Tea Party groups in Virginia aren’t content with just winning the state Senate. They want to build a large enough majority in the General Assembly’s upper chamber that Democrats will have no say in state government through 2013.
The Virginia Tea Party Alliance announced a plan Thursday dubbed “Beyond 21” — their collective effort to knock off seven Democratic senators in the Nov. 8 election. Democrats hold a 22-to-18-member advantage, but the GOP need to net just two seats to effectively gain control because Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling holds the tiebreaking vote in the Senate.
Not enough Republicans are focused on the 2011 state Senate race because national politics have become so heated, alliance Executive Director Karen Hurd said. The new campaign is intended to energize conservative voters about the upcoming election and raise money to run radio, TV and Facebook ads in seven districts they view as winnable.
With control of both the governorship and the House of Delegates, a majority in the Senate would guarantee a Republican agenda could move forward without roadblocks from Democrats.
“There’s a lot of candidates out there that are good candidates in competitive seats that are in play but they’ve been overlooked by party leadership,” Hurd said.
Among the seven Democrats the Tea Party is targeting are Northern Virginia Sens. George Barker and Mark Herring. Shawn Mitchell, a Democrat running for the seat occupied by retiring Republican Sen. Fred Quayle, is also on the list.
