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Republican Wins Va. House Election
By LARRY O'DELL
.c The Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Republicans expanded their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday as Randy Forbes defeated Democrat Louise Lucas in a special election to fill an open seat from Virginia.
With all 239 precincts reporting unofficial returns, Forbes had 70,926 votes, or 52 percent to 65,194 votes or 48 percent for Lucas. Voter turnout was about 38 percent.
The closely watched special election was marked by negative advertising, racial tension and heavy spending by the national parties.
Forbes' victory in the highly competitive 4th District, which stretches from far southeastern Virginia to areas just west and south of Richmond, deprived Lucas of the distinction of becoming the state's first black female member of Congress.
``Hopefully this is a good win for the Republican Party, and it will help make sure that the president's agenda gets a fair shake,'' Forbes said in an interview after receiving a congratulatory telephone call from the White House.
Forbes said he told the president, ``We couldn't have done it without you.''
Bush and his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, both recorded telephone campaign messages for Forbes.
Lucas telephoned Forbes to concede the race and congratulate him.
``I was disappointed in the tenor of the campaign,'' she told supporters in a concession speech. ``But now is the time, as Virginians, to rally around our new representative.''
The contest between the two state senators to succeed Rep. Norman Sisisky, a Democrat who died in March, was widely viewed as an early referendum on the Bush administration and as a bellwether for next year's midterm elections.
Forbes' victory gives Republicans a 12-seat advantage over Democrats in the House. The Democrats hold 210 seats, the Republicans now have 222. Independents have two seats and one is vacant.
It also was a boost for Republican National Committee chairman Jim Gilmore, the Virginia governor, who could not afford to lose a high-profile race in his own back yard. The RNC pledged $500,000 to Forbes' campaign as the party sought to rebound from Vermont Sen. James Jeffords' defection, which cost the GOP control of the Senate.
``Randy Forbes' victory is a monumental win for Republicans in Virginia and nationwide, and a great momentum-builder for our upcoming challenges in 2001 and 2002,'' Gilmore said.
Each side accused the other of injecting race into the campaign in a district that is 39 percent black.
Forbes' campaign criticized a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee mailing that pictured a black child on the cover and declared that ``12 million of us will be left behind'' by President Bush's budget.
During the campaign, a Forbes supporter was quoted as telling a white reporter that Lucas was ``working to get the people out to vote. Her people. Not Randy's people, not my people, not your people, but her people.'' Lucas' campaign chastised Forbes for not disavowing the remark.
On the final Sunday of the campaign, Lucas and her representatives visited 74 black churches.
The campaign's hottest issue was Social Security. Forbes, 49, supported allowing younger workers to invest a small percentage of their Social Security taxes in stocks. Lucas, 57, portrayed the proposal as a reckless gamble that could lead to reduced benefits or a higher retirement age.
Forbes is a Chesapeake lawyer and former state GOP chairman.
Lucas, who is from Portsmouth, owns several homes for mentally retarded adults but has emphasized her previous 18-year career at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, where she was the first female shipfitter.
The high stakes brought a stream of national politicians to the district. Vice President Dick Cheney and Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma were among those who campaigned for Forbes. Lucas got a hand from Reps. John Murtha of Pennsylvania and Ike Skelton of Missouri.
The national parties spent an estimated $3.5 million on behalf of the candidates, mostly for TV advertising and much of that on negative spots.
On the Net:
Forbes c
By LARRY O'DELL
.c The Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Republicans expanded their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday as Randy Forbes defeated Democrat Louise Lucas in a special election to fill an open seat from Virginia.
With all 239 precincts reporting unofficial returns, Forbes had 70,926 votes, or 52 percent to 65,194 votes or 48 percent for Lucas. Voter turnout was about 38 percent.
The closely watched special election was marked by negative advertising, racial tension and heavy spending by the national parties.
Forbes' victory in the highly competitive 4th District, which stretches from far southeastern Virginia to areas just west and south of Richmond, deprived Lucas of the distinction of becoming the state's first black female member of Congress.
``Hopefully this is a good win for the Republican Party, and it will help make sure that the president's agenda gets a fair shake,'' Forbes said in an interview after receiving a congratulatory telephone call from the White House.
Forbes said he told the president, ``We couldn't have done it without you.''
Bush and his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, both recorded telephone campaign messages for Forbes.
Lucas telephoned Forbes to concede the race and congratulate him.
``I was disappointed in the tenor of the campaign,'' she told supporters in a concession speech. ``But now is the time, as Virginians, to rally around our new representative.''
The contest between the two state senators to succeed Rep. Norman Sisisky, a Democrat who died in March, was widely viewed as an early referendum on the Bush administration and as a bellwether for next year's midterm elections.
Forbes' victory gives Republicans a 12-seat advantage over Democrats in the House. The Democrats hold 210 seats, the Republicans now have 222. Independents have two seats and one is vacant.
It also was a boost for Republican National Committee chairman Jim Gilmore, the Virginia governor, who could not afford to lose a high-profile race in his own back yard. The RNC pledged $500,000 to Forbes' campaign as the party sought to rebound from Vermont Sen. James Jeffords' defection, which cost the GOP control of the Senate.
``Randy Forbes' victory is a monumental win for Republicans in Virginia and nationwide, and a great momentum-builder for our upcoming challenges in 2001 and 2002,'' Gilmore said.
Each side accused the other of injecting race into the campaign in a district that is 39 percent black.
Forbes' campaign criticized a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee mailing that pictured a black child on the cover and declared that ``12 million of us will be left behind'' by President Bush's budget.
During the campaign, a Forbes supporter was quoted as telling a white reporter that Lucas was ``working to get the people out to vote. Her people. Not Randy's people, not my people, not your people, but her people.'' Lucas' campaign chastised Forbes for not disavowing the remark.
On the final Sunday of the campaign, Lucas and her representatives visited 74 black churches.
The campaign's hottest issue was Social Security. Forbes, 49, supported allowing younger workers to invest a small percentage of their Social Security taxes in stocks. Lucas, 57, portrayed the proposal as a reckless gamble that could lead to reduced benefits or a higher retirement age.
Forbes is a Chesapeake lawyer and former state GOP chairman.
Lucas, who is from Portsmouth, owns several homes for mentally retarded adults but has emphasized her previous 18-year career at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, where she was the first female shipfitter.
The high stakes brought a stream of national politicians to the district. Vice President Dick Cheney and Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma were among those who campaigned for Forbes. Lucas got a hand from Reps. John Murtha of Pennsylvania and Ike Skelton of Missouri.
The national parties spent an estimated $3.5 million on behalf of the candidates, mostly for TV advertising and much of that on negative spots.
On the Net:
Forbes c
