VA 2009

[JohnnyLongtorso]

For the Democrats, it's State Sen. Creigh Deeds and State Del. Brian Moran. They've basically been running-without-actually-running since the '05 elections were over.

For the Republicans, it's Attorney General Bob McDonnell and Lt. Governor Bill Bolling. There are rumors that Bolling may run in the special election for VA-01; although he doesn't actually live in the district, his old State Senate district lies mostly within the congressional district. There are also the rumors of George Allen making a comeback bid, although I don't know why he would do that -- he'll never be president now, which is the only thing he really seemed to want.

It's interesting to note that, since 1977, Virginians have always elected a Governor from the opposite party of the sitting President. Who knows if there's a correlation there.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

I would support Deeds. He's more conservative than Moran, but I think he would have a better shot at defeating McDonnell. He only lost to McDonnell by 300 or so votes, despite getting outspent 2-1. Moran doesn't have any statewide electoral experience, nor has he ever really had a difficult race -- his House of Delegates seat is about 70% Democratic. So he's not really known outside of Northern Virginia. Moran is getting a lot more support among the online community, I think primarily because he's more active online, but I just can't see him beating McDonnell. Now, if by some twist of fate Bolling got nominated, either one would clobber him, but I'd be surprised if Bolling got the nomination.