A Democratic candidate in the 8th

Virginia Beach's William Fleming Friday said he will file paperwork to run as a Democrat in the 8th Senate District against Republican nominee Jeff McWaters.

A Great Neck resident, Fleming is the president of Network Interfaces Corporation, an information technology firm.

Friday is the deadline for a candidate to file to run in the scheduled Jan. 12 special election to fill the seat being vacated by state Sen. Ken Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, who was recently elected city sheriff.

A former U.S. Army lieutenant who earned his doctorate in physics from North Carolina State University, Fleming said his entry into the race has been a weeklong whirlwind.

Concerned local Democrats wouldn't field a challenger to McWaters in a solidly Republican district, Fleming said some political activists he knows had circulated nominating petitions in order to place an independent candidate on the ballot.

That's when Democrats decided to award the party nomination to Fleming, he added.

"The idea of doing this is something I didn't think I would do," said Fleming, 61, who describes his political philosophy as "fiscally conservative" but leaning Democratic on social and environmental issues.

UPDATE: Friday evening, McWaters issued a statement through his campaign labeling Fleming a "liberal" activist affiliated with President Barack Obama's Organizing for America grassroots group.

"I welcome any challenger in this race. The liberal activism and political involvement of my new opponent speaks loudly," McWaters said in the statement.

Minutes earlier, Fleming issued a statement confirming that he filed his candidate paperwork.

"Because this is a last minute candidacy, we have no expectation that we will get any support from the Democratic Party, and we don't have time to raise much money. But we will do our best with the resources we have," Fleming said.

-- Julian Walker

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