After Iowa, Democratic Primary Candidates Consider Virginia's Feb. 10 Election Key to Hopes

In less than three weeks, the Democratic primary juggernaut sweeps through Virginia. The primary will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 10, in Virginia, with polls open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. All registered voters can participate in the primary, although only candidates seeking the Democratic Party nomination will be on the ballot.

According to the chief political observers in the state, the surprise outcome of the Iowa caucuses mean that all contenders now consider Virginia a major battleground for the Democratic nomination. "For the first time in a long time, Virginia has a possibility of being a player in the Democrats' choice of a national ticket," said Bill Wood, director of the Sorensen Institute of Political Leadership at the University of Virginia, quoted in the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.

All the major Democratic candidates will be on the ballot in Virginia, including some who've already dropped out of the race. Only candidates who receive at least 15% of the vote here will qualify to have delegates pledged to them to attend the Democratic National Convention in Boston in late July.

Howard Dean's national treasurer, Falls Church businessman Donald S. Beyer, Jr., said that Dean's results in Iowa were "disappointing but not fatal," and that the high-octane volunteer effort for Dean at his state headquarters in Falls Church has not slowed down.

But the Virginian-Pilot notes that the Richmond state headquarters for both Sen. John Kerry and John Edwards were inundated with phone calls following their upset one-two finishes in Iowa, while Gen. Wesley Clark has already started hitting the state with television ads.

Absentee ballots for the primary must be in the hands of the registrar of voters in each locale by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10, to be counted. In the City of Falls Church, Debbie Taylor's Registrar's Office at City Hall will be open to receive absentee ballots (and hand out forms to request them) during normal business hours on weekdays, and on Saturdays, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7, during the day.

Students and others away from home can acquire forms requesting absentee ballots on line from www.sbe.state.va.us. This would need to be done promptly in order for the ballot to be mailed out and then returned in time for the Feb. 10 deadline.

Balloting will occur at all usual polling locations for all 4,254,648 registered voters throughout the state. In the City of Falls Church, this means at the usual locations for the City's five wards.

Based on the results, the Falls Church City Democratic Committee will hold a caucus on April 17 to select delegates to the state's 8th Congressional District convention in Alexandria on May 15. From there, delegates selected will attend the Democratic State Convention in Roanoke on June 5.