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Senate race has sociable start
State Senate race shows friendly approachDate published: 5/27/2007 By CHELYEN DAVIS RICHMOND--The friendly tone in an exchange of letters last week between Democrat Albert Pollard and Republican Richard Stuart--the two candidates for the 28th District state Senate seat--was unusual for a race that will be one the state's most watched this fall. Both men proposed a series of debates--generally a contentious issue--in sincerely worded letters devoid of sarcasm. That may be a harbinger of the race that is to come, with two candidates who are similar in ideology, come from the same region and travel in the same circles. Pollard, who spent two terms as the delegate from the 99th District in the Northern Neck, is the only Democratic candidate for the seat, and thus avoided a primary. Stuart just won a four-way contest for the Republican nomination. Between now and November, they'll be locked in a fight that will have political junkies across the state watching. Democrats hope to pick up enough seats to take control of the Senate in this year's elections, but to do so they'll need to win the 28th District. Republicans, of course, want to keep the 28th for themselves. It's a marquee race in a year when all 140 legislative seats are on the ballot, a "must-win seat" if Democrats want to take over the Senate, according to University of Mary Washington political analyst Stephen Farnsworth. "The Republican voters [in the 28th District] selected a candidate who will be more competitive than some of the choices they had," Farnsworth said. "This district is at significant risk of changing hands in this election cycle, and if the Republicans had nominated a far-right candidate it might have ensured the election of a Democrat." But Stuart was the most moderate of the Republican candidates. He refuses to make a no-tax pledge and he says social issues aren't his top priority. Pollard is no liberal either; he has run, and won, as a conservative Democrat, one who sometimes voted for abortion restrictions and who made matters of the environment and education his top priorities. Stuart even once donated money to a Pollard campaign. Philosophically, the two are not at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Date published: 5/27/2007
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