Webb will challenge allen in November

On June 13, Virginia Democrats elected James Webb—Ronald Reagan’s former Navy Secretary—to challenge Republican incumbent George Allen for his Senate seat in November.
A mere 3.3 percent of Virginia’s 4.5 million voters turned out for the contest between Webb and former telecommunications lobbyist Harris Miller. As election day approached, politicos predicted a low turnout, and wondered whether Webb—seen as the best bet to beat Allen—could overcome his Republican ties. He did. Webb won 83,146 of about 155,000 votes cast, giving him 53.5 percent of the votes to Miller’s 46.5 percent.
Commentators (like our favorite political blogger, Not Larry Sabato) chalked up Webb’s victory to his solid hold on Northern Virginia. Locally, voter turnout was relatively high—about 6.8 percent—and some observers were surprised that Webb swept every Charlottesville precinct and all but three precincts in Albemarle.
In a post titled “I’m sorry, Charlottesville,” Not Larry Sabato said he mistakenly assumed local voters were too “wacky” to vote for Webb. “The last time I visited a group of Charlottesville Democrats, most of them were still bragging about supporting Jerry Brown over Bill Clinton in 1992,” wrote NLS. “It seems to me the young people in Charlottesville have changed that community recently, and I congratulate them for it.”—John Borgmeyer