Dance beats the machine
Democrats staged a firehouse primary on Saturday to pick their candidate for the November election of a replacement for Sen. Henry Marsh (who resigned his seat to take a spot on Virginia’s ABC Board).
A funny thing happened at the polling places. Del. Rosalyn Dance of Petersburg won. This is a bit of a surprise because another Democrat, Del. Delores McQuinn, had the backing not only of Richmond’s Democratic political establishment and the remains of Henry Marsh’s political machine, but also the support of Richmond Mayor, and DPVA chairman, Dwight Jones.
So it looks like a bit of an upset. But it also serves as something of a vindication for Dance, who was the subject of a strong primary challenge in 2013, engineered by now-embattled Del. Joe Morrissey and supported by then-Sen. Marsh.
The reason for the challenge? Her “…perceived friendliness with Republicans and a vote she took that, to many, suggested a wavering position on Medicaid expansion.”
There were also long-standing rumors that, before his most recent troubles, Morrissey coveted Marsh’s Senate seat. But Saturday’s results showed none of that mattered. Petersburg residents got one of their own in the Senate, and that likely carried more weight with voters than all the party intrigue in the world (and the presence of former Richmond Mayor Rudy McCollum on the ballot probably hurt McQuinn in her home base).
Does this mean Henry Marsh’s machine, not to mention the one Morrissey was trying to build, are through? Turnout was so small it’s hard to say. I leave it to those with intimate knowledge of Democratic politics to make broader conclusions. What is obvious is that Dance has to feel she beat the machine(s). She survived a 2013 primary in which she was painted as a turncoat and now stands a big step closer to winning the seat of one of the men who sought to bring her down.
As for Mayor Jones…it’s always tricky when a party chairman gets involved in a contested primary. This loss may not do him much harm at all statewide, but it does ding him in Richmond.
