When was the last time Virginia Democrats contested every Congressional race? 1990 And before that it was 1974!
Finding Democrats to take on an entrenched Republican in Virginia for many years was impossible, particularly after the 2001 reapportionment _ the first ever by a Republican General Assembly and governor."Given the way the redistricting was done by the Republicans last time, there are a number of districts that are just extremely tough for Democrats," said Virginia Democratic Chairman C. Richard Cranwell.
The article particularly notes the race in the 7th District:
Rep. Eric Cantor has had plenty of Democratic challengers for the 7th District seat he won in 2000, but none has come close, including Ben Jones, who played "Cooter" on the "Dukes of Hazzard" television comedy series and served as a U.S. representative from Georgia in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Cantor's district was drawn to regularly give Republicans about 60 percent of the vote.This year, Cantor faces Anita Hartke from Culpeper County, who is little known despite her pedigree. Her father was Sen. Vance Hartke, an Indiana Democrat who served from 1959 to 1977 and briefly sought his party's presidential nomination in 1972.
Stay tuned. Ms. Hartke won't be little known for long! We'll be posting much more about Anita in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can find out more about her at www.hartkeforcongress.com