Dem Leslie Byrne Launches Campaign For Tom Davis' House Seat
Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA) hasn't even yet announced his widely-expected Senate candidacy, but Democrats are already gearing up to run for his seat. Former Congresswoman Leslie Byrne has notified liberal Virginia bloggers that she's formed an exploratory committee to make her comeback.
Byrne was elected to a single term in 1992, but was then defeated by Davis in the 1994 Republican landslide. In 2005, she was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, and afterward became an early supporter of Jim Webb's Senate campaign.
If Davis vacates the seat for a Senate campaign, the seat could be an easy pick-up for Democrats. In the 2006 Senate election, Jim Webb carried the district by a ten-point margin.
Comments (6)
Daniel wrote on September 21, 2007 4:04 PM:VA-11 is definitely one of the top opportunities for Democrats to pick-up a seat.
Democrats Against Hillary wrote on September 21, 2007 4:37 PM:Davis' wife will probably run.
just sayin wrote on September 21, 2007 5:05 PM:Byrne would run considerably worse in this purple district than Webb did. Her reputation is more liberal, and she still has a damaged reputation among old-timers for the '92 campaign, which while successful was truly ugly. Backlash from '92 had more to do with her loss in '94 than the national trend. I'd hate to see her presence in the race prevent the entry of another Dem with a better shot at winning.
NotBen wrote on September 22, 2007 5:35 PM:God bless Leslie, but don't we want to actually WIN this seat?
gonzone wrote on September 24, 2007 9:12 AM:Where can one get more information on Leslie Byrne?
Would she really be such a bad pick?
No, she's not a bad pick. Despite being an actual liberal in Virginia, she lost the Lieutenant Governor's race by only one percent, and she won the 11th by about the same margin Webb did. And despite the grudges of some "old timers," the reason this district is now a prime Democratic pickup is because of people who weren't here fifteen years ago and don't care about who got their feelings hurt then.
