In my home state of Virginia, which has two Democratic Senators and went for Barack Obama in 2008, Republicans are poised to take four House districts held by Democrats in the last Congress.
They’ve already taken the 2nd (Rigell 53, Nye 43), 5th (Hurt 51, Perriello 47), and 9th (Griffith 51, Boucher 47).
The question mark is my own 11th District, in which first-term Democratic incumbent Gerry Connolly and challenger Keith Fimian are tied at 49% with 99% of precincts reporting. The District had been held for years by moderate Republican Tom Davis, who retired in 2008. Connolly leads by less than 500 votes out of 120,000 cast. The question, of course, is which votes still need to be counted: Is it overseas absentee ballots from military members? If so, one presumes they’ll put Fimian over the top.
If Fimian pulls it out, it would not only mean sweeping all four of CNN’s “Race to Watch” contests in the state but it would give the GOP 9 of 11 Districts in a state that has been trending Blue in recent cycles. Indeed, it would give Republicans 2 of 3 races in the DC suburbs and exurbs of Northern Virginia.
