Looking through the campaign finance reports today at the State Board of Elections website, a few races caught my attention as ones to keep an eye on. This list is certainly not all-inclusive; please weigh in with other races that you think are worth watching!District 13: John Bell (D) is taking on "Sideshow Bob" Marshall (Far-Right-Wing "R") in the 13th district. Right now, Bell has $59,116 cash on hand, compared to $44,265 for Bob Marshall. Even better, Bell raised $92,601 in 1Q09, while Marshall raised just $1,450.
District 34: This one worries me, as Del. Margi Vanderhye (D) is being challenged by an extremely well-funded, not to mention extremely right-wing, Republican named Barbara Comstock. Right now, Comstock has twice as much cash on hand as Vanderhye, $117,578-$52,289. This is not a solid "blue" district, either, so we certainly can't count on that to pull Margi Vanderhye through. This is one we're going to have to fight for, in other words.
District 35: Kenton Ngo has the lowdown on this 4-way Democratic primary to succeed Del. Steve Shannon, who's running for Attorney General. Right now, Mark Keam has the lead in cash on hand, with $101,552. Trailing Keam are Roy Baldwin ($76,540), John Carroll ($36,554) and Esam Omesh ($25,284). Whoever wins the Democratic primary will face Republican James Hyland, who currently has $41,727 cash on hand. This one could be interesting.
District 38: Kaye Kory is challenging Del. Robert Hull in a primary for this safe Democratic seat. Right now, Kory has $37,369 cash on hand, compared to just $9,129 for Del. Hull. In addition, Kory raised three times more money ($38,034-$12,358) than Hull in 1Q09. This one should be interesting.
District 42: Greg Werkheiser (D) is going for a rematch against Del. Dave "Abusive Driver Fees" Albo (R-Booze Industry). Right now, Werkheiser has $68,327 cash on hand, just a bit less than Albo's $73,277. In 1Q09, Werkheiser raised $110,113 vs. Albo's $20,135. This one's going to be a great race.
District 47: The race to succeed Del. Al Eisenberg (D) is basially and all-Democratic affair in this solid-blue district. Right now, it's a 5-way race that I'd say could go to any of the candidates. For more, click here.
District 50: Jeanette Rishell (D) is challenging Del. Jackson Miller (R) for the third time. Right now, Rishell has $88,365 cash on hand, compared to just $32,805 for Jackson Miller. Also, Rishell raised far more money than Miller ($101,630-$11,543) in 1Q09. We'll see if Rishell has better luck this time than in 2007, when she lost to Miller 60%-40%.
District 51: Va Blogger at Too Conservative makes a compelling case why we should keep an eye on this race (Democratic Del. Paul Nichols vs. Republican Richard Anderson).
District 86: Stevens Miller (D) is taking on Thomas Davis Rust (R) in the 86th district (won by Barack Obama with about 63% of the vote last November). Although right now Rust has a "cash-on-hand" advantage ($64,483-$26,016), he's definitely vulnerable to a strong Democratic candidate like Stevens Miller.
