A swell of attention by the media and political observers that suggested the race for Virginia’s 10th District was competitive was not born out at the polls as Democrat Judy Feder lost to Rep. Frank Wolf by a margin of 16 points.
The decisive loss came after Feder had succeeded in orchestrating a fundraising push and garnered $75,000 from the national Democratic Party late in the race. Of all the congressional races in Northern Virginia, Feder and Wolf had apparently become the one to watch.
“This race was never close,” said Wolf spokesman Dan Scandling. “We knew it and Feder knew it. The media bought her spin.”
The 10th District, which Wolf has held for more than a quarter-century, is still considered Republican country, and Tuesday’s results showed no sign there’s a change. Feder took about 41 percent of the vote while Wolf took 57 percent.
Feder, a Georgetown University dean, had based her campaign largely on calling for a change in Congress and linking Wolf to the Bush administration and Iraq war, both of which have plummeted in opinion polls.
Part of the Washington DC Examiner’s 2006 election coverage
