Marsden wins Va. state Senate race

Defying recent voting trends that saw several Northern Virginia Republicans win big in November, Del. David W. Marsden (D-Fairfax) won a special election Tuesday night to represent a broad swath of southwestern Fairfax County in the Virginia Senate.

Marsden, a two-term delegate from Burke who switched political parties earlier this decade while serving as the head of the state Department of Juvenile Justice under both Republican and Democratic governors, won the 37th state Senate seat vacated by Attorney General-elect Kenneth T. Cuccinelli (R) by rallying a voter base reeling from big losses in November's statewide and House races.

With all 39 precincts counted Tuesday night, Marsden led Republican Stephen M. "Steve" Hunt, a former Fairfax County School Board member, by 317 votes out of 23,569 votes cast. In Fairfax County, a recount requires less than a 1 percent difference and unofficial results from Tuesday night indicate the 37th vote fell just outside of that margin. Marsden won big in Burke and Fairfax Station and among absentee voters. The Democrat's 405-vote advantage among absentee voters made the difference, observers said.

The results were to be certified Wednesday morning by the Virginia State Board of Elections and Marsden is expected to be sworn in with the Senate's 39 other legislators at noon Wednesday.

In a district that stretches from Springfield to Centreville and includes nearly 130,000 registered voters, Marsden campaigned on a moderate platform that focused on the two issues most Americans are wrestling with ¿ jobs and the economy. Small business loan guarantees, increases to the Governor's Opportunity Fund, a publicly-financed business incentive program, and criticisms of Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's much-ballyhooed budget figured prominently during Marsden's campaign.

David Winkler, 49, of Burke said he was swayed by Marsden's moderate political stances on small businesses and the economy. "He's not as partisan as most of the candidates are, which I like," Winkler said. Another voter, Kyle Facada, 22, said a Marsden victory was crucial to keeping a "proper balance in the General Assembly."

As expected, the slumping economy weighed heavily on voters. David Wilder, 56, of Burke said mounting job losses and, to a lesser degree, the debate over health care pushed him to vote for Hunt.

"It's the economy, it's the stimulus, it's health care, it's the way the system is being run," said Wilder, a physician.

Connie Doum, 47, said she was "sick of Obama" and "concerned about what's going on on the national level."

"Things in Northern Virginia are not that bad but this country is in bad shape," she said.

Some voters also said they had followed the race closely and had met one of the candidates personally, impacting their decision.

Robert Laskey, 69, said a last-minute canvass of his Powells Landing neighborhood Tuesday morning by Marsden volunteers reminded him to vote for the Democratic candidate. Pat Crepeau, 57, said a phone conversation with Hunt's wife, Monique, about no-kill animal shelters tilted her decision to the Republican.

Others cited the November election of incoming governor Robert F. McDonnell and other Republican statewide and House candidates as a sign of continued shift in Northern Virginia from Democratic blue to Republican red.

"We voted in a Republican governor so we got to give him someone to work with," said Carol Weigand, 57.

Still, some voters defied the race's primary focus on jobs and the economy, and said social issues, including abortion rights and gay marriage, factored into their decisions. Walter Ambrose, 59, of Centreville said he feared Hunt was a part of the "religious right" after reading about his record while on the Fairfax County School Board.

"No disrespect to those who are religious but I think the candidates should focus on the transportation, the economy, schools, kitchen-table issues," Ambrose said.

Hunt, a former naval flight officer who routinely wore an American flag tie at campaign stops, has faced criticism from Democrats who attacked his socially conservative record. As a school board member in 2005, Hunt called homosexuality a "very destructive lifestyle" in a letter to school principals. Although not making social issues a chief theme of his campaign, Hunt did bill himself as a "pro-life conservative" who would push for tougher laws on illegal immigration.

One voter at Fairview Elementary cited her "pro-life" views as a reason she voted for Hunt but declined to discuss her views further.

Another voter, Kyle Facada, 22, of Burke, said a Marsden victory was crucial to keeping a "proper balance in the General Assembly."