Looks Like We Have Another "Leans Dem" Seat

By: Lowell
Published On: 6/2/2007 8:21:45 PM

I can't believe the Republicans in the 51st House District actually nominated  Faisal Gill.  But what the hell, we Democrats now have an almost certain pickup opportunity, so be happy!

By the way, I don't normally link to Michelle Malkin or Black Velvet Bruce Lee or Red State or Jihad Watch, but in this case it's just too good to pass up.  Unbelievable...Virginia Republicans have sunk to a new level of idiocy with this one.

P.S. The Democratic candidate is Paul Nichols, after Jeff Dion dropped out of the race a few days ago.

[UPDATE: The Potomac News newspaper has more:

A motion by Lucas to throw out just the votes from the Lake Ridge precinct, which with three had the most overvotes, created clamor among supporters of Gill.

Had that been done, Lucas would have won. Had all the votes from the overvoting precincts been thrown out, she would have lost.

But Lucas, who has served on the school board since 2002, withdrew the motion before a vote was taken and the votes stood as is.

Appealing the results of the convention is one of the options Lucas is considering, saying there were a number of things leading up to the convention that she was concerned about. One, she said, was that 17 people who were not registered voters were able to cast ballots in the convention.

This should be verrrry interesting. Stay tuned.]


Comments



Interesting (Susan P. - 6/2/2007 9:27:17 PM)
Interesting to get Michelle Malkin's take on Grover Norquist, one of the slimiest creatures in the dark sub-basement of Republican politics.  Hard to describe Grover: Gargoyle? Is there a term for discarded lizard skin?  What's lower than pondscum?  How about Renfield, Dracula's fly-eating servant?
http://en.wikipedia....
Here's Tucker Carlson (!) on Grover Norquist:
"a mean-spirited, humorless, dishonest little creep ... an embarrassing anomaly, the leering, drunken uncle everyone else wishes would stay home."
In 2004, Grover Norquist predicted that "the Democratic Party is Toast."
http://www.washingto...
In 2007, Grover Norquist retains a top spot on the most-likely-to-be-indicted list.  May he join his good friend Jack Abramoff soon.


To paraphrase Grover... (Lowell - 6/2/2007 9:37:39 PM)
...maybe our goal should be to shrink HIM down to the size where he can be (metaphorically) drowned in the bathtub?


Excited (Barbara - 6/2/2007 9:50:00 PM)
I'm in this district.  I can't wait now.  I had to laugh at the apparent confusion at the convention.  Seems the 'credentials committe' had some problems.  That would be the great Michele McQuigg--who is giving up this seat and running for Clerk of the Court of all things.  Oh yeah, and Mike May.  Enough said.  I predict a great Nov. 


"Leans Dem" is being very generous (Chris Guy - 6/2/2007 10:56:14 PM)
The punchline? How long until the Nichols campaign is accussed of going negative for letting the voters know what kind of person Gill is....


Not only is this seat "leans Dem" (Lowell - 6/3/2007 6:26:51 AM)
but Ben Tribbett has now moved the Jay O'Brien vs. Galligan or Barker State Senate race to "Slight-Lean Republican" from "Leans Republican," explaining:

Today's Republican convention can only be considered an amazing gift to the winner of the George Barker-Greg Galligan primary.  Give Jay O'Brien credit though- he saw how damaging this would be to his campaign far in advance and worked his butt off to stop it from happening.  Sadly for him, the few votes short Julie came up today may also cost Jay his seat.

Faisal Gill...the gift that keeps on giving!



In the 24th State Senate District (Lowell - 6/3/2007 6:34:19 AM)
could there be upset potential?  Maybe, maybe not, but one's thing is for sure: this Hanger-Sayre contest on June 12th is going to be an extremely low turnout primary.

?It?s mighty slow,? said Jake Washburne, Albemarle County?s voter registrar. The county precincts of Brownsville, Crozet and Free Union are in the district along with Shenandoah Valley territory from Lexington to Staunton, Waynesboro, Highland County and parts of southern Rockingham.

?If the absentee voting is any gauge, it?s not the most heated primary we?ve ever seen,? Washburne said late Friday. ?We?ve got three applications for absentee ballots.?

Reporter Bob Gibson adds:

In low-turnout primaries, incumbents are often seen as vulnerable for an upset, which GOP observers and analysts say is quite possible in this election.

Meanwhile, Democrats have what appears to be an excellent candidate in David Cox, an Episcopal pastor from Lexington.  There's also a Libertarian who will be on the ballot this November.  Should be very interesting.



There's a silver lining (kestrel9000 - 6/3/2007 1:29:21 PM)
however that primary works out.
Sayre wins, it's full-tilt boogie oppo from bloggers. (Any bloggers in the 24th should contact me about a project. 'Nuff on that for now.) He'll be a lot easier to beat than Hanger.
Should Hanger survive his primary, the SWAC bloggers will almost certainly face a devastating loss of cred. As many of them are members of the Staunton and Augusta County GOP committees, this could bode well - it could well have a stunning effect on their ability to rally the troops, and that'll be helpful going into the general. Cliff Garstang breaks this down further for us here and here. Be sure and read the comments.
Not only that, given who our guy is, and the impression I got from meeting Hanger twice, a Hanger - Cox contest could well serve to unpoison the well and demonstrate that the politics of attack and smear are a dog that no longer hunts quite as well. Hanger survives an ugly primary which is followed by a downright civil and decent general election campaign?
Or am I dreaming? >;)