Rigell reclaims U.S. House seat for GOP with win over Nye

VIRGINIA BEACH

Auto dealer Scott Rigell, who pledged to promote job growth by cutting federal taxes and reducing regulations on business, defeated Democratic U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye Tuesday in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, becoming part of a wave of Republicans sweeping into Congress.

Nye, who won office two years ago on the coattails of President Barack Obama, campaigned this time as an independent-minded Democrat. He argued that he’d voted in the best interest of his district even when it meant opposing party leaders, as with his vote against the health care overhaul.

But voters in the 2nd, which includes Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore and parts of Norfolk and Hampton, rejected that pitch and handed Rigell victory by a double-digit margin. Kenny Golden, a retired naval officer, finished a distant third.

When told that the Associated Press had called the race for him, Rigell appeared stunned and put an arm on the shoulder of his wife, Teri, to steady himself. “I’m deeply honored,” he said, then fell silent.

Later, speaking to supporters, he said, “We ran this race to win – as if the future of the country was at stake, and it was … We must lead by example. We must be the conscience of the people. And I expect to be held accountable.”

Rigell plans a victory news conference this morning at 11:30 a.m. at the Town Center City Club, 222 Central Park Ave. in Virginia Beach. 

Rigell, 50, a multimillionaire car dealer from Virginia Beach making his first run for public office, overcame five other Republican candidates in a primary in June. He campaigned as an experienced businessman who knows how to create jobs. And he denigrated Nye, a 36-year-old Norfolk native and former diplomat, as part of a Democrat-dominated federal government ruining the economy with deficit spending.

Nye reminded voters that he had helped delay for at least five years the Navy’s plans to move a Norfolk-based carrier to Florida and was working with other legislators to block the Pentagon’s plans to close the U.S. Joint Forces Command. He also promoted legislation to help veterans and small businesses.

He rapped Rigell for taking federal “cash for clunkers” money at this dealerships yet criticizing economic stimulus spending.

But Rigell’s message of less government and “smarter, lighter regulations” carried the day.

Fueled by a $3 million campaign fund that included close to $2 million of his own money, Rigell used marketing skills developed over two decades of selling automobiles to get out his name and his message. The campaign’s mantra, Rigell said, was “Operation Domination.”

Rigell tracked the activities using graphs and charts much like he had auto sales, but there wasn’t room for losing some business one month and getting it back later.

“This is a gladiator sport,” he said shortly before Election Day. At the end, “one person is standing.”

In a sign of the trouble Democrats had motivating their supporters to get to the polls this year, Nye’s backing plummeted in party strongholds. Two years ago he carried Norfolk with 57 percent of the vote; on Tuesday, he lost the city to Rigell. In Virginia Beach, which Nye narrowly won in 2008, Rigell led by 9,000 votes, or 16 percentage points, when The Associated Press called the race for him.

Speaking of Rigell, Nye said, “I wish him well and I believe he has the best interest of the 2nd District in mind. But, of course, we’ll also be holding him accountable for his actions.”

He said he is proud of his work in Congress, pointing to his support for veterans and his efforts to prevent the carrier move as his biggest accomplishments.

Asked what he thought pushed Rigell to victory, Nye said, “I think this was a tough year for moderates.”

He said he hasn’t decided what he’ll do after his term ends or whether he’ll run for political office again.

Golden, 60, started his run for Congress as a Republican. He dropped out of the GOP primary in March, declaring he would run as an independent because he said party leaders favored the better-financed Rigell effort.

In October, Karen Miner Hurd, leader of the Hampton Roads Tea Party, called for Golden to drop out, saying his candidacy hurt Rigell’s chances.

Weeks earlier, Hurd’s group had struck a deal with Rigell in which he signed a pledge to support several of the group’s causes. Those included promises to vote against any tax or fee increase, to oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants and to work to overturn the health care overhaul.

Pilot writer Corinne Reilly contributed to this report.

Bill Bartel, (757) 446-2398, bill.bartel@pilotonline.com