There will be state House and Senate elections this November but the races are staying well under the radar of most people. It seems like voters are already looking farther ahead to 2012 but for Virginia, this year's contests have real importance.
Those races are incredibly important and will determine who controls state government for the next couple of years. That's why both parties are scrambling and spending to make voters pay attention.
Nearly three months out from Virginia's legislative elections, Democratic Party of Virginia Chairman Brian Moran admits voters are distracted.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves and look ahead to next year and the presidential race," Moran stated.
With President Obama already running for re-election and Republicans sorting out a list of candidates to challenge him, both parties are trying to steer Virginia voters back to the ballot at hand.
Moran said, "These races are extremely important and they impact people's everyday lives."
Democrats hold a narrow two-seat majority in the state Senate and Republicans, including Governor Bob McDonnell, are working to take power.
"I want to see more pro-market, pro-free enterprise, limited government, fiscal conservatives elected to the general assembly," stated McDonnell.
Democrats say the Senate is the last line of defense against an overwhelmingly Republican House of Delegates and a Republican governor.
Moran said, "We have a Senate majority right now that's standing between an extreme Republican agenda and a more moderate vision for Virginia." Republicans say Senate Democrats stand in the way of progress.
"We certainly hope that for only the second time in history we will have a Republican legislature and a Republican governor and then I'll be able to get a lot more things done," McDonnell stated.
Both parties are raising millions of dollars to spend on ads to attract voters to the high-stakes elections this year.
If you talk to some legislative candidates privately, you'll hear a lot of frustration that the candidates running for U.S. Senate a full year from now are getting in the way and stealing attention from these General Assembly races.
