Dems Vote for U.S. Rep, GOP for U.S. Senate Nominee
Neither race is considered truly competitive, but that is a factor which could contribute to a surprise result if enough voters don’t bother going to the polls for GOP and Democratic primaries this coming Tuesday.
Dems Vote for U.S. Rep, GOP for U.S. Senate Nominee
Neither race is considered truly competitive, but that is a factor which could contribute to a surprise result if enough voters don’t bother going to the polls for GOP and Democratic primaries this coming Tuesday.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on June 12, and again, only three polling places (not the traditional five) will be open in the City of Falls Church.
James Moran.In the Democratic primary, the only race on the ballot pits 20-year veteran U.S. Congressmen Jim Moran against first-time challenger Bruce Shuttleworth. The election will take place throughout Virginia’s 8th congressional district that includes Falls Church, Arlington, Alexandria and parts of Fairfax County. Moran was first elected to represent that district in 1990 and is now seeking his 11th term.
The winner Tuesday, with Moran the heavy favorite, will face Republican Patrick Murray in November.
In Tuesday’s Republican primary, former Gov. George Allen is running for another opportunity to seek a U.S. Senate seat against three opponents, E. W. Jackson, State Del. Bob Marshall of northern Prince William County and Jame Radke.
The GOP primary is a statewide election. Allen is hoping for another shot at winning the U.S. Senate seat he competed for in 2006 and narrowly lost to U.S. Sen. Jim Webb. Webb is not seeking a second term this year, and former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has taken up the cause for the Democrats, facing no primary challenge from within his own party.
Commenting on Tuesday’s Moran-Shuttleworth primary, Betty Coll, chair of the Falls Church City Democratic Committee, told the News-Press that “voters should never take anything for granted,” and she “encourages all to get out and vote.”
She noted that Moran’s experience and popularity within his party are his strong points, while Shuttleworth, running for public office for the first time, is to be commended for stepping up to take on that challenge.
Moran’s popularity has never been stronger among his 8th District Democratic support base, as evidenced by the reception he received when he addressed the Democratic State Convention held at the George Mason University last weekend. He is also expected to address the Arlington Democrats’ annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner this Friday night.
Speaking at the state convention last weekend, Moran reiterated the dominant themes of his recent speeches, stating that the Democratic Party “stands for a peaceful, sustainable and just world,” and that “we can’t let that dream die.” He contrasted the Republican world view of “Darwinism, survival of the fittest, winner take all” to the Democrats’ notion of “the inherent value of each and every individual, recognizing that diversity enhances our lives.”
Bruce Shuttleworth.“This is a battle for the soul of the nation,” he said, adding that the “common bond” among Democrats is “charity to others” as found in passages of the Torah, the Koran and the New Testament. By contrast, he said, the GOP agenda is to “punish the poor, root for the economy to fail, slash the social safety net, and redistribute massive wealth from the middle class to the rich.”
Shuttleworth was not present at the state convention, but he did address the Democrats’ 8th District Convention in Springfield on May 19. In a phone interview with the News-Press this week, he said he “delighted” with the audience reaction to his remarks then, saying, “It was terrific.”
He said he is running because of Congress’ 85 percent non-approval rating by the public. “We are tired of throwing out shoes at the TV set. If there’s any institution that has to get it right in America, Congress is it. It has the power to declare war and to veto the president.”
Shuttleworth said he’s raised $140,000 from “friends and family,” denying as “completely mistaken” the report he’d taken money from a Texas-based conservative super-PAC.
While saying he is “delighted” with how his campaign is going, he is quick to recount how his submission of petition signatures was initially found lacking by the 8th District Democratic Committee, and it was only when he sued, he said, that the committee “suddenly found there were enough signatures” to qualify for the primary.
He said that going door-to-door, he is finding that 65 percent of voters are “undecided” going into next Tuesday’s primary.
Married 14 years with two 10-year-old twin boys, Shuttleworth said that he graduated from the Naval Academy and served as a fighter pilot in Bosnia and Somalia. His uncle is former Mississippi Democratic U.S. Congressman David Bowen, who served from 1973 to 1983.
Allen is considered a heavy favorite to win the GOP U.S. Senate nomination next Tuesday, and his three opponents are all challenging him from the right.
State Del. Marshall, in his 11th term from the state’s 13th District, including as a high-profile backer of numerous anti-abortion and anti-gay measures in the state legislature. He was the co-author of the Marshall-Newman Amendment to the Virginia Constitution that banned same-sex partnerships in 2006.
Jackson is pastor of the Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake and founder of STAND (Staying True to America’s National Destiny), a conservative non-profit. Radtke, a Liberty University graduate from Chesterfield County, is characterized as a “Tea Party organizer.” She was the organizer of a Tea Party rally in Richmond in 2010.
