Winners:
Democrats
Particularly Mark Warner. It’s not like Warner really needed a split GOP in order to cruise to victory, but his opponent winning with only 50.2% of the vote is the best he could have hoped for.
However, more than just Warner gains here. Everything from yesterday has a mountain of potential gains for Democrats, ranging everywhere from an easy Senate victory to a pickup in HD-52 to battling against a novice GOP Chair to strengthening their grip on the middle. And though the full repercussion of it won’t be felt until Election Day, the folly of choosing a convention reverberated throughout the entire day’s course.
"More than just Warner gains here" - like Judy Feder, for instance. :)
And on the "Losers" side:
Keith Fimian & Northern Virginia Republicans
Ken Cuccinelli is an anomaly, and his 101-vote margin proves it rather well. Successful Northern Virginia Republicans need a strong pragmatist streak, one that’s evident in Congressmen Wolf and Davis as well as several local members of the General Assembly and other candidates. Newcomers Keith Fimian and Pat Herrity fit perfectly into that mold which emphasizes good governance and solution-based results rather than adherence to an ideology and cultural issues like abortion and immigration.
With the advent of Jeff Frederick, I fear for Fimian’s candidacy, whether the state party gets involved and mucks it up, or whether they withhold resources because of a perceived ideological difference between Fimian and the party’s establishment. And that fear extends beyond Fimian to future candidates in 2009 and beyond.
That's right, with the new, far-right slant to the RPV, how will (supposed) "moderates" like Tom Davis (retiring) and Frank Wolf (in danger of losing) survive? It's not gonna be easy, that's for sure.
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