HENRICO, Va. — That a man from this place, Joe Morrissey, a perennial candidate for something every few years and known mostly for being a scoundrel, would be the center of attention for winning on primary election night could never have been predicted.
That is, unless you were paying close attention.
Rachel Bitecofer was paying attention. The assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University noticed Morrissey’s durability among voters in neighboring Richmond when he sought the mayor’s office in 2016. He didn’t win, but despite his ne’er-do-well status among the elite, locals loved him, particularly among the African American community.
“We white liberal elite like to make fun of Morrissey,” admitted Bitecofer. “He’s a big laughingstock in Virginia politics. He’s the butt of many, many jokes. But, when he ran for Richmond mayor two years ago, our polling showed him competitive in the race.” Her polling in the commonwealth is the gold standard because it is so granularly focused on local politics.
Morrissey, a twice-elected Democratic member of the House of Delegates whose party forced him to resign for admitting an affair with his 17-year-old receptionist (he is white, she is black, they eventually married) and who has lost his law license not once, but twice, was running again this year. He challenged state Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance in the Democratic primary. Despite robust fundraising and three Virginia governors (Terry McAuliffe, Tim Kaine, and Ralph Northam), Morrissey won.
“I expected Morrissey might actually upset state Sen. Rosalyn Dance because of his connection to the African American community in Richmond,” Bitecofer said. This is odd, considering Dance is black and Morrissey is white.
Morrissey faces no Republican challenger come November, raising the question of whether the Democratic Party welcomes him back with open arms. The answer depends on what else happens on Election Night in November. There is a Republican two-seat majority in the state Senate, and so Morrissey could be the Democrats’ majority-maker.
That’s a twist of fate.
