I’m still trying, and struggling, to get a handle on our expanded congressional map here in Augusta County.
For the past million or so years, I’ve had one congressional district to keep tabs on, the Sixth, represented by a pair of empty suits, pre-MAGA Republican Bob Goodlatte, and then his acolyte, dedicated MAGA Ben Cline.
In a couple of months, we’re going to be divided into three:
- the Sixth, which will become a leans-D district, stretching from Harrisonburg to Charlottesville, then back across the mountains to Waynesboro and Staunton, back down the east side through Lynchburg, then back again to Roanoke and Blacksburg.
- the Seventh, a stronger leans-D district, which will run from the DC suburbs to the West Virginia line through Rockingham County and Augusta County.
- the Ninth, a leans-R district, running from south of our two cities in Augusta County and then to the southwest.
The partisan lean of each, per the UVA Center for Politics:
- Sixth: 51-48 D
- Seventh: 53-45 D
- Ninth: 74-25 R
The D race in the Sixth is coming down to former one-term congressman Tom Perriello and Roanoke-based journalist and bestselling author Beth Macy.
Both are raising gobs of money and reaching out to D activists in the district to line up support.
(Neither seems to care to want to reach to us, which, fine. Par for the course with the Ds, nonsensical as that is.)
The D race in the Seventh has 2024 Sixth District nominee Ken Mitchell from nearby Rockingham County against a group of NoVa heavyweights led by JP Cooney, who was a top deputy for Jack Smith in the criminal prosecutions of Donald Trump.
The Ds could run Barack Obama or Mother Theresa in the Ninth and not come close to having a chance.
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Chris Graham
