Meet the Candidates: Winners in the Maine and Virginia (and North Dakota) congressional primaries [1]
Submitted by Conor Kenny [2] on
There weren't many surprises Tuesday, when voters in Maine [3] and Virginia [4] chose their parties' nominees for the November congressional elections (as did North Dakota [5], though both parties' primaries for the one House seat were uncontested). The Senate race in Virginia was a done deal, too: Democrat Mark Warner [6] was unopposed in his primary, and the state GOP selected their candidate, Jim Gillmore [7], via convention. However, there are some open seats in the U.S. House from these states, so November still promises to be momentous.
As part of Congresspedia's Wiki the Vote [8] project, citizen journalists from around the country (and even some candidates!) have been logging information about the candidates' positions, biographies and records. A full list of the candidates and their professions are below, but you can also find them at their respective state portals via the Wiki the Vote project homepage [8]. We need your help to find out more about these candidates, so if you know something about them please add it to their profile. (You can always contact [9] one of the staff editors for help.)
Here are the victors of Tuesday's primaries:
Maine [3]
- Incumbent Sen. Susan Collins [10] (R) is being challenged by 1st district Rep. Tom Allen [11] (D).
- In the 1st district we find an open seat due to Allen's senate bid. The Democratic race was pretty competitive and Chellie Pingree [12], the former head of Common Cause and now a state lawmaker, was the victor. She'll be facing Charlie Summers [13], a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve who served in Iraq.
- In the 2nd district, Republican John Fray [14] — a retired university professor — will try to unseat incumbent Rep. Michael Michaud [15] (D).
North Dakota [5]
- In the At-Large district, Incumbent Rep. Earl Pomeroy [16] (D) will face Republican nominee Duane Sand [17], a Navy veteran.
Virginia [4]
- As we noted yesterday, two former Virginia governors are squaring off for retiring Sen. John Warner [18]'s seat: Republican Jim Gilmore [19] and Democrat Mark Warner [6].
- In the 1st district there will be a rematch of December's special election to fill the seat of Jo Ann Davis [20], who passed away while in office. At that time, Robert Wittman [21] (R) defeated Phillip Forgit [22] to fill Davis' remaining term. Forgit is an Iraq War veteran and Bronze Star recipient.
- In the 2nd district, Republican incumbent Rep. Thelma Drake [23] will run against Glenn Nye [24], the former U.S. ambassador to Singapore.
- In the 3rd district, incumbent Rep. Bobby Scott [25] unopposed in his re-election bid.
- In the 4th district, Rep. Randy Forbes [26] (R) will face Democratic challenger Andrea Miller [27], a software instructor and political operative.
- In the 5th district, incumbent Virgil Goode [28], a Republican, will face Democrat Tom Perriello [29]. Perriello is founder of Res Publica, which "develops innovative solutions to global justice and security threats."
- In the 6th district, Rep. Bob Goodlatte [30] (R) is being challenged by Sam Rasoul [31] (D), a small business entrepreneur.
- In the 7th district, incumbent Rep. Eric Cantor [32] (R) is unopposed in his re-election bid.
- In the 8th district, Democratic incumbent Rep. Jim Moran [33] (D) is running against Mark Ellmore [34], president of Ameracorp Financial.
- In the 9th district, Rep. Rich Boucher [35] (D) unopposed in his re-election bid.
- In the 10th district, Republican incumbent Rep. Frank Wolf [36] will face Democratic nominee Judy Feder [37], former dean of Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute.
- In the 11th district, Rep. Tom Davis [38] (R) has announced he'll retire at the end of his term. Democrats nominated Gerald Connolly [39], Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, while the Republican candidate will be Keith Fimian [40], a CPA and founder of America's largest property inspection firm.