Sources close to House of Delegate Republicans are sounding awfully confident three weeks out, predicting between 5-8 GOP pick-ups and retaining embattled Republican Del. Phil Hamilton’s seat in the 93th.
Now, I’m not ready to drink the Kool-Aid yet on Hamilton, but he has done excellent things for his district. Is there an air of forgiveness? Or do residents of the 94th realize what policies Abbott would bring to Mr. Jefferson’s capitol building – and that’s enough for them to stick with what they know?
Elsewhere, beginning in Hampton Roads, Chris Stolle might be able to pick-off Del. Joe Bouchard (D). Especially given Bouchard’s prevalence at making outlandish statements about non-existent race issues.
Del. Bobby Mathieson (D) though is looking good in the 21st. City Councilman Ron Villanueva is in striking distance, but he’s going to need lots of help to get over the hump.
Throughout the rest of the state, it also looks like Barbara Comstock, Jim LeMunyon, Jay McConnville, Rich Anderson, Rafael Lopez, Dave Albo, Tom Rust, and Stan Clark might just might be popping a cork or two late on Nov. 3.
However, beyond even these, given current Virginia trends, there could be some surprises. The bottom line is that those close to a lot of the polling data and info are confident about these races, but the key will be working hard the final few weeks to turn these potential gains into reality…and maybe pick-up a few more.
In order for Bob McDonnell to have a clear mandate, these seats will have to be won. And it wouldn’t hurt if others were picked up too.
We’ll be watching these races closely the next couple weeks to see what the trend is. If it is favorable to the GOP. Nov. 3 is going to send shockwaves throughout the country.
Be sure to also take a look at Jim Riley’s post on Virtucon.
