Key N.Va. Campaign May Peak In Primary

But Connolly is also careful to reach out to the Democratic Party's base, a crucial voting bloc in a primary. He has courted the grocery store union by promoting a county ordinance to limit the size of Wal-Marts and other big-box stores. He has led a Cool Counties initiative to promote conservation in government. He also is critical of the Bush administration's Iraq policy. He touts his experience working for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as evidence that he is better prepared than Byrne to address matters of foreign policy and national security. And because he is more pro-business than Byrne, he has a better shot against a Republican in the fall, he said.

"There isn't a lot of daylight between us on the issues," Connolly acknowledged. "This is going to be an examination of credentials and electability."

Connolly has amassed a deep well of support from local Democratic committee leaders and elected officials, including all but one of the Democrats on the county board, a dozen Democratic state lawmakers from Northern Virginia and elected leaders from Fairfax City, Alexandria, Arlington, Prince William County, Occoquan, Herndon and Vienna.

The Byrne-Connolly matchup is noteworthy in part because of the tenacity and political experience that each brings to the contest. Both have been operating in Northern Virginia Democratic circles for the better part of a quarter-century. And both have personalities like freight trains -- which has yielded kudos for strong leadership but also produced a set of vocal detractors.

Byrne has a reputation for taking uncompromising, ideologically driven positions that can alienate even like-minded colleagues. Connolly is known to defend his own actions so relentlessly that he has intimidated county residents who have sought to approach him.

Supervisor Penelope A. Gross (D-Mason) said she witnessed such an occurrence a few weeks ago at a meeting of the Annandale Chamber of Commerce when Connolly became engaged in a heated discussion about his support of Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence) in her primary race last year against Charles W. Hall.

"His strong convictions sometimes come across as an edge," Gross said. "Folks are a little blown away, but behind that strong personality is a real passion for the issues, a passion for humanity and a passion for doing the right thing."

Byrne and Connolly have each assumed the mantle of front-runner. Each claims to be ahead of the other, based on poll results. A Byrne poll shows her with greater name recognition than Connolly, but Connolly released a poll Monday showing that he had the edge in recognition. Byrne narrowly lost a bid for lieutenant governor in 2005, a campaign that gave her statewide exposure. But Connolly cruised to reelection in November, spending $1 million along the way on a campaign that included a network television advertising campaign that brought him valuable exposure.

The most critical question is which candidate will possess, come primary day, the most loyal following among the party activists who typically turn out for such elections. Only the results June 10 are likely to resolve the he-said, she-said debate now raging over the answer.