Republican Wins Vacant Congressional Seat
posted 7:46 pm Tue December 11, 2007 - RICHMOND, Va.
In a very light turnout special election to replace the late Rep. Jo Ann Davis, Wittman led by nearly a 2-to-1 margin with more than 80 percent of precincts reporting.
Rep. Paul Gillmor of Ohio died from injuries he suffered from a fall in September. Davis died in October after a two-year battle with breast cancer.Wittman won easily in an overwhelmingly Republican district that stretches from Hampton Roads north to the Washington, D.C., suburbs.
Democrats in Virginia had hoped Tuesday's low turnout and Forgit's resume as a nationally acclaimed teacher and decorated Iraq War veteran would yield an upset. The district is also heavily vested in the military - home to the Quantico Marine base, the Army's Fort A.P. Hill and a Navy weapons testing center.
Forgit was also riding a crest of Democratic success that had elected two consecutive Democratic governors, a Democratic U.S. senator last year and this year put the state Senate in Democratic control for the first time in 12 years.
Many Virginia Democrats were dismayed that Forgit got no financial support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee while its counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee, poured in thousands of dollars on Wittman's behalf.
Wittman, however, had the advantage of a friendly district, name recognition from a term in the House of Delegates from Montross, and a gaudy fundraising advantage that allowed him to air polished television advertising.
Forgit was forced to depend on news coverage to get television time.
Latest Comment on Republican Wins Vacant Congressional Seat
Winstrv
9:31 pm on 12/11/07
Thank God!!! The Democrats are ready and willing to give away the store by raising taxes and giving illegals everything they want.
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