In Virginia, Republican Wins Democrat Primary

With voter turnout just over 3% statewide, the AP reports on today's top Virginia primary:

James Webb, a former Reagan administration Navy secretary who left the Republican Party over the Iraq war, won the Democratic nomination Tuesday to take on GOP Sen. George Allen in the fall.

Webb defeated lobbyist and longtime Democratic Party activist Harris Miller after a bruising primary in which voters decided between a traditional and unabashed liberal (Miller) and a former Republican (Webb) whose populist campaign was aimed at so-called Reagan Democrats - namely, rural, white moderates.

Webb lost that vote, winning the pathetically low turnout election in and around the Beltway, drawing his most vocal support from the venomous left. However, the Democrat strategy of nominating Republicans for office is encouraging.

In area Congressional districts, Andrew Hurst defeated Ken Longmyer for the Democrat nomination in the 11th (55-45, 4% turnout). Tom O'Donoghue defeated Mark Ellmore for the Republican nomination in the 8th (70-30, 0.5% turnout). Votes from Just Barely Inside the Beltway are currently believed to contribute about 0.015% to O'Donoghue's total.

Current results are available here.

For more information on the races, check out today's earlier post and accompanying links.

Technorati Tags: Democrats, Republicans, Virginia, 2006 Elections