A Democratic tide continued to roll across Virginia in 2006, fueled by Dems in the heavily populated suburbs of Northern Virginia.
After electing Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine in the last two gubernatorial elections, political novice Jim Webb pulled off a stunning upset in the race for U.S. Senate, edging out incumbent George Allen by fewer than 10,000 votes.
Allen did little to help his cause, facing endless questions about his character after calling a Webb campaign worker “macaca,” a term some considered to be racially insensitive. This helped propel Webb to victory and gave Democrats control of Congress for the first time since 1994.
Webb is expected to be a strong voice for change in U.S. policy in Iraq once he enters the Senate, and he has captured the national spotlight.
“The ‘macaca’ moment will always be a footnote for him in history,” said Sean O’Brien, director of the Sorenson Center for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. “That comment has an important impact on the future of the country because it’s why Jim Webb is senator.”
As the last two gubernatorial and the last Senate election show, cities and Northern Virginia now have the power to sway an election to the Democrats, O’Brien said.
Former Governors Jim Gilmore, R, and Mark Warner, D, also were in the headlines this year. Late in the year, the conservative Gilmore said he was forming an exploratory committee for the 2008 presidential election. Warner — once considered a front-runner for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination — dropped out of the race, although rumors circulated late in the year that he was reconsidering a run.
