Marsden enters Senate race

Just weeks removed from his narrow re-election victory, Del. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, is apparently ready to run for another office.

Marsden Thursday issued a statement confirming that he will seek the state Senate seat being vacated by Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican.

Among the Republican candidates vying for the Senate nomination are Marianne Horinko, a onetime Environmental Protection Agency official; former Fairfax County School Board member Steve Hunt; and Will Nance, who runs a northern Virginia retirement community.

All three are scheduled to address the Fairfax County Republican Committee at a meeting Thursday evening. A nominee will be selected in a firehouse primary set for Dec. 1.

A special election to fill the Cuccinelli seat is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 12, days before the 2010 General Assembly session begins.

Another seat that will be filled by special election is the Senate seat held by Ken Stolle, a Republican who was recently elected Virginia Beach Sheriff.

Two Republicans are seeking that seat -- Jeff McWaters and Rosemary Wilson. It is unclear if the Democrats will field a candidate, though some names have been floated.

Democrats hold a slim 21-19 advantage in the Senate and may serve as the lone check against Republican power in Virginia. On Election Day, the party won the race for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and increased its majority in the House of Delegates.

-- Julian Walker

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GOP contest in 2nd Dist. attracting attention

The planned Republican primary to determine who will challenge Congressman Glenn Nye (D) in 2010 has drawn several candidates into the field and the eyes of political watchers beyond Virginia.

In fact, the Hill publication calls the race between Scott Rigell and Ben Loyola one of the "top seven primaries" in America next year.

While the article focuses on two candidates, Rigell and Loyola, they aren't the only Republicans eyeing the race.

The seats held by Nye and fellow freshman Congressman Tom Perriello, a Democrat who represents the 5th District in central Virginia, are among those being targeted by Republicans in the coming year.

-- Julian Walker

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Forbes' "no" vote prompts attack ad

U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes is one of 32 Republican House members being targeted in new radio ads after they voted against the Democrat’s health care overhaul bill earlier this month.

The Democratic National Committee is paying for the spots to be broadcast this week. They are aimed at Republicans who represent districts where a majority of voters supported President Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. Obama won just over 50 percent of the popular vote in Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes the cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk.

The announcer in the one-minute ads says that in voting against the health care bill, Forbes “stood with the insurance company, not the people he was elected to represent.” She also urged listeners to call Forbes to complain.

Forbes has strongly opposed the Democrats' health care legislation, saying among other things that it is too expensive. He has argued that the proposed public option, which would involve setting up a new government insurance plan for some people, would be an unfair competitor for private insurers.

The congressman has said that in numerous conversations with medical professionals and other residents in his district, they have told him to oppose the plan.

Among the other GOP legislators being targeted is U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, whose district is in northern Virginia.

- Bill Bartel

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Political percolations

A couple post-election notes:

- Perhaps missed with the cross-hairs fixed on the final days of the statewide campaigns was an apparent meeting of the ethics panel looking into Del. Phil Hamilton's Old Dominion University job controversy.

Such investigations are shrouded in secrecy by state law and officials involved in the process do not discuss specific inquiries or meeting dates.

A clue that a recent meeting occurred is a visitors log at the General Assembly Building in Richmond bearing the signatures of four of the five ethics panel members on the morning of Oct. 20; similar entries were found in the log book in late September.

The panel by law has 120 days to conclude probes, meaning its work should be finished by late December.

Hamilton, a Newport News Republican, last week lost his re-election bid to Democrat Robin Abbott. He also is the target of a federal grand jury investigation.

- Standing outside governor-elect Bob McDonnell's transition offices Tuesday afternoon . . .

Attorney General Bill Mims, speaking intently into a cell phone, looked up for a moment, nodded and continued his conversation.

Around that time, it was announced that Mims will become a partner with Hunton & Williams when his term ends in January and work in the law firm's government relations practice. 

Mims is serving on his former boss' transition team and it had been rumored that he would stay on as McDonnell's chief of staff.

- Other rumors shot down today . . .

State Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk, isn't seeking a job in McDonnell's administration nor does he plan to switch to the Republican Party.

"I got elected to be a Senator and that's what I'm going to do" said Northam, a freshman legislator who had been viewed as someone the governor-elect might woo away from the General Assembly to nullify the 21-19 advantage Democrats have in the Senate.

And although Senate Republicans earlier this year courted Northam to support a power-sharing plan that would have weakened Democrats' power in that chamber, the senator said he's sticking with his party.

The Washington Post's blog reported that another Hampton Roads first-termer, state Sen. John Miller, D-Newport News, likewise plans to stay in his current post.

-- Julian Walker

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Don't overlook those tax credits

That's the message to lawmakers in a fiscal policy analysis out Monday which asserts that a mixture of state tax relief programs annually drain $2.5 billion in revenue from Virginia.

The study's intent is to remind legislators to examine tax break packages on "the other side of the ledger" as possible sources of savings, explained Michael Cassidy, executive director of the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis that produced the report.

During a morning conference call, Cassidy called for reviews of the benefits of tax incentive programs and suggested those which don't show strong returns should be part of the debate about state spending when other cuts are on the table.

If the coming revenue numbers fall below earlier forecasts, as many fear, governor-elect Bob McDonnell and the General Assembly will face tough budget choices this winter.

One option that isn't on McDonnell's mind is repealing existing tax rebates, according to his spokesman, Tucker Martin.

"The key to an economic recovery will not be found in eliminating tax relief and tax credits," Martin said.

-- Julian Walker

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McDonnell does the Sunday circuit

Governor-elect Bob McDonnell guested on CNN's State of the Union and Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace to talk about his successful campaign and what his win means for the Republican Party.

Responding to a question from Wallace, McDonnell said he would sign a bill that expands death penality eligiblity.

Here's a recent version of the death penalty "triggerman" bill that Gov. Timothy M. Kaine vetoed earlier this year. McDonnell told Wallace he would sign that kind of legislation if it comes to his desk as governor.

McDonnell also told Wallace he supports eliminating state funding to Planned Parenthood. Social conservatives have backed recent legislative efforts to prevent the organization from receiving budget dollars.

-- Julian Walker

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The latest on McDonnell's transition team

Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell announced several more appointments to his transition team Friday, including several familiar faces from his time as attorney general and his campaign.

The appointees are:

Janet Polarek,  deputy director, personnel and administration. Polarek managed McDonnell's 2005 campaign for attorney general, served as director of administration in the AG's office, and was chief operations officer for his gubernatorial campaign.

Eric Finkbeiner, director of policy. Finkbeiner served in the Wilder and Allen administrations, advising Allen on transportation, the environment and crime. Most recently, he's worked as a lobbyist for McGuireWoods Consulting. He's registered to represent, among others, Smithfield Foods, Waste Management, CVS Caremark RX and the American Petroleum Institute, according to records compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project.

Melissa Laughner, assistant director for policy. Laughner was special assistant for governmental affairs in the AG's office and served as policy director for the campaign.

Mike Reynold, assistant director for policy. Reynold was a deputy campaign manager and in 2008 was state director for McCain for President.

Jasen Eige, counsel . Eige was chief of staff and counsel in the AG's office and counsel to McDonnell's campaign.

Dave Rexrode, director of community outreach. Rexrode has worked on several Republican campaigns and was a deputy campaign manager for McDonnell.

Monica Block, scheduler. Block served in that role for the gubernatorial campaign.

Block served as scheduler for McDonnell’s gubernatorial campaign. She has previously worked on campaigns for former Virginia Congressman Tom Davis and former Virginia State Senator Jeannemarie Devolites Davis.

Adam Zubowsky, aide. Zubowsky served as Fairfax field director for the campaign.

- Meredith Kruse

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Two VA Dems on 'high alert' list

Although images of Republican Election Night dominance are still fresh, gazes are already turning to the 2010 elections and which Democrats may be vulnerable in those races.

An article published by the online Politico publication counts two Virginia officials on its list of 10 endangered federal legislators: Congressmen Glenn Nye and Tom Perriello, both freshmen Democrats elected last year.

While the mid-terms loom next year, there is still plenty of available analysis about the sweep of statewide offices by Republicans Tuesday night.

Virginia GOP spokesman Tim Murtaugh reminded reporters in an e-mail that Bob McDonnell's winning vote total exceeds that of any previous governor, while a blogger on the left provides some perspective on what went wrong for Democrats.

-- Julian Walker

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A challenger for Bobby Scott?

After running unopposed in the past two elections, U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott might have competition in 2010.

Coby Dillard, a paid worker for Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell’s campaign and a Norfolk resident, said Wednesday he’s considering seeking the Republican nomination to run against Scott, a Newport News Democrat, in the 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Norfolk and Portsmouth.

Dillard, 29, is active in the Tea Party movement - an anti-tax group that opposes the federal stimulus packages and bailouts of large private institutions.

Finance reports for McDonnell’s successful gubernatorial bid show that between May and Octobe 16, Dillard was paid $13,948 as a campaign worker, according to The Virginia Public Access Project.

On his Web site, Dillard, who grew up in Richmond and served six years in the Navy, cited his personal beliefs on many issues, which he calls “The Dillard Doctrine.”

“I don’t support any system, program or entitlement that gives preference to one over another. People should succeed - and experience failure – on their own,” he wrote.

He opposes forcing gun owners to register their weapons, wants parents to decide which school their children should attend and opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants.

“I also believe that our country is a Christian nation,’’ he wrote, adding that while he respects other religious traditions, he cannot “subordinate my beliefs to anyone in the name of political correctness.”

Scott, 62, who was elected to his first two-year term in 1992, has won reelection seven times. His last opponent was Winsome Sears, a Republican, in 2004, whom he defeated by a 2 to 1 margin.

- Bill Bartel

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'Virginia Beach's Newest State Delegate'?

The headline above quotes a press release sent Monday by the campaign of John Amiral, a Republican trying to unseat Democratic Del. Paula Miller in the 87th House District.

There's just one small problem with that statement -- and it's not the assumption that Amiral will be victorious.

(There is a sense among some that the Miller-Amiral race has suddenly grown competitive in the waning days of the campaign.)

The real issue is that the district seat he seeks only includes Norfolk precincts and does not cover any portion of the Beach.

Amiral, however, is hardly the first candidate whose campaign has made a written gaffe during this political season.

Earlier this year, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds' campaign issued a statement that incorrectly referred to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

And during the spring Democratic primary, Brian Moran's campaign mistakenly referred to Del. Kenny Alexander, D-Norfolk, as "Kelly" in a statement.

-- Julian Walker

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its Web sites. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Report Violation" link below the comment.