U.S. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) is pretty happy this week about his first major legislative victory in the House of Representatives: a bill that affords financial protections to deployed service personnel.

Connolly, who today was anointed president of the House's freshman class, pushed the bill (which, to the chagrin of his staff, he named the HADD Act, for Helping Active Duty Deployed) through in a speedy 10 days, he said.

The law makes it illegal for cell phone companies and landlords to charge early termination fees against service members who have to back out of contracts because they are deployed.

Connolly introduced the measure on behalf of a group of veterans of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan who visited him on Capitol Hill.

"One guy told a horror story," he said. "It took him seven months of personally going to the office to get out of his telephone contract. Seven months," Connolly said. "And here's a man who has been called up by his country to serve."

The bill was made into an amendment to the defense authorization bill, which passed the House on Thursday and awaits consideration in the Senate.

The paperwork is in and the names are filed, and it's official: 2009 will be the most competitive election year in Virginia in more than a decade.

According to an analysis by the Virginia Public Access Project, 57 of 100 House districts in Virginia feature major-party challenges -- a higher number than any other year going back to 1997. It's not saying much in a state with a pretty sorry record on such matters -- i.e. 33 competitive races two years ago -- but it's something.

Democrats, just six seats shy of taking back the House after a decade in the minority, are gunning for the usual suspects this year: Dave Albo and Tom Rust in Fairfax; Bob Marshall and Jeff Frederick's open seat in Prince William; Phil Hamilton in Newport News; and others. (They missed challenge opportunities in the 31st and 33rd districts, though, where Scott Lingamfelter of Prince William and Joe May of Loudoun run unopposed.)

Republicans say they are just as eager to make gains themselves, mounting campaigns in 15 of 17 House seats in Fairfax County alone and assembling most of those candidates at a pep rally-cum-barbecue Saturday at Mason District Park in Annandale

"We're competitive," House Speaker William J. Howell told about 200 party activists at the picnic. "We can speak to the issues in Fairfax. We're going to do well."

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today declined to release his daily schedule since January, when he became chairman of the Democratic National Committee, despite a Freedom of Information Act request to do so from the Republican Party of Virginia.

Kaine spokeswoman Lynda Tran said, although the governor releases his public schedule every week, private meetings are exempt from disclosure as are records of his schedule that relate to is work for the DNC, which is not a public entity.

Pat Mullins, chairman of the state GOP, had also asked for all records relating to the cost to state taxpayers of the governor's out-of-state travel, but Tran said those records are not with the Governor's Office but with the Virginia State Police.

Kaine has come under increasing scrutiny in the press and from Republicans for his travels as DNC chairman, some of which has occurred on weekdays and taken him away from his daily duties as governor.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Creigh Deeds is under fire in a full-page newspaper ad in Charlottesville that demands that he take a stand on a federal energy bill that could come up for a vote on Capitol Hill today.

The ad was paid for by American Solutions for Winning the Future, an organization founded and led by former House speaker Newt Gingrich. The group launched a major media campaign this week to defeat the federal bill, which it terms a "national energy tax."

Click here to view the ad.

Tom Davis, the former Republican congressman from Fairfax County and now a director with Deloitte's Federal Government Services division, said he (probably) won't take a job as President Obama's new cyber security czar.

Although Davis prefaced his remarks by saying, "Never say never," he said the job's scope and authority are too uncertain. He also said he is pretty darn happy at Deloitte, where, presumably, he makes a little more than he did in Congress (and than he would as cyber czar).

"If I were going to stay in government, I think I would have stayed in Congress," Davis said. "I wish them well."

Today's t-storms caused only minor glitches for voters, cutting power at four polling places across the state but not affecting voting, state election officials said. Election officials followed contingency plans and used back-up battery equipment, so voting equipment was not affected.

However, two voting locations were locked down for 45 minutes in Virginia Beach following reports that a gunman was in the area. No injuries were reported.
One voter in Virginia Beach was asked to come back later.

And in Prince William County, someone forgot to tell the custodian to open the doors at one polling location, so election officials followed their contingency plan and opened in a parking lot.

Just hours before the polls are due to open in this year's Democratic primary for governor, two young men touched by the Virginia Tech tragedy have sent out an open letter opposing Creigh Deeds because of his position on guns.

Colin Goddard, a victim who survived the mass shootings in April 2007 (and was in the room when shooter Seung Hui Cho killed himself), and Omar Samaha, whose sister, Reema, was killed, issued the somber letter just after 5:30 p.m.

They noted that Deeds voted against closing the gun show loophole before voting for it, and has supported allowing concealed weapons in bars.

"Senator Deeds has a record on guns that worries us," they wrote. "Senator Deeds opposes our one-gun-a-month law -- and even Bob McDonnell supported that."

"We believe Senator Deeds is a good person. And on many issues, we agree with him. But keeping the people we love safe is the single most important issue to us, and that's why Senator Deeds won't be getting our vote on Tuesday."

Brian Moran of Alexandria chose to spend the final day before the election in his hometown, rallying about 250 supporters over the lunch hour in front of Alexandria City Hall in Old Town.

Glistening under a blazing sun, Moran stuck with the left-leaning message he has trumpeted for much of the campaign: promises to expand access to medical and dental care, push a transportation plan through the legislature, block off-shore drilling and repeal a constitutional amendment that prohibits gay marriage.

"All along 've been talking to voters about just how important this election is," Moran boomed to the crowd, flanked by more than a dozen local elected officials who support him. "We made history electing Barack Obama in the fall, but we need a partner for President Obama in the governor's office, and I intend to be that governor."

When Brian Moran gave out his private cell phone during a television interview last week, folks from his opponents' campaigns chortled.

But someone out there was listening. Moran said he got about a dozen hang-ups in the few days following the interview, probably from people "who wanted to know if the number was real."

But then this morning, on the road between an appearance on MSNBC and a pre-Election Day rally in Alexandria, his phone rang again. And he picked it up.

It was a woman whose grandchildren had been taken from her daughter's home by child welfare officials, and who wanted help getting the children back to her home.

"She said we ignore grandparents' rights in Virginia," Moran said. "I told her to send me the information and I will look into it."

The endorsements in Arlington's 47th House District, where five men are vying in Tuesday's Democratic primary to replace Del. Al Eisenberg, keep rollin' in. Today, retired U.S. Army general Wesley Clark endorsed Adam Parkhomenko.

We're not sure how Clark, a presidential contender in 2004, feels about widening Interstate 66, preserving affordable housing along Route 50 or fostering transit-oriented development around North Arlington's Orange Line Metro stations.

But we do know that Parkhomenko, a 23-year-old former campaign staffer last year to Hillary Rodham Clinton, has put his national political connections to work. Parkhomenko also nabbed the endorsement of former president Bill Clinton, who has placed robocalls into the district on Parkhomenko's behalf.

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) has weighed in on the five-way primary battle to replace Al Eisenberg in Arlington's 47th House District, endorsing Alan Howze, who was Warner's policy director in the governor's office.

Already hard to predict by virtue of the size of the field, the race has been complicated by the divided allegiances of big-name Democrats. First, former president Bill Clinton recorded a robo-call for Adam Parkhomenko, the 23-year-old former staffer for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Then, after rumblings from irritated Arlington Democrats that Clinton had butted into a local race, Del. Bob Brink and state Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple endorsed Patrick Hope, a civic activist and adjunct professor of health at Johns Hopkins University. Arlington board member Chris Zimmerman, meanwhile, supports Andres Tobar, a veteran of the U.S. Department of Education who directs a day-labor center. And a number of Virginia's liberal blogs have thrown their support behind Miles Grant, an employee of the National Wildlife Federation.

Now comes Warner.

"When I was governor, Alan worked closely with me to get Virginia's finances back on track and make needed investments in education and the environment," Warner wrote. "Alan is a hard worker and a dedicated Democrat, and I know he'll be a great delegate for Arlington."

Former delegate Brian Moran has won the latest gubernatorial straw poll -- that most uncertain of grassroots political gauges that we all spend too much time studying.

Just as interesting, perhaps, is the fact that Terry McAuliffe came in third.

This time, the straw poll was in Fairfax County, Virginia's largest community and a critical battleground for the primary next Tuesday. (At last, we can start saying next Tuesday!) The setting was the Fairfax County Democratic Committee's annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner at the McLean Hilton.

Moran won 166 votes compared to 123 for Creigh Deeds and 117 for Terry McAuliffe.

The results give Moran, from Alexandria, more bragging rights for a strong position in his homebase of Northern Virginia. They also keep alive talk that Deeds has been surging in recent days, following his endorsement by this newspaper on May 22. Finally, the results fuel recent speculation that McAuliffe's lead is narrowing, and that he may have peaked too soon in this most eventful of primary seasons.

P.S.: For lieutenant governor, Jody Wagner won with 260 votes compared to 136 for Mike Signer.

U.S. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) has endorsed Mark L. Keam in the four-man race for the Democratic nomination in the House of Delegates' 35th District.

Connolly's endorsement comes a day after one of Keam's opponents, Roy J. Baldwin, criticized Keam for his work as a federal lobbyist for Verizon. Keam is a former chief counsel to Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and also worked stints at the Federal Communications Commission and Small Business Administration.

Keam is also a Korean-born immigrant, a potential advantage in increasingly diverse and Democrat-leaning Fairfax County. And he has raised more money than the other three contenders, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Will turnout in the Democratic gubernatorial primary June 9 be low? high? And who benefits? If it's all activists, the theory goes, Brian Moran gains an edge. If a broader electorate shows up, perhaps that's to Terry McAuliffe's advantage, since his message is reaching the most Virginians on radio and TV. If the rural parts vote more, that might be to Creigh Deeds' advantage.

Here's some new corn feed to throw into the trough.

In Arlington, political numbers-cruncher Frank O'Leary (the county treasurer by day) is pretty excited that absentee balloting is on a trajectory to exceed past primary elections (excluding last year's historic presidential contest).

McAuliffe just accused Moran of supporting legislation that allowed payday lending into the state.

It's true, but at the time most lawmakers thought the bill would regulate the industry and prevent it from preying too deeply on the poor.

Moran voted for a bill in 2002 that opened Virginia to payday lending. Lawmakers from both parties thought the bill would license and regulate the industry, but instead payday operators quickly multiplied.

Three years later, Moran did vote to enact some of the nation's most stringent reforms of the payday loan industry, though many opponents did not think it went far enough.

Since 1996, Moran has taken $30,200 in donations from lending or consumer credit companies.

Answering a question about same-sex marriages, candidate Brian Moran said he led efforts in the state House of Delegates to protect the rights of gays and lesbians in Virginia.

While Moran has made it a major plank of his campaign to overturn a state constitutional amendment passed in 2006 banning same-sex marriages in Virginia, he voted yes to a proposal (put forth by Republican Bob McDonnell, the former delegate and attorney general who will face the winner of the Democratic gubernatorial primary) urging the Congress to pass a federal constitutional amendment.

Moran says he voted against that proposal too, and his campaign says the one vote in favor was in the middle of the process and does not reflect his true feelings on the issue.

Terry McAuliffe talked again today about how he has created thousands of jobs, and he made a new claim that many of those jobs are union jobs.

McAuliffe led a home-building company in Florida that did, indeed, create thousands of jobs in the construction trades. And most of those jobs were union.

But McAuliffe never created jobs in Virginia, despite claiming on the campaign trail that he started five businesses here. (McAuliffe did create five businesses in Virginia, but all are investment partnerships registered to his home address in McLean, and none has employees).

In our first fact-checker item of today's debate at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, we'll take a look at a statement Terry McAuliffe made, not for the first time, that Virginia could soon lose federal highway dollars if it doesn't find new sources of transportation revenue.

It's true. Part of the discussion about Virginia's transportation crisis has revolved around that that more and more of the state's investment in highways has gone toward maintenance and repair rather than new construction. If the state allows its expenditure on construction to dip too low, it will miss out on federal highway dollars that are available on a matching basis to the states.

Currently, Virginia is eligible for about $1 billion in matching federal dollars, but it must spend about $200 million of its own money to qualify. It's generally viewed as a good bargain -- $4 of federal money for every $1 in state funds. But the state is on a trajectory right now not to have the money to take full advantage of the federal pool.

The alternative is to reduce spending on maintenance, and the Commonwealth Transportation Board tomorrow will propose doing just that in its next six-year transportation improvement program. But that path is fraught with peril too, most leaders say.

Virginia's senior U.S. senator, Democrat Jim Webb, told George Stephanopoulous of ABC's "This Week" yesterday that he opposes the release of detainees from the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, onto U.S. soil.

Webb's remarks added to the chorus of Virginia political leaders who have positioned themselves against the possibility that as many as 17 Chinese Muslims known as Uighurs might be released into a Uighur community in Fairfax County.

"It can be argued that they were simply conducting dissident activities against the government of China," Webb said. "On the other hand, they accepted training from al-Qaeda, and as a result, they have taken part in terrorism. I don't believe they should come to the United States."

Jon Bowerbank, the Russell County supervisor who surprised many Democrats yesterday by dropping out of the race for the lieutenant governor nomination, was as upbeat and cheerful as ever last night at the Arlington County Democratic Committee's Jefferson Jackson dinner in Ballston.

Bowerbank was happy to talk about his decision, and he cited two reasons for it. First, he was on track to lose (his exact phrase: "The business model wasn't working.") And second, to change that fact, Bowerbank would have had to resort to a negative campaign against Jody Wagner, the presumed front-runner in a contest that also features Mike Signer.

"I just didn't want to do that," Bowerbank said.

Democratic Rep. Jim Moran wants to stop blushing when he's watching a Capitals game with his grandkids.

Moran, who turns 65 tomorrow, sent a letter this week to three drug manufacturers who make drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, or ED, urging them to tone down their television ads, which he and other parents and grandparents he knows are tired of viewing with children in the room.

Earlier this year, Moran introduced legislation that would require such ads to meet more stringent decency standards. He did so in 2005 as well, but at the time a verbal agreement was reached with some of the bigger manufacturers to tone down their ads and limit their airtime before 10 p.m.

Lately, Moran said, the companies have been kicking their airtime back up.

Del. Bob Brink and Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple have endorsed Patrick Hope in the five-man Democratic primary to replace Al Eisenberg in the 47th House District in Arlington.

The endorsement could make a difference in such a crowded field, particularly in an election likely to be dominated by activist voters who know Brink and Whipple personally. The nod also comes, perhaps not coincidentally, on the heels of former president Bill Clinton's endorsement of Adam Parkhomenko -- an endorsement that caused some Arlington Democrats to grumble privately about Clinton's entrance into a local primary contest.

If Democrat Greg Werkheiser's open letter today to Republican Del. Dave Albo of southeastern Fairfax County is any indication, voters of the 42nd House District are in for a high-energy election year.

Werkheiser, who is challenging Albo for the second time after an unsuccessful bid four years ago, distributed a pointed and lengthy attack on Albo for sending out a mail piece to supporters that is "chock full of lies" about whether Werkheiser lives in the district, works there, and would do a good job representing its residents if elected in November.

In Albo's letter, which he said he sent to about 1,200 supporters inviting them to his campaign kickoff event June 4 at the Springfield Country Club, the 16-year incumbent suggested that Werkheiser lives in Petersburg and that his business, the nonprofit Phoenix Project, focuses on helping the poor in other parts of the state but not Northern Virginia.

Nothing could be further from the truth, Werkheiser said.

Democratic gubernatorial contender Terry McAuliffe harvested algae today. Need we say more?

Former President Bill Clinton has endorsed Adam Parkhomenko, one of five candidates for the House of Delegates' 47th District seat in Arlington.

If that feels like a nice get for Parkhomenko, it is: The longtime aide to Hillary Clinton (he was Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle's top assistant) has parlayed his political relationships into a healthy list of campaign donors and endorsements that have distinguished him from his four opponents in the June 9 primary.

But the Clinton call has also irked some local Arlington Democrats who are supporting other candidates. Parkhomenko, a lifelong Arlington resident, is just 23. He is not universally viewed by local activists as the best candidate for the job. Even those who are neutral in the race said they were surprised by the endorsement. Del. Bob Brink of the adjacent 48th District is among them, but Brink also wondered whether in the end it would matter.

"It's interesting that the president is getting involved in a little House of Delegates race," Brink said. "It's like nothing we've ever seen before. But you know, at the end of the day, I'm not certain how much difference endorsements make. You stand or fall on your own qualifications."

One of Parkhomenko's qualifications, clearly, is his loyalty to the Clintons.

Click here to to view Parkhomenko's web page. The other candidates to replace retiring Del. Al Eisenberg in the June 9 Democratic primary are: Miles Grant, Patrick Hope, Alan Howze and Andres Tobar.

Democratic gubernatorial contender Brian Moran wasn't the only one ready to respond to a Washington Post article published today on rival Terry McAuliffe's background mingling business and politics.

At 1:22 a.m., a few hours after the story posted to the Post's web page, Moran spokesman Jesse Ferguson issued a blistering press release highlighting the article's premise that McAuliffe's history of intricate partnerships and investments, often with political associates, could prove to be a liability in the governor's race.

But wait: Flash back to 10:51 p.m. yesterday, less than two hours after the story appeared. That's when Team McAuliffe hit the send button on an extensive dissertation defending his business bio (and circling back nicely to his campaign themes of creating jobs, supporting President Obama and listening to the Virginia grassroots).

If McAuliffe's response appears a bit defensive, it certainly wins the prize for thoroughness and speed. Or maybe awards should go to Creigh Deeds, the third Democrat vying for the nomination June 9, and Republican Bob McDonnell, for tuning out and enjoying a quiet Saturday night.

Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy, will host a fundraiser in May for Democratic gubernatorial contender Brian Moran.

The event will take place May 27 at Hickory Hill, the 19th-century family homestead in McLean where the Kennedys raised their 11 children. McLean is also where Moran rival Terry McAuliffe lives.

As matriarch of the Kennedy clan, Ethel Kennedy's decision to host a fundraiser for Moran could boost his standing with Democratic activists -- and serve as a counterweight to former president Bill Clinton, who is stumping for McAuliffe.

Haim Saban, a wealthy California media mogul and Terry McAuliffe's top individual donor in his bid for Virginia governor, was part of an effort to influence a Justice Department investigation of two pro-Israel lobbyists accused of spying, according to a report published this week in The New York Times.

An enterprising student at Virginia Commonwealth University has posted to YouTube an amusing compilation of video footage from this year's General Assembly session showing lawmakers doing anything but the people's business on their state-issued laptops.

The video, compiled by Tracy Kennedy from Capital News Service footage of floor sessions in the House chamber, shows lawmakers Facebooking, instant messaging, even shopping for guns. Del. Dave Albo (R-Fairfax) is seen checking out a $3.5 million house for sale in Mason Neck. Democrat Al Eisenberg of Arlington is shown browsing Civil War relics. Democrat Bob Brink, also of Arlington, is seen shopping for furniture at crateandbarrel.com.

Some lawmakers are shown reading news clips, but no one is looking at the state's Legislative Information System, an online database of bill status, committee calendars and state code that is presumably a big reason why the state spent hundreds of thousands of dollars issuing the laptops and wiring the Capitol for high-speed Internet access. As Kennedy points out: "It might just be time for the Capitol to get a firewall to help keep the legislators focused."

Terry McAuliffe's ties to lobbyists go beyond the political friendships that prompted a group of supporters to host a fundraiser for him this week in the offices of the BGR Group, a prominent Washington lobbying firm. For nearly 10 years, McAuliffe was the managing partner of a law firm with its own thriving lobbying practice.

The Washington Post reported this morning on Brian Moran's criticism of the fundraiser and effort to tar McAuliffe's long history as a Washington political insider.

That history includes his affiliation with the Washington law firm, McAuliffe Kelly Raffaelli, where he was managing partner until his departure in 1994. Although McAuliffe did not lobby himself, news clips and federal lobbying disclosure forms show that others with the firm represented the nuclear power industry, a chemical company, the telecommunications industry, fast-food chains and the foreign governments of Taiwan, India and Turkey. The company came under fire for some of that work.

Former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe overwhelmingly won an informal straw poll in Fairfax County tonight against his two Democratic rivals for governor, Brian Moran and Creigh Deeds.

At a jam-packed St. Patrick's Day party hosted by U.S. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), McAuliffe earned 58 percent of votes, Moran took 30 percent and Deeds earned 12 percent. Connolly told the crowd of about 1,400 that a total of 934 ballots were cast.

If nothing else, the vote sprinkled a healthy pinch of fish food into Virginia's political aquarium. McAuliffe outshined his rivals in both organization and spirit at the event, arranging for donors to purchase 400 tickets for his guests, staffing the party with 60 paid campaign workers and prompting the loudest cheers when he spoke to the crowd.

U.S. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) will hold his annual St. Patrick's Day party Tuesday at the Kena Temple in Fairfax featuring the usual fare of corned beef, cabbage and a Democratic straw poll.

Connolly is expecting upwards of 500 guests. The straw poll will measure support for candidates in this year's contested Democratic primaries for governor and lieutenant governor.

Most Democratic statewide candidates are expected to attend, organizers said. For tickets, contact Donald Brownlee at 703-267-6888. The event will run from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in the ballroom of the Kena Temple, 9001 Arlington Blvd., Fairfax.

Former U.S senator John W. Warner, a Virginia Republican, announced today that he will return to the Washington law firm Hogan & Hartson, where he was a partner until launching a long career in public service in 1969.

Warner left his Senate seat in January after 30 years in office; before that, he was undersecretary and secretary of the U.S. Navy.

A graduate of the University of Virginia law school, Warner will return to Hogan & Hartson as a partner concentrating on national security, international trade and global climate issues.

"People say I will be a rainmaker," Warner said. "And, well, yes, I will probably bring a few showers. But what I want to do is to work with the younger lawyers to inspire them to try to achieve the goals in life that they have. In return, I ask them to invigorate me so that I can press on for a few more years.

Fairfax County School Board member Ilryong Moon defeated community activist Janyce N. Hedetniemi and the Rev. Ronald F. Christian in a "firehouse" primary yesterday and today for the Democratic nomination for the county's Braddock District supervisor seat.

Moon now faces Republican John Cook, 45, a lawyer and community activist, and Carey C. Campbell, an independent who ran unsuccessfully in the chairman's race, in a special election scheduled for March 10. The three are vying to replace Democrat Sharon S. Bulova, who narrowly defeated Supervisor Pat S. Herrity (R-Springfield) to become chairman of the Board of Supervisors. Bulova replaced Democrat Gerald E. Connolly, now in Congress.

Scott A. Surovell, chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee, reported that Moon earned 1,528 votes, Hedetniemi earned 1,073 votes and Christian earned 92 votes in the firehouse primary. The fate of an additional eight uncounted votes was uncertain, but they won't change the outcome, Surovell said.

The provisional ballots still aren't counted in yesterday's special election for Fairfax County board chairman, but already a new gaggle of candidates are launching campaigns to replace Democrat Sharon S. Bulova in the board's Braddock District seat.

According to unofficial results, Bulova narrowly defeated Republican Pat S. Herrity to replace Democrat Gerald E. Connolly, who is now in Congress. Herrity has not yet conceded, however, and county election officials are still canvassing the results. Rokey Suleman, the general registrar, said he does not expect the results to change dramatically, meaning Bulova is likely to be certified the winner with no option of a recount for Herrity.

In the meantime, state Democrats are celebrating Bulova's victory as a sign of momentum heading into the fall elections for governor and the House of Delegates. And local leaders are positioning themselves to replace Bulova.

Weather may be an impediment for those wishing to vote today in the special election for chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. But the election will proceed, Rokey Suleman, the county's general registrar, said early this morning.

Suleman was up at 2 a.m. to talk with state highway officials and the State Board of Elections about whether today's forecast warranted a postponement.

"The reports look good through the close of polls," he said. "The weather service says we dodged a bullet. It's going to snow but the roads will just be wet."

U.S. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) is under fire, mostly from Republicans, for jokingly urging fellow Democrats at a recent political event to give Republicans the wrong date for the Feb. 3 special election for Fairfax County chairman.

Speaking to about 700 guests at a Fairfax County Democratic Committee ball held last weekend at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Connolly, who was chairman until taking congressional office earlier this month, urged the crowd to help elect Vice Chairman Sharon S. Bulova (D-Braddock) in the Feb. 3 special election to replace him.

"You know, it's really important to tell every Democrat we know this election is on Tuesday, Feb. 3, and to tell every Republican we know that this election is on Tuesday Feb. 10," Connolly said to laughter.

The remarks were captured on video and have been bouncing through the blogosphere -- and accompanied by charges that Connolly crossed a line by attempting to suppress Republican voter turnout. The video, which was first highlighted on the blog NotLarrySabato, was also featured on the conservative television commentator Sean Hannity's program, "Hannity's America." Hannity dubbed the video "Enfranchisement, Connolly style," and described Connolly as "all for voting rights until the election gets too close for comfort."

Democrat Gerald E. Connolly of Fairfax County, the top elected official of the region's largest jurisdiction, won a decisive primary victory yesterday in Northern Virginia's 11th Congressional District against former representative Leslie L. Byrne.

But with less than 6 percent of registered voters participating in the election, the results don't say a whole lot about what could happen come November.

Connolly beat Byrne with nearly 58 percent of the vote to her 33 percent. In raw numbers, however, he won by just over 6,000 votes -- little more than 1 percent of the 11th Congressional District's 446,000 active registered voters.

Democrat Gerald E. Connolly of Fairfax County, the top elected official of the region's largest jurisdiction, won a decisive primary victory yesterday in Northern Virginia's 11th Congressional District against former representative Leslie L. Byrne.

But with less than 6 percent of registered voters participating in the election, the results don't say a whole lot about what could happen come November.

Connolly beat Byrne with nearly 58 percent of the vote to her 33 percent. In raw numbers, however, he won by just over 6,000 votes -- little more than 1 percent of the 11th Congressional District's 446,000 active registered voters.

After morning and lunch-hour rushes that looked more like a trickle, Northern Virginia election officials predicted historically low turnout in today's congressional primaries despite a fiercely competitive Democratic contest for an open seat in the 11th District, where Republican Tom Davis is retiring.

At Sleepy Hollow Elementary School, Democratic candidate Leslie Byrne greets a prospective voter and his son at the polls. (By Emma Patti -- washingtonpost.com)

Through much of the afternoon, precincts across the region looked like ghost towns. At the Fair Oaks precinct of central Fairfax County, just 15 ballots had been cast at 2 p.m., officials said.

"Turnout is, I don't want to say anemic, but turnout is very, very, very, very light," said Rokey Suleman, Fairfax County's general registrar, who predicted that turnout was unlikely to exceed 5 percent by the time polls close at 7 p.m. -- a dismal contrast to the one-third of registered voters who participated in February's presidential contest statewide. Turnout in the 2006 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate was 5.8 percent in Fairfax County.

In Fairfax City, general registrar Jeremiah Vangen reported just 605 ballots cast by 2 p.m. out of more than 14,000 registered voters. Polls close at 7 p.m.

At the Mantua polling place, Democratic candidate Gerry Connolly greets Mantua precinct captain Patty Parker before voting. (By Emma Patti -- washingtonpost.com)

"The presidential campaign has overshadowed this campaign," said Sally Ormsby, a precinct captain at the Price precinct in central Fairfax County. "People weren't focused on this, even though it's a huge competition."

In the hotly contested 11th District, which encompasses central and southern Fairfax County and a swath of Prince William County, low turnout adds a measure of uncertainty in a four-way primary battle between Fairfax County Board Chairman Gerald E. Connolly, former representative Leslie L. Byrne, former Navy pilot Doug Denneny and physical therapist Lori P. Alexander.

U.S. Rep. Robert C. Scott (D-Va.) said today he has endorsed Leslie L. Byrne in the hotly contested Democratic primary in the 11th Congressional District, while the Mid-Atlantic Laborers Union has backed Byrne rival Gerald E. Connolly.

Scott, who lives in Newport News and represents Virginia's only majority-African-American district, worked alongside Byrne both in the General Assembly and in Congress during her one term in the early 1990s. Like Byrne, he is viewed as one of Virginia's most prominent liberal Democrats.

The congressional campaign of Leslie L. Byrne has released details from an internal poll showing her in a statistical dead heat with fellow Democrat Gerald E. Connolly.

The two are competing in the June 10 primary along with two others, Doug Denneny and Lori P. Alexander, for the Democratic nomination in the 11th Congressional District, where incumbent Tom Davis is retiring. The winner will face Republican newcomer Keith Fimian in the fall in an increasingly blue-leaning district that includes much of central Fairfax County and a part of Prince William County.

According to an internal memo issued by the campaign, Connolly is ahead of Byrne 37 percent to 34 percent among likely Democratic primary voters -- a statistical dead heat given the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

The money keeps flowing into the 11th Congressional District's Democratic primary showdown.

According to disclosure reports to be filed to the Federal Election Commission tomorrow, Gerald E. Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, is leading the pack of four after raising $500,000 during the first quarter of 2008.

As of March 31, Connolly had $424,000 on hand, his campaign reported.

Former state Sen. Joseph V. Gartlan Jr., for 28 years one of the most liberal voices of the General Assembly, has endorsed Gerald E. Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, for the Democratic nomination in the 11th Congressional District.

The endorsement provides a boost for Connolly in an area where he needs it: among liberal party activists, with whom his principal opponent, former state senator Leslie L. Byrne, has strong roots. Such voters will be crucial in the June 10 primary.

Gartlan's endorsement is notable for two reasons: As a liberal, he is ideologically close to Byrne. And that leads to point No. 2, which is that Gartlan had already endorsed Byrne, but he changed his mind after Connolly got in the race.

State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-Fairfax), one of Northern Virginia's few conservative elected officials with deep roots in the conservative wing of the Republican Party, announced plans today to run for state attorney general in 2009.

Cuccinelli, 39, is a proven campaigner who narrowly won reelection last fall in western Fairfax County despite the region's increasing tendency to choose Democrats at the polls. He touted his conservative credentials on such issues as illegal immigration, gun rights, the death penalty and abortion as evidence that he can court Republican votes and round out a conservative GOP ticket that will also feature Robert F. McDonnell, the current attorney general, for governor, and Lt. Gov. William T. Bolling, who will seek reelection next year.

"We have the opportunity to have the strongest ticket that Republicans have fielded in years, many years," Cuccinelli said. "And I believe I can round out that ticket, bringing in my history of conservative leadership and a strong grassroots network based here in Northern Virginia."

Gerald E. Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and candidate for the congressional seat of retiring Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), released poll results today giving him a 23-point lead over Democratic rival Leslie L. Byrne.

Gerald E. Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, formally announced his candidacy for Congress yesterday.

Connolly is seeking the Democratic nomination in the 11th Congressional District. He faces three opponents: former congresswoman and state senator Leslie L. Byrne, community activist Douglas J. Denneny and physical therapist Lori P. Alexander.

Sen. Barack Obama arrived at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria just before 2 p.m. today, greeting thousands of supporters in a packed gymnasium and hundreds more hoping for a glimpse outside.

Obama came to Virginia on the heels of a sweeping victory in three smaller states Saturday. He is hoping to ride his momentum to victory in the region in Tuesday's first-ever "Potomac Primary", when voters in D.C., Maryland and Virginia will go to the polls. Obama is expected to do well on all three contests, but just how well could improve his momentum heading into the much larger and more important Texas and Ohio primaries next month.

Obama used Williams' history as a racially and economically divided community -- as told in the book and movie "Remember the Titans" -- to describe his agenda to improve quality and access to public and higher education.

Steve Hunt, the former Fairfax County School Board member, has decided to withdraw his name from consideration for the Republican nomination in the 11th Congressional District in Northern Virginia.

That leaves Keith Fimian, a successful Oakton business owner favored by U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), who will retire from the 11th at the end of this term.

David Marin, minority staff director of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will move on to a new gig this month as a principal with the Podesta Group, a bipartisan government relations and public
relations firm with such clients as Google, Wal-Mart and BP.

Marin, who has been the right-hand wunderkind of U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), joined on with Davis nine years ago, at the tender age of 29. He rose from the rank of Davis spokesman to staff director during Davis's tenure as committee chairman. Supervising a committee staff of 80, Marin led high-profile inquiries into steroid use in major league baseball, federal defense contracting and treatment of wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Marin is next in a line of Davis staffers likely to move on to new opportunities now that their boss has announced that he will retire at the end of the term. Already gone is David Foreman, who was Davis's field director and now serves as chief of staff to Fairfax County Supervisor Pat S. Herrity (R-Springfield).

U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) said today he will retire from Congress at the end of the year, bringing to a close a 14-year stint in the House of Representatives during which he rose rapidly through the ranks of Republican leadership and championed such issues as D.C. voting rights and a vibrant defense-contracting industry.

"It's time for me to take a sabbatical," Davis said. "I would say I'm not ruling out future public service, but it's time to be refreshed, to see what it's like in the private sector. That doesn't mean I will or won't come back."

Davis, 59, a self-described political wonk who has wanted to serve in Congress since childhood, said the decision was remarkably difficult. He said that even as some media outlets were reporting this week that he would retire, he had not made up his mind.

Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, still hasn't moved past the "exploratory" phase of his bid for Congress. But his committee very proudly shared some early fundraising numbers to make the point that Connolly has the ability to run a well-financed campaign.

According to James Walkinshaw, who runs Connolly's exploratory committee, Connolly has raised $161,000 since the beginning of January, when he announced the formation of the committee to pursue a bid in the 11th Congressional District. By contrast, fellow Democrat Leslie L. Byrne will report at the end of the month that she raised $115,000 between the November elections and the new year, she said in an interview yesterday.

"That's in just three and a half weeks," Walkinshaw said.

The suspense continues to build about whether U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) will seek an eighth term representing Northern Virginia this year. Davis has said for months that he would announce a decision by the end of January. And here we are.

Despite media reports that Davis has decided to retire, he told WTOP this morning that he has not yet made a decision. Most observers believe retirement is the likelier of the two possibilities, but as a source close to Davis not authorized to speak for the congressman said today: "Anyone who says they know what Tom is doing knows more than Tom, because he hasn't made a decision yet."

A Davis retirement has all kinds of implications for the region. Most immediate is the likelihood that Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, would upgrade his "exploratory campaign" to a full-fledged candidacy, facing off against fellow Democrats Leslie L. Byrne and Doug Denneny in what is sure to be an exciting and competitive primary contest.

Then there's the prospect of losing Davis's seniority in the House, where he is ranking minority member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and has taken a lead role pushing for D.C. voting rights.

Stay tuned. An announcement is nigh.

State Sen. J. Chapman Petersen (D-Fairfax), who just the other day sent a letter to the Federal Transit Administration urging a "time out" on the approval process for a proposed Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport, has now signed a letter urging "immediate action" to approve the project's final design.

State Sen. J. Chapman Petersen (D-Fairfax), just a few days into his first legislative session since upsetting Republican Jeannemarie Devolites Davis last November, did something pretty interesting the other day: He sent a letter to Federal Transit Administration chief James S. Simpson urging him to take a "time out" on approving federal funding for the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport so that a tunnel through Tysons Corner can be more thoroughly studied.

Leslie L. Byrne declared herself the frontrunner today in the battle for the Democratic nomination in the 11th Congressional District -- but others have something else to say about her numbers.

Byrne released polling numbers today that show her with a 10-point lead over potential primary opponent Gerald E. Connolly, the chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors who recently formed an exploratory committee to consider running for Congress.

Increasingly impatient with the silence emanating from the Federal Transit Administration, the Dulles Corridor Rail Association will publish a full-page, $100,000 ad in The Washington Post tomorrow reminding the FTA and the public just how important they view the proposed $5-plus billion extension of Metro to Dulles Internatonional Airport.

"We're ready to ride," states the ad, which supporters described as "positive," and which also states: "The Dulles Metrorail has never had so much support."

Supervisor-elect Pat Herrity (R-Springfield), who will assume the seat now held by retiring Elaine N. McConnell, has hired David Foreman to be his chief of staff. Foreman, who currently serves as field director for U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Fairfax), and Herrity attended West Springfield High School together.

But the connections don't end there. Foreman's dad was the chief of staff to Herrity's dad, the late John F. "Jack" Herrity, a former county board chairman. And Foreman's wife works for Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully), who is likely to be a friendly face on the board for fellow Republican Herrity.

Foreman did not return a phone call for comment, but others close to Davis said Foreman's impending departure is not a signal that Davis has decided not to seek reelection. Herrity said his old high school friend has helped him with the campaign all year.

Gary H. Baise, the Republican candidate for chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors who lost to incumbent Gerald E. Connolly (D) last month, is still talking about the Tysons tunnel. But Baise has hung up his politician's cap and put on the one he wears as lawyer.

Baise is representing tysonstunnel.org in the lawsuit it filed last week against the Federal Transit Administration seeking a renewed look at the proposal to extend Metrorail from Falls Church to Dulles International Airport. Current plans call for an elevated track through busy Tysons Corner, but tysonstunnel.org claims that state, local and federal officials have not sufficiently considered the tunnel option.

When asked if he was doing the legal work pro bono, Baise replied, "Oh no." But it's not clear how quickly, or by whom, he will be paid. Scott Monet, who heads tysonstunnel.org, said in an interview last week that the organization's primary benefactor, WestGroup, has stopped providing financial support, and that he is trying to raise money now to pay for the suit.

Frank S. Ferguson, one of the institutional brains of the Virginia attorney general's office, will serve as interim director of the Virginia Lottery while a permanent replacement for Sheila Hill-Christian is found, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) announced today.

Hill-Christian left her post as lottery director this month to become chief administrative officer for Richmond Mayor (and former governor) L. Douglas Wilder.

State Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax) has been taking quite a beating in the public domain since she lost resoundingly to Democrat J. Chapman Petersen in last Tuesday's election. The Democratic-friendly blogs have been crowing over her defeat, and the de facto blow that the loss represented for her husband, U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, who devoted much of the last two months, hundreds of thousands of dollars in his campaign money, and a fleet of his political staff to saving his wife's political career.

The beating is coming from the other side today, when the gun-rights group Virginia Citizens Defense League will hold a party to celebrate Devolites Davis's loss. In an effort to win in an increasingly Democrat-leaning district, the one-term senator campaigned in part on a promise to enact further gun controls. She also angered gun-rights activists by appearing with New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who praised her push for greater gun controls.

The phone's been ringing a lot in the household of Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, who not only overwhelmingly won a second four-year term against Republican Gary H. Baise on Tuesday, but also picked up another Democrat on the board. Come January Democrats will hold an 8-to-2 majority.

But even for Connolly, one call stood out yesterday morning. It was from presidential contender Hillary Clinton, who rang up to offer her congratulations.

The entire cast of Democratic characters could hardly fit onto the stage at George Mason University this morning, when Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, former governor Mark R. Warner and U.S. Sen. James Webb led a throng of candidates and legislative leaders at an outdoor rally before hundreds of supporters.

"So far what we've heard from the other side is, 'No,'" Warner said in the autumn sunshine. He urged the candidates behind him on the stage not to reflexively vote Democratic on issue, but, "What I desperately want them to do is not reflexively say, 'No.'"

Gerald E. Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, emceed the event. Connolly earned laughs by saying, "First of all, can I mention: I'm on the ballot." He also earned cheers by saying, "Here in Fairfax, we are on the verge of a sweep."

Other luminaries included state Del. Brian J. Moran (D-Alexandria), the House Democratic Caucus chairman; Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry), the House minority leader; and Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath). Deeds and Moran have both been mentioned as possible gubernatorial candidates in 2009.

State Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax) has debuted a new advertisement on network television tonight, continuing the high-dollar, high-stakes ad wars with Democrat J. Chapman Petersen that could permanently transform Northern Virginia electoral politics.
Devolites Davis became the first Virginia legislative candidate from Northern Virginia to buy expensive network air time in the Washington market. Petersen quickly followed suit, as has Democrat Janet Oleszek, who is challenging state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II in western Fairfax County.
Watch the new ad here.

The latest money reports are in, and the cash is flowing like rainwater in the hottest legislative races in the state. In Northern Virginia, state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax), in one of the toughest contests of the year against Democratic challenger J. Chapman Petersen, accepted $183,000 from the congressional committee of her husband, U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III. To date, Devolites Davis has accepted more than $400,000 from Davis, much of it directed toward network television advertising.

State Sen. Martin E. Williams (R-Newport News) is the latest moderate Republican to predict trouble on the horizon for the GOP if it doesn't open its tent to a broad range of voters. Williams, who lost a fierce primary battle earlier this year to conservative Tricia Stall, has launched a new blog, www.reagansgop.com, whose principal theme will be to lament the damage that the party's conservative wing is wreaking on GOP majorities.

Democrat J. Chapman Petersen, who is seeking to unseat Fairfax state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R) in what is widely viewed as one of the most competitive races in Virginia this year, put the Fairfax Education Association in a tough spot at a candidates forum Sunday at which he claimed that the teacher group endorsed Davis only because she is the incumbent.

"I don't have the FEA endorsement because I'm not an incumbent," Petersen told the audience at Temple Rodef Shalom Sunday morning. "It's funny -- the president of the FEA said, 'I'll come to every single one of your fundraisers, and I'll write you a personal check, but understand that we can't go against an incumbent that meets the minimum score.' Our children deserve better than the minimum score. If I'm elected, you're going to get better than the minimum score."

Gerald E. Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, launched his first round of television advertising this week with a $40,000-a-week cable TV buy, he said. And there's plenty more where that came from.

Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, on Tuesday will announce endorsements from three environmental organizations: the Sierra Club, the Clean Water Action Project, and the Fairfax chapter of the League of Conservation Voters.

The ad wars have begun in Fairfax County, where two incumbent Republican state senators -- Ken Cuccinelli and Jay O'Brien -- went up on cable TV last week. Cuccinelli's opponent, Democrat Janet Oleszek, is also running an ad on cable.

Amy Gardner has covered local and state politics for 14 years. Amy touched down in Virginia in 1994, when she joined The Daily Press in Newport News, covering local government as well as the Virginia General Assembly and former Gov. Jim Gilmore. She moved on to The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., where she covered two Tar Heel governors and an endless series of state budget crises. Amy joined The Washington Post's Virginia desk in 2005. Although a Yankee by birth, she has earned her southern bona fides through the births of her two sons, one in Richmond and the other in Raleigh.