April 8, 2009 [LINK / comment]
Yesterday's News Leader reported that Delegate Chris Saxman (20th District) will face a Democratic challenger this fall: Erik Curren, the marketing director at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton. He says that "new ideas and new vision" are needed, but was not very specific on issues. He did emphasize the need to maintain the quality of life in the Shenandoah Valley, however, and it's hard to argue with that. The question is, how do you go about doing that?
With a phenomenal public relations operation and press coverage that is unusually friendly for a Republican, it is hard to imagine that anyone could make a serious dent in Chris Saxman's bid for reelection. But other Republicans in "safe" districts such as Virgil Goode lost last year, so who knows? This means that all three (Republican) delegates who represent parts of Augusta County will face opposition in November: Steve Landes, Ben Cline, and now Chris Saxman. See March 3.
Rush Limbaugh and other conservative pundits have been promoting the Tea Party movement, and several April 15 tax protest events are being organized in Virginia, including Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke, and Richmond. See richmondteaparty.com; reported in the Times Dispatch.