Democrats hold rally at Rotunda

Central Virginia Democrats rallied the party faithful Friday at the University of Virginia Rotunda, where state Sens. Edd Houck and R. Creigh Deeds and former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello urged voters to defend the Democratic-controlled state Senate from a Republican takeover.

Houck, of Spotsylvania, and Deeds, from Bath County, are both facing GOP challengers in a year when Republicans are looking to gain a majority in the Senate and take full control of the executive and legislative branches for the first time since 2001. The Democrats currently hold a 22-18 majority, and Republicans are hoping to regain control by winning an additional three seats.

Houck, a 28-year incumbent, is locked in a competitive race with Fredericksburg Republican Bryce Reeves, a businessman and former chairman of the Spotsylvania County Republican Committee.

“We’ve got to make sure… that the Senate of Virginia is not turned away from people like Creigh Deeds and Edd Houck and turned over to extremists like Bryce Reeves,” Houck said to a group of about 50 people gathered in front of the Rotunda. “There’s a lot at stake here ladies and gentlemen. It’s more than just a single candidate; it’s the future of this state.”

Deeds is facing a Republican challenger in Charlottesville attorney T.J. Aldous, but the spotlight at Friday’s event was largely focused on Houck.

“Right now, the only barrier to an extreme agenda in Virginia, is the Senate of Virginia,” said Deeds, adding that Houck is one of the “bulwarks” in the Senate standing against that agenda.

Houck repeatedly invoked the name of Thomas Jefferson as he sought to paint Reeves as an extremist by pointing to positions Reeves took during a debate in Fredericksburg Thursday night.

“As we stand here in front of Mr. Jefferson’s Rotunda, one of the principles that Jefferson always espoused was individual liberties and individual freedom,” Houck said. “Well guess what, my opponent made it very clear in a debate last night that he stands squarely opposite of what I believe and what Mr. Jefferson believes: that a woman has the personal freedom to make her own decisions.”

Houck also zeroed in on Reeves’s response to a question about whether guns should be allowed on college campuses.

“Mr. Reeves stood right there on the grounds of the University of Mary Washington… and said yes,” Houck said. “He wants the law changed to bring guns right here on the grounds of Mr. Jefferson’s university. That is extreme. We don’t want guns on this campus.”

The Reeves campaign offered its own version of the highlights of the debate, saying Reeves has focused on job creation while Houck would raise taxes.

“Bryce has been clear from the beginning — we need to create jobs,” campaign spokesman Chris Leavitt said in an email. “Bryce believes the way we do that is have government tax less, regulate less, and spend less. Unfortunately, Sen. Houck disagrees. He’d rather raise taxes on working Virginians and grow government. Last night at the debate, he once again stated his support for a gas tax increase — even with gasoline above $3.00/gallon. That will only hurt struggling families and kill jobs.”

“As for his extreme comment,” Leavitt went on, “one only has to review his campaign ad and mail about Bryce that have been called ‘false’ and ‘disappointing’ by news sources,” Leavitt said. “Edd Houck will do or say anything to try and win this election, but we anticipated that from a career politician.”

In a TV ad, Houck accused Reeves of being “OK” with shipping the state’s jobs to China. PolitiFact Virginia rated that claim false.

The two Democratic state senators were introduced by Perriello, the former 5th District congressman who lost his seat to Rep. Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, in 2010.

“A lot of the ink gets spilled on national races, but people’s lives at the kitchen table are actually much more affected by the local and state races,” Perriello said. “It’s a huge deal. Whether it’s protecting our seniors, making sure our kids get a good education, making sure UVa isn’t coming under political attack and making sure we have academic freedom… In order to do that, we have to hold the Senate. It is the only thing stopping us from an absolute veering off to the crazy right.”

“I don’t know what happened to the voters just a short time ago, but they made a serious fundamental mistake when they didn’t send Tom Perriello back to Congress,” Houck said as he thanked Perriello for the introduction. “Look what the 5th District has gotten since then. Nothing!”

Two Democratic candidates for the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors — Cynthia Neff and Christopher J. Dumler — also attended the rally. Neff is running against Republican incumbent Kenneth C. Boyd in the Rivanna District, while Dumler is competing with Republican James C. Norwood to replace outgoing supervisor Lindsay G. Dorrier Jr. in the Scottsville District.

Llezelle Dugger, the Democratic candidate for Clerk of Charlottesville Circuit Court, also attended the rally. After ousting longtime incumbent Paul C. Garrett in the party primary, Dugger is running against independent Pam Melampy.

Neither the county candidates nor Dugger spoke at the rally.

The election is Tuesday.