As Democrats and Republicans in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District dashed to rally their supporters in the final 24 hours of the 2010 elections, a singular theme emerged — nobody can say for sure how the razor-thin race between Rep. Gerald Connolly and Republican challenger Keith Fimian is going to turn out.
Connolly, who was elected as part of a 2008 Democratic wave led by President Obama, is locked in a tight rematch with Fimian, whom Connolly beat by 12 percentage points two years ago.
This year, however, is a different story, with both sides grasping at straws of good news while remaining coy about their respective positions.
Connolly on Monday claimed that his campaign’s analysis of early absentee ballots puts him in a strong position.
“We’re feeling good,” he said.
The Fimian campaign makes similar claims, saying its internal polls show the Republican in good position to win.
“We feel like our numbers put us in a good position to win this race,” said Tim Edson, Fimian’s campaign manager. “We’re optimistic that we’ll have a very strong turnout.”
Meanwhile, Jill Biden, wife of the vice president, spoke at a get-out-the-vote event at the Connolly campaign’s Fairfax headquarters Monday while the liberal group MoveOn.org and District Democrats urged their rank-and-file to head for Northern Virginia to help Connolly.
Barbara Caputo of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee played down the infusion of out-of-state Democrats, saying the extra help merely indicates how close the midterms are going to be for Democrats across the country.
“We’re doing our best,” she said.
Voters in the 11th District, which covers much of Fairfax County and part of Prince William County, are active and engaged, said Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay, D-Lee. “They reward elected officials and candidates who have pounded the pavement,” he said.
Prince William County Board Chairman Corey Stewart, R-at large, said that the political winds are clearly shifting toward Republicans this year, as opposed to 2008.
“It’s going to be extraordinarily close,” he said.
