WASHINGTON — In Tuesday’s Virginia primary, voters in each party will decide on their candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives. The winners will face off against their Republican or Democratic counterparts in the general election Nov. 4.
This primary election may not be on the minds of many, especially since there are only a few races on which voters will decide.
“Really, the only two competitive races that are worth talking about are [Eric] Cantor and the open seat for [Jim] Moran,” says Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
House Majority Leader Cantor, R-7th District, is the odds-on favorite to win, but he is getting competition from a little-known and poorly funded college professor named Dave Brat, who tapped into the anger within Cantor’s district to gain notoriety.
There are some in Cantor’s district who think he has been in Congress far too long, Sabato says.
In Northern Virginia, seven Democratic candidates will vie for the seat of Moran, D-8th District, in the 8th Congressional District. Moran is retiring after first being elected in 1990.
“It’s pretty clear that this is going to be a competitive race, but one that former Lt. Gov. Don Beyer is leading,” says Sabato, adding that Beyer has money and name recognition. “He has the dealership, ‘Don Beyer Volvo,’ which you hear constantly.”
Beyer was a two-term lieutenant governor (1990 to 1998) who also ran as the Democratic nominee for Virginia governor in 1997.
Polls open at 6 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7 p.m. The deadline for voter registration is Oct. 14 for those wishing to vote in the general election.
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