With just over two weeks left until Virginia’s gubernatorial election, Democrat Creigh Deeds is left with a narrow path to victory, one that hinges on energizing key demographic groups and the durability of the Old Dominion’s new politics.

Del. Lynwood Lewis and challenger Melody Scalley agree that job creation is one of the biggest issues for the Eastern Shore. But from there, the 100th House District candidates part ways on how to create those jobs.

By Carrie Budoff Brown

The White House is preparing to rally wavering Democrats on health care by invoking a bitter memory most in the party would rather forget, Bill Clinton’s failed health reform effort in the 1990s.

NORFOLK Port officials breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday as the first day of a new federally mandated security program passed largely without a hitch.

RICHMOND Legislators were unhappy Wednesday after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine revealed his plan to close a $2.9 billion hole in the state budget. Republicans vowed to oppose Kaine’s proposal to double the state’s cigarette tax, saying it would destroy jobs in Virginia’s already-ailing tobacco industry.

HAMPTON Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will visit Langley Air Force Base on Monday, the Air Force announced today. Mullen will hold an all-hands call and speak to airmen about their role in current military operations.

A federal magistrate Wednesday ordered a Richmond man jailed after the FBI arrested him on a charge of sending U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott a bloodstained letter that contained threats of a Virginia Tech-style massacre.

RICHMOND Two of three Democrats likely to vie for governor next year on Tuesday declined to rule out  increasing taxes if the state’s economic problems deepen.

The Democratic trio and Atty. Gen. Bob McDonnell, who is unopposed for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, made their first joint appearance during a conference of journalists that cover state government.

Can't get on a waiting list for inauguration tickets? Check out www.pic2009.org for information on other Washington, D.C., events surrounding the swearing-in of President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden. It is the Web site of the Presidential Inaugural Committee - known as PIC - which handles the details of the parade and official balls.