Now that Phil Kellam has removed himself from contention, the Democratic nomination appears to be wide open. Or is it? The names I’ve heard floating around over the past weeks:
- David Ashe
- Henry Light
- Jody Wagner
I’m not sure that Ashe is up for another run, particularly given the DCCC’s response in 2004. Light is a newcomer and would have a hard time, especially given the size of his loss to Joannou.
That leaves Jody Wagner. Wagner ran against former seat holder Ed Schrock in 2000, losing by just 4%. On paper, Wagner looks like a tremendous candidate.
My guess is that we won’t know until after November’s elections who the Democratic candidate (or candidates) might be. So someone else could emerge. Any ideas who?
(I guess the WordPress autoposting thingee ain’t working today 😦 I set this up to post this morning.)
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Ya see? Geoff and I can find some common ground and agree on a few things.
I agree — I have heard that Jody is not interested in running, and in fact, is very interested in staying on top of these budgets issues and making sure that works out.
I agree — no Kellam, no Ashe.
I agree — Henry brings certain things to the table that are vital: military and business experience as well as friends with money (the best kind)
I agree — Vivian is a top choice, but she wants to play hard-to-get. Women . . . . .
I agree — his age could be a factor, especially as a challenger. Were he the incumbent, different story.
Where we probably disagree — besides his characterizations of Wagner and Kellam — are that Henry did not impress many people with his performance in the primary. I concede that perhaps he learned a lot from that experience and might do better in his next race. He’s a smart man.
And I would guess Geoff and I agree somewhat here — I want to hear some other names besides the ones we have discussed. Geoff wanted to hear names besides Kellam, Wagner and Ashe — mostly Light. I want to hear more as well, besides Light.
Someone suggested Fraim, but I heard at lunch today that he has no interest whatsoever. I actually think it is good to ponder many names and see what comes up. I’m betting that we come up with a good candidate. Who knows? It may be Light and I will be quite impressed and ready to help him.
As for Ray’s comment, I agree that military experience is not absolutely needed, but when you are a challenger, you look for any advantage or asset you can use. It’s very tough to unseat an incumbent, and you look for certain extras that help you make the case to “fire their SOB and hire our SOB.”
I like the fact that so many people are interested enough to weigh in and keep the discussion going. That’s a plus. And Geoff’s passion is what the party and campaigns need.
Thank you, Bullwinkle. Very well said. But, really, who else is there?
In regaurds to Henry’s last campaign here was the issue, people were personally good friends with johnny. Vivian nailed it exactly, portsmouth isnt Virginia Beach, its people who are from there, and they will support their hometown candidate. I think Henry did well compared to the fact that he was definitely an insurgent in a very unfriendly territory. Henry got a lot of independents to vote for him in Norfolk, and would do extremely well there in a congressional race. Parts of Virginia beach are similar to the west side of Norfolk, and kellam did bad in those parts of VB. I decided to relook at the precinct by precinct data in VB. While you are correct there are areas that arent affluent, the turnout is much heavier in the more affluent regions. I can only think of two regions for this, military voters vote in their home states, and affluent voters are statistically more likely to vote. If i came off before as screw the lower middle class voters I apoligize. The point I was trying to make was Henry(or anyone) has got to win those people, plus some others. I think more affluent voters would feel comfortable split ticketing for Henry because of his military and business experience. Plus Henry isnt a career politician and in this political climate that could be a huge asset.
Josh Barr,
I didn’t pay attention to this banter at the time but stumbled upon it. You need to check your facts. Bouchard has no business credentials. He works for a small business, he’s involved in the Hampton Roads Partnership, Future Hampton Roads, I could go on and on. Reason why fundraising has been tough is because Ken Stolle is telling his friends in both parties not to give to Joe or else.
He’d be a great candidate but he’ll be a great Delegate. I agree with Bullwinkle on Henry Light.
Paul Fraim for Congress!
Sheriff Bob McCabe has been mentioned as a possible opponent. Popular as sheriff and was a norfolk policeman before that. He was in the U.S. Navy and also teaches at ODU and TCC. pretty good resume. Not sure how interested he is but would be interesting race.