Senate special elections shape up
The Washington Post
By Rosalind Helderman
Tuesday November 11, 2009
Article Excerpt
There is still no word on Democrats who are interested in running for the soon-to-be-empty Virginia Beach Senate seat being vacated by the election of Ken Stolle as sheriff.
One possibility is that the Democrats might focus almost all of their attention -- and cash -- on the special election for the Northern Virginia seat being opened by the election of Ken Cuccinelli as attorney general. With the Democrats' last remaining bit of control in Richmond possibly hanging in the balance, the party might decide that it should focus all its resources on the Fairfax County seat where the chances of a win might be better.
And who will the Democratic nominee for the seat be? All signs continue to point to a likely candidacy by Del. David Marsden, although Marsden said Tuesday that he will make no final decisions on the race until this weekend. He said the Democrats are polling the district, testing several names.
He would not reveal all of them but did confirm that they include his own name, 2007 Senate candidate Janet Oleszek and former delegate Chuck Caputo. Oleszek said last week that she would not run for the seat because she believed she was not the preferred candidate of party leaders.
Marsden said he wanted to see the results of the polling before jumping into the race. But he said he believes he is "eminently qualified" for a run at the Senate, and said it is critical that the party make the right decision so that there is balanced government in Richmond.
"The Senate is in a position to be a player, if the Democrats can maintain control to make sure we don't go down too extreme a path," he said. Though Marsden's delegate district includes 10 of the 14 precincts in the Senate district, he would have to move into the district to run, a change he said he is prepared to make.
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