While this year's gubernatorial race will get the bulk of the attention, politicians will be waging 71 other skirmishes this year in the battle over state control.
The State Board of Elections has certified candidates for House of Delegates races, and 71 of the 100 seats are contested.
That's a big jump from recent years. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, there were just 41 contested House races two years ago, and 49 in 2005.
Of this year's contested races, 56 have both a Republican and a Democrat in the race, VPAP said.
Of course, having 71 races does not mean there are 71 close contests.
The ability of the majority party to draw district lines means that many districts lean heavily Republican or Democratic, making it difficult for a candidate of the other party to win.
Additionally, while there have been several retirements from the House this year, many incumbents are running for re-election, and incumbents almost always have an advantage.
And some of the races are contested by third-party candidates, who have an even tougher time getting elected than a candidate from one of the major parties. While the House has two independent members, it has none affiliated with any party other than Republican or Democratic.
"Really we're talking about a handful," said George Mason University political analyst Stephen Farnsworth. "A dozen truly, genuinely competitive seats."
For Republicans and Democrats alike, the House races are high-stakes. Democrats have control of the executive branch and the state Senate, and they'd like to win control of the House. They view
Republicans, naturally, would prefer to keep control of the House, their last bulwark against total Democratic domination.
The House currently has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents, one of whom caucuses with the Republicans.
Several delegates from each side have announced their retirement this year, leaving 10 contested races without incumbents.
Democrats have made gains in recent years, and House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, D-Henry, said that fact, along with President Obama's winning the state last November, has helped spur candidate recruitment.
This year the Democrats have 70 House candidates, he said, the most in his 18 years in office.
"It's not just quantity, I think this year recruiting was easier," Armstrong said. "People wanted to run as a Democrat."
Armstrong is heading the House Democrats' efforts to win this year. He said he and the caucus will keep close tabs on candidates, requiring a weekly tally of fundraising and doing polling to see which candidates have a chance and thus deserve money, and which may not make the cut.
Right now, Armstrong said, Democrats are focusing on challengers for maybe two dozen seats. By the end of the summer they'll probably lower their expectations, based on how those candidates are doing.
"It's always a limited-resource game," Armstrong said. "If you make the team, we play heavy."
He plans to "play" in a double-digit number of contested races.
"We certainly will play in those seats that we feel will enable us to pick up six seats on Election Day," Armstrong said.
He hopes to keep the Republicans playing defense.
"It's going to be tough for them to spend money playing offense when they've got so many seats they've got to defend," Armstrong said.
On the Republican side, candidate recruitment has been handled by a committee of delegates advising House Speaker Bill Howell.
"Of course it's very important to us. We have recruited extensively," Howell, R-Stafford, said. "We have the best group of challengers we've ever had before. A lot of races are covered. I think we have a good shot of picking up a couple of seats this year."
Both Armstrong and Howell are fundraising for their House candidates. As of March 31, Armstrong's PAC had $314,327 cash on hand, while Howell's had $424,255.
New reports were due June 30 but have not yet been released by the Board of Elections.
While Armstrong believes the state's demographics are changing in ways that favor Democrats, Howell believes attitude is more important. He thinks Republicans' losses in the recent past were due in large part to "President Bush fatigue."
"The last two cycles, it's been very difficult, particularly in Northern Virginia, with President Bush and the White House and the Republican Congress," Howell said. "A lot of people, a lot of Republicans, were angry at both."
Now, he says, Republicans are positioned to benefit from Obama fatigue.
"That head wind is not there anymore," Howell said. "Talking to members that are going door to door now, they say the attitude has changed 180 degrees. People are very concerned about what's happening in Washington."
While both Howell and Armstrong say they're optimistic about their party's chances this year, Farnsworth is doubtful that Democrats can pull off enough victories to win the House.
"Most of the seats the Democrats can pick off from the Republicans have already been picked off, and there are some seats they picked off from the Republicans last time that they'll have to work hard to keep," he said.
Chelyen Davis: 540/368-5028
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com