Meet the Candidates: Winners in the Maine and Virginia (and North Dakota) congressional primaries
There weren't many surprises Tuesday, when voters in Maine and Virginia chose their parties' nominees for the November congressional elections (as did North Dakota, though both parties' primaries for the one House seat were uncontested). The Senate race in Virginia was a done deal, too: Democrat Mark Warner was unopposed in his primary, and the state GOP selected their candidate, Jim Gillmore, via convention. However, there are some open seats in the U.S. House from these states, so November still promises to be momentous.
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Here are the victors of Tuesday's primaries:
Maine
- Incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R) is being challenged by 1st district Rep. Tom Allen (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, the former head of Common Cause and now a state lawmaker, was the victor. She'll be facing Charlie Summers, a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve who served in Iraq.
- In the 2nd district, Republican John Fray — a retired university professor — will try to unseat incumbent Rep. Michael Michaud (D).
- In the At-Large district, Incumbent Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D) will face Republican nominee Duane Sand, a Navy veteran.
- As we noted yesterday, two former Virginia governors are squaring off for retiring Sen. John Warner's seat: Republican Jim Gilmore and Democrat Mark Warner.
- In the 1st district there will be a rematch of December's special election to fill the seat of Jo Ann Davis, who passed away while in office. At that time, Robert Wittman (R) defeated Phillip Forgit to fill Davis' remaining term. Forgit is an Iraq War veteran and Bronze Star recipient.
- In the 2nd district, Republican incumbent Rep. Thelma Drake will run against Glenn Nye, the former U.S. ambassador to Singapore.
- In the 3rd district, incumbent Rep. Bobby Scott unopposed in his re-election bid.
- In the 4th district, Rep. Randy Forbes (R) will face Democratic challenger Andrea Miller, a software instructor and political operative.
- In the 5th district, incumbent Virgil Goode, a Republican, will face Democrat Tom Perriello. Perriello is founder of Res Publica, which "develops innovative solutions to global justice and security threats."
- In the 6th district, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R) is being challenged by Sam Rasoul (D), a small business entrepreneur.
- In the 7th district, incumbent Rep. Eric Cantor (R) is unopposed in his re-election bid.
- In the 8th district, Democratic incumbent Rep. Jim Moran (D) is running against Mark Ellmore, president of Ameracorp Financial.
- In the 9th district, Rep. Rich Boucher (D) unopposed in his re-election bid.
- In the 10th district, Republican incumbent Rep. Frank Wolf will face Democratic nominee Judy Feder, former dean of Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute.
- In the 11th district, Rep. Tom Davis (R) has announced he'll retire at the end of his term. Democrats nominated Gerald Connolly, Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, while the Republican candidate will be Keith Fimian, a CPA and founder of America's largest property inspection firm.