In case you haven't heard, there's a special election in Virginia's 1st CD just 1 week from today. The reason I say "in case you haven't heard" is that there's been very little discussion of this race on the national progressive blogosphere, particularly in contrast with the other 12/11 special election in Ohio. Although there's not much time left, I'm hoping we can turn that around and get some "love" for Phil Forgit in Virginia as well as for Robin Weirauch in Ohio.
Again, the election is being held in Virginia's 1st congressional district between Phil Forgit (D), Rob Wittman (R), and "true conservative" independent candidate Lucky Narain (ha, LOVE that one!). The special was called by Gov. Kaine after the death of Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R) on October 6, 2007. The district definitely leans Republican, with Bush/Cheney getting 54% in 2004.
Who is Phil Forgit? From his announcement (bolding added by me for emphasis):
Mr. Forgit is a Bronze Star decorated veteran of the Iraq War, serving with a Naval Special Warfare unit as an adviser to the Iraqi Army in 2005-2006. A Naval Reservist, Mr. Forgit was mobilized from his former job as a 4th grade teacher at Rawls Byrd Elementary.Mr. Forgit is also a nationally recognized teacher, having won the 2005 National Education Association (NEA) Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence, which included a $35,000 national prize which was awarded to him live, via satellite, while he served in Iraq. Since his return to the U.S., Mr. Forgit has used the prize money to establish ForgitFilms LLC for the purpose of making a documentary on Iraqi soldiers and their families.
[...]
Mr. Forgit ran a competitive race for the Virginia 96th District House of Delegates seat in 2003 against incumbent Melanie Rapp. Active in Peninsula campaigns, Mr. Forgit is a member of the First Congressional District Democratic Committee and the James City County Democratic Party.
Here's something about where Forgit stands on the issues:
* Help our veterans and military families at a time when benefits and services for veterans have been cut despite the ongoing war.
* Secure our borders by stopping illegal immigrants from entering this country and penalizing businesses that knowingly hire them.
* Provide tax breaks for hard-working families and small businesses, not special interests.
* Protect the Chesapeake Bay and its watersheds.
* Ensure a quality education and affordable health care for our children.
The one thing I strongly disagree with Forgit about is embryonic stem cell research -- he opposes it, I support it. Also, he's personally anti-abortion but doesn't believe the government should be outlawing it. That's about it for significant disagreements of which I am aware.
Who is Rob Wittman, the Republican nominee? He's a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, elected in November 2005, with a very thin record. On November 25, Wittman held a major fundraiser with a lobbyist who is a "friend and former colleague and classmate of Vice President Dick Cheney and is well connected with the Bush-Cheney administration." Besides that, Wittman voted last spring for the widely despised "abusive driver fees" that are likely to be repealed by the Virginia General Assembly this spring.
Can Wittman be beaten? It's hard to say, but this will be a very low turnout election just two weeks before Christmas. That means whichever candidate gets his voters out will win. Period. In addition, there's some tentatively promising news, with a poll taken at the start of the race indicating that, after biographies were compared, 1st CD voters supported Forgit, the Democrat, over Wittman by a 45%-44% margin.
I'm also hearing that Gov. Kaine and former Gov. Warner are planning to stump for Forgit in coming days. Phil Forgit himself has been very busy (see the flip) rallying voters who want to see real leadership and change in Washington. Finally, the Forgit campaign is trying to get Wittman to commit to a debate about Iraq and military issues, but Wittman seems to have gone AWOL (in other words, Wittman is ducking debates).
The bottom line is this: Virginia's 1st CD leans Republican, but Phil Forgit can win this race -- if he gets our support and if his voters show up on December 11. Meanwhile, Wittman is pretty much hiding (except from his Cheney-loving lobbyist buddies).
Again, Forgit just needs to get his message and his bio, both of which are excellent fits for his district, out there. We can help him do so by contributing or by volunteering. We can also let the DCCC that they should put serious resources into this race. As of the third quarter, the DCCC had $28 million cash on hand, compared to under $2 million for the NRCC. Uh, DCCC guys? I think it's time to unload some of that $28 million in Virginia's 1st CD! Thanks.
P.S. Here's what Phil's been up to recently:
This weekend Philip Forgit hit the road in Warrenton, Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg to rally voters who want to see real leadership in Washington. There are lots of good photos from the campaign on Philip's Flickr site.During the Warrenton Parade, Phiip walked up to a large group of people on the Courthouse steps and shouted, "HEY! I'm Philip Forgit and I'm running for Congress. I'm an Iraq war veteran - I just came back from helping Iraqi's vote. 80% of Iraqi's came out to vote and they had to worry about car bombs. What do you have to worry about? Come out and vote on December 11th!" At first people were surprised but then they started clapping (and we hope on Dec 11, they will be voting).
In Spotsylvania County, Philip met with voters and even stopped to help people carry bags of leaves down to the curb - this photo was not staged. Philip just likes to get things done.
In Fredericksburg, Philip made friends with folks in the crowd who walked with him for the entire parade. He strode up and down the parade lines, shaking hands and giving out over 750 candy canes.
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