OK, so my text-based impersonation of Arte Johnson may or may not be convincing, but no matter. James Webb has won the Democratic nomination to run against Senator G.F. Allen, Jr., in November. A former Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan Administration, Mr. Webb defeated Democratic activist Harris Miller 53-47 with about 3% turnout among registered Virginians. This was a surprise to me, inasmuch as I figured that Northern Virginia would elect a more Howard Dean-esque figure, which I determined Mr. Miller to be.
According to the Roanoke paper, Mr. Webb's victory came from Western Virginia and portions of Northern Virginia. This included Mr. Webb's wins in the 6th and 9th Congressional districts. Also, Mr. Miller was able to win in "some far Southwest Virginia localities". I'd like to know which those were, but the State Board of Elections website does not have that information available, it seems.
I did not have the opportunity to observe either of these men on the campaign trail. I am therefore largely uneducated on their merits. I did, however, think fondly of Mr. Webb. See here. I of course did not vote in the Democratic primary; my choice is Senator Allen.
Nevertheless, I'll have something interesting to watch, along with the Red Sox, as the year drags on.
UPDATE: After a bit of poking, I found the results I was griping about. See here. Miller won Bland 60-40, Buchanan 71-29, Giles 53-47, Lee 77-23, and Wise 64-36. However, Webb won the other counties that I off-the-cuff identify as Southwest Virginia. Interesting.
Posted by Country Pundit at June 14, 2006 08:38 AM | TrackBack