That’s what some Virginia political observers are saying according to the Examiner:
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - National issues such as the Iraq war will tilt some races in next month’s General Assembly elections in Democrats’ favor, Virginia political observers predicted, likely giving the party the four additional seats it needs to control the state Senate.
“It is not fair to blame Republicans in the General Assembly for what Republicans in D.C. have or have not done, but that is what is going on,” said Steven Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington.
“When you look at the Republican situation, there are two very serious problems,” Farnsworth said. “One is a deeply unpopular position of the national Republican Party. The other is that there is a Democratic governor in Richmond that is good at raising money and is spreading it out in districts where Republicans are facing some problems.”
(…)
“The voters understand the difference between what I do in Richmond and what goes on in Washington,” said Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, R-Vienna, who is in a hotly contested race in the 34th District against Democrat Chap Petersen.
The Sorensen Institute’s Sean O’Brien, however, doubts the candidates’ predictions will come true.
“Ideally, you would want local issues to determine the outcome, but the bad feelings most voters have about the president and the war in Iraq are too strong,” he said.
While Davis is probably right that local issues will dominate, that doesn’t necessarily help the Virginia GOP either. There is a lot of bad feeling over issues like the abuser fees and the transportation plan, and voters seem to be holding Republicans responsible for that according to the polls. But having an albatross like George W. Bush at the top of your national ticket doesn’t help.
