 million.

Holtzman Vogel has an advantage in the Republican-leaning district -- which includes parts of Loudoun and Fauquier counties, all of Clarke and Frederick counties and the city of Winchester. With the exception of Loudoun, all of those jurisdictions last year backed George Allen (R) over James Webb (D) in the former's unsuccessful bid for reelection to the U.S. Senate.

"It's a very different community than, say, Fairfax County," Holtzman Vogel said. "It's an agricultural community. People in this community believe in less government and less taxes. And they are more traditional in their thinking."

Holtzman Vogel's Republican credentials run deep. A lawyer from Upperville, she worked on former Kansas senator Bob Dole's campaign for president in 1996. In 2000, she served as counsel to the Bush-Cheney campaign during the Florida recount.

She has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association and the Virginia Conservative Action political action committee. She supports state and local enforcement of federal immigration laws and the withholding of public services from illegal immigrants. She is anti-abortion and opposes embryonic stem cell research.

But being a Republican might not be enough in the district. Potts, who is completing his fourth term, was known as a maverick who sided with Democrats on key votes over abortion and taxes. He often clashed with members of his party, which he felt had grown extreme and rigid.

Schultz is a moderate with some decidedly conservative views. She opposes gun control measures and supports cracking down on illegal immigrants and keeping taxes low. In a recent news release, she proudly announced that four "high-level appointees to Republican Administrations dating back to Richard Nixon have thrown their support" behind her.

In a nod to her Democratic values, Schultz, a former Winchester School Board member and a professor at Shenandoah University, supports spending more on education. Although in favor of more restrictions on illegal immigrants, she opposes cutting off some public services to them.

"The great progress we can make as a community is much bigger than any one party," she said. "People are weary of bickering, of the rhetoric that partisan bickering brings. I think they're ready for a change."

Marro, a retired business executive from The Plains, has said his key concern will be protecting the environment and the heritage of the Shenandoah Valley area while addressing the needs of the 21st century.

He has given money to candidates on both sides of the aisle, according to the Virginia Public Access Project's campaign finance database. In 2005, when Potts mounted an independent bid for governor, Marro donated $5,000 toward his campaign.