VIRGINIA BEACH The shotgun race to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Ken Stolle is heating up and winding down at the same time.

By Jonathan Martin

CEDAR CREEK, Tex. After four years of grappling with how to appeal to voters, a group of top Republicans believe they’ve found a winning formula for 2010. Call it the McDonnell Strategy.

By Jonathan Martin 

CEDAR CREEK, Texas Buoyed by a pair of Nov. 3 gubernatorial victories and signs of increasing voter unease toward Democratic-controlled Washington, top Republicans expressed optimism Thursday that their party was poised to make significant gains in 2010.

NORFOLK Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Wednesday he opposes shutting down a state ethics investigation of former legislator Phil Hamilton's financial ties to Old Dominion University. Kaine said halting the investigation after Hamilton resigned Sunday would prevent Virginians from understanding what happened.

The abrupt cancellation of a state investigation into Del. Phil Hamilton's job at Old Dominion University raises anew questions of whether Virginia ethics laws should be revamped.

RICHMOND
Rejected by voters in his bid for another term and under scrutiny from a state ethics panel, Del. Phil Hamilton has decided to quit the Virginia House of Delegates.
His resignation, effective Sunday, ends a long and productive legislative career on an ignominious note but appears to have at least one benefit for him: It may also end the state ethics investigation.

NORFOLK Longtime City Council critic Dan Montague beat Mayor Paul Fraim to the punch on Monday, announcing he will challenge Fraim in the May election. Fraim had planned to announce today that he will run for re-election. Montague, 70, a Portsmouth native and retired shipyard worker, challenged Fraim four years ago, gathering 22 percent of the vote.

VIRGINIA BEACH Del. Bobby Mathieson intends to ask for a recount in the 21st District House race, but based on Virginia's recent history, his chances of emerging as the victor are slim. Mathieson lost to Virginia Beach Councilman Ron Villanueva by 14 votes and has the right under state law to ask for a recount paid for by the city.

VIRGINIA BEACH The city's Electoral Board discovered a miscount of the ballot machine tape early Wednesday, adding a vote to Ron Villanueva's win in the 21st District House race. Villanueva received 14 more votes than incumbent Del. Bobby Mathieson, said Tim Barrow, an Electoral Board member. The board certified the numbers early Wednesday after counting for about 12 hours.

VIRGINIA BEACH City Councilman Ron Villanueva was certified the winner of the 21st District House seat late Tuesday by a margin of 13 votes, but the race is likely to go into a recount. The Republican narrowed his initial 16-vote lead over incumbent Del. Bobby Mathieson after the city’s Electoral Board reviewed rejected absentee votes and provisional ballots.