Voters across Virginia will be heading to the polls next week. At stake? Each of the state’s 140 lawmakers that make up the General Assembly. You may not have heard much about it though, because many seats are uncontested and not generating much attention. But some state senate races are the exception. Who wins these races could determine the shape of Virginia politics for the next two years.
Wayne Boese has always cared about local politics.
“I’m 77 years old and I have been doing politics since my mother took me to the poll out in South Dakota when I was nine years old.”
But now he’s a Virginian, living in one of the state’s most competitive districts. That’s what brings him here today, making calls for the campaign.
“Good afternoon Mr. Feifer. My name is Wayne and I’m a volunteer calling on behalf of the Glen Sturtevant campaign.”
Glen Sturtevant is the republican candidate for the state senate’s 10th district seat. He’s running a too-close-to-call campaign against Democrat Dan Gecker. The two share the ballot, ahead of an independent and libertarian candidate, and the seat they’re fighting for encompasses much of Richmond city and then spreads west to its surrounding counties.
“This election is closest to me. Mr. Sturtevant will be representing me. I live in his district. That makes it even more significant.”
This race is significant for more than just Boese, because the party that wins this seat could be the party that controls the state senate for the next two years. Geoffrey Skelley is a political analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
“It’s a very very narrow battlefield, if you will, for control of the state senate.”
The state senate is currently 21-19 in favor of Republicans - a slim margin.
“You’ve got Democrats in a position where, if they can// get a net gain of one seat they will re-take control of the state senate.”
If democrats can gain one seat it’ll be 20-20. But this is where Virginia politics gets tricky, because the tie-breaking vote in the senate goes to Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor -- a democrat.
So all eyes are on the 10th. The seat is being vacated by a retiring Republican, and it’s up for grabs. There’s only one added complication.
“The 29th district in Northern Virginia should probably remain in Democratic hands, if you just look at the fundamentals it’s a pretty democratic seat.”
But, Skelley adds, there’s a strong Republican candidate in the 29th and Democrats don’t always show up to local elections.
“And in a really low turnout election like this, there may be -- it may be really possible for Republicans to actually win that seat.”
So who gains control of the state senate? It’s going to come down to who comes out to vote.
