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Wolf hounded from all sides
With primary races for both major parties and a plucky independent candidate, the race for the 10th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives will be more competitive than it has been in years.
"You just have to take these elections year by year. ... They'll always be on the issues" said an unflappable Frank Wolf (R), on the phone with The Times. On election day 2008 Wolf will have represented the 10th district for 28 years, with a string of accomplishments in the region so long that it makes up the entire text of his campaign speech.
"I know the people in the district know what I have done," said Wolf, who believes the higher voter turnout expected because of this year's presidential election can only work in his favor, despite indications that Virgina is leaning increasingly towards the Democratic party.
"Last year was one of the worst years for the Republican party, and we won with a large number of votes," said Wolf, who beat Democratic challenger Judy Feder by almost 40,000 votes in 2006.
Feder, a professor at Georgetown University, McLean resident and health care expert, is back to run in 2008, and her campaign is quick to point out that 2006 was the closest race Wolf has run since 1982, though that may be more of an indicator of how often the incumbent has gone unchallenged than anything else.
Feder's campaign has already raised over $430,000, enough to be number 9 on a Congressional Quarterly list of highly funded challengers nationally. Feder has essentially been campaigning since just after her loss, attacking Wolf for his position on the Iraq war and the recent problems with the Dulles rail project.
For the meantime, the rematch between Feder and Wolf will have to wait as each faces a primary challenger they'll have to step over to get at one another.
Feder is facing Michael Turner, who worked for her own campaign in 2006. Turner is a resident of Waterford in Loudoun County and a retired Air Force colonel. Turner styles himself as a fiscal conservative who will appeal to moderates more than Feder.
Turner wants to appeal to "blue dog" and Reagan Democrats.
"The candidate who can beat Frank Wolf must be a moderate. ... and that person must be credible with the more conservative one-third of registered voters in the district," Turner said in a released statement.
Wolf's primary challenger is the relatively unknown Vern McKinley, a financial policy advisor to the federal government and resident of Ashburn. McKinley says he is challenging Wolf because of what McKinley refers to as the "urban legend" of Wolf's conservatism.
"He's drifted pretty far from core Republican values. ... [Wolf's] every solution to every issue that comes up has a big government solution," said McKinley. Like Turner, McKinley touts his fiscal conservatism.
Making his second challenge to Wolf is independent Neeraj Nigam, a Sterling resident and technology worker. Originally from India, Nigam believes Wolf's long tenure led to the failure of rail to Dulles.
"He's growing old and losing the strength to fight for issues," said Nigam.
This will be the third election in a row that Wolf has faced a serious challenge, and it comes during a hard time for Republicans and during a presidential election that has already become a draw to Democratic voters. Still, Wolf remains unfazed.
"The presidential election sharpens the interest on the issues. ... I live in my district, I know the people in the district, and they know what I have done," Wolf said.
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