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.