On November 4, voters in Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District—that’s us—will go to the polls to elect a congressman and a senator. Well, at least some of the voters will go. In fact, a dismally paltry percentage of voters will go, and pundits, who consider the Fifth a safe Republican district, have already called the race for the incumbents: Republican Robert Hurt will hold onto his seat in the House of Representatives over Democratic challenger Lawrence Gaughan, and Democrat Mark Warner will remain in the U.S. Senate, despite the best efforts of the former adviser to President George W. Bush, Ed Gillespie.
At a time when the public’s opinion of Congress has never been lower, why are voters so indifferent to the race that they’ll likely send the same people back?
“Part of it is voters seem to think the presidential election is the most important,” said Geoffrey Skelley, associate editor at Sabato’s Crystal Ball at UVA’s Center for Politics. “They don’t understand as well that local, state, and congressional elections matter for policy making.”
While it may seem like the airwaves are inundated with political ads during a presidential election, making it pretty much impossible not to be aware it’s going on, Skelley suggested, “It’s somewhat possible to not know the midterm election is going on.”
Voters most likely to vote in all elections are older and whiter, said Skelley, which means the results tend to favor Republicans.
In 2010, the last midterm election, voter turnout in Albemarle was 58 percent, compared to 73 percent in the 2012 presidential election. Only 49 percent of Charlottesville voters came out for the 2010 midterm, compared to 66 percent in 2012.
Political analyst Quentin Kidd at Christopher Newport University sees another reason for low voter turnout: lack of competition. “I hate to say this, but I think Virginia only has one competitive district—the Tenth,” he said. In that northern Virginia district, Republican Barbara Comstock and Democrat John Foust are duking it out for the seat held by Representative Frank Wolf since 1980.
“More competitive races would make people more engaged and more willing to vote,” said Kidd. “I’m more and more convinced a fundamental ill in our democracy is gerrymandered redistricting.”
A federal court ruled October 7 that the General Assembly—a bastion of uncompetitive seats—packed black voters into the Third District to give incumbent Republicans safer seats in adjacent districts, and ordered the legislature to redraw the congressional map next year. That packing of African American voters had a “ripple effect” on the Fifth District, which was a competitive district in 2008, said Kidd.
In the Fifth, Hurt won 51 percent of the vote in 2010 over incumbent Tom Perriello, the upstart Dem who took the seat from Virgil Goode in 2008. That low midterm turnout meant that 27 percent of registered voters elected Hurt to the House.
The Fifth District was newly redrawn in the 2012 election, and stretches from the North Carolina border to northern Virginia. Now the largest district in the state, it’s larger than New Jersey, and a safe Republican district. That means that traditionally Democratic strongholds like Charlottesville have little say in the outcome. To unseat Hurt, “it would take a Democratic wave,” said Skelley, “and that’s not happening.”
Skelley predicts that Hurt could win by an even larger margin than in 2012, when he was challenged by General John Douglass. Gaughan, an Albemarle native, is carrying the Democratic banner for the Fifth District this year. “I don’t see Gaughan getting the attention Douglass did,” said Skelley.
Two third-party candidates—Libertarian Paul Jones and Green Kenneth Hildebrandt—also enter the mix for the Fifth. “The third-party candidates to some degree bring out some voters who wouldn’t have voted otherwise,” said Skelley. He puts them at getting 3 percent combined. “Since Hurt will win comfortably, they’ll have little impact,” he said.
Hildebrandt’s candidacy offers an interesting twist. His wife, Elaine, who lives in the Fifth District, is running for Congress in the Sixth District, challenging incumbent Bob Goodlatte, and making them the first husband/wife team to run for Congress at the same time in Virginia. “There is no residency requirement for federal office,” said Skelley, “although it definitely helps you to live in the district.”
Republicans have a shot at taking control of the U.S. Senate, although Dem Warner is considered safe for keeping his seat from GOP challenger and former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie. Libertarian Robert Sarvis, who ran for governor in 2013, is also on the ballot.
And while Warner may win statewide, he’s unlikely to run away with the Fifth District, said Skelley. In 2012, Republican George Allen won the Senate race in the Fifth, even though Democrat Tim Kaine won seat statewide.
“Historically, the party not in the White House does better in midterm elections,” said Skelley.
And historically, voter turnout in the midterms remains lackadaisical.
The candidates
Ladies and gentlemen, your choices. We let the Democratic, Republican, and third-party candidates for Congress and Senate speak for themselves about the big issues (including one that was unexpectedly resolved, at least for now in Virginia, earlier this month).
Clockwise from top left: Incumbent Robert Hurt, Democratic challenger Lawrence Gaughan, Green Party candidate Kenneth Hildebrandt, and Libertarian Paul Jones.
Congress
The incumbent
Robert Hurt
Age: 45
Occupation: lawyer
Resides: Chatham
Previous political experience: Chatham Town Council, House of Delegates, Senate of Virginia, two terms in the House of Representatives.
Political role models: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Patrick Henry, John Marshall, and George Washington
Biggest issue in 2014: Jobs, fiscal sustainability in reducing $17 trillion in debt, honoring the rule of law and the Constitution.
What will you do to fix Congress? I make a concerted effort to seek out common ground, which I believe is important to advancing my policy priorities. Nearly every bill I author has one or more Democratic cosponsors to encourage the Democratic-led Senate to advance legislation. I will continue to build and maintain relationships with colleagues, regardless of party affiliation, who are interested in joining me in the effort to solve problems and improve the lives of the good people we represent.
Do you support the Dominion/Atlantic Coast pipeline? I am closely monitoring the proposed Atlantic Coast pipeline. Relevant state and federal laws require an extensive development process for such initiatives to ensure that the parties involved fully and openly engage with communities in formulating a proposal. I am committed to ensuring that these processes are properly conducted so landowner and community concerns can be addressed.
Should marijuana continue to be illegal? Yes. As a prosecutor, I saw the horrible consequences of drug use on our youth. I am in favor of looking at more opportunities for farmers such is hemp cultivation—with attention to law enforcement concerns about differentiating between hemp and marijuana with THC. I’m very open to [Virginia Congressman] Morgan Griffith’s bill to legalize medical marijuana.
Do you support same-sex marriage? No. There is no place for discrimination in our society, but based on my upbringing and personal values, I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. I’ve been pretty straightforward about this issue, and I believe it’s consistent with the people I represent.
Although Robert Hurt is projected to easily take the election, he refuses to call it a cakewalk. “We take our campaign very seriously,” he said. “This seat doesn’t belong to any one person. It belongs to the people.”
Hurt won the seat from Democrat Tom Perriello in 2010, and while the current Fifth District is a conservative district, he said, “I am the first Republican to be elected as a Republican in the Fifth District since Reconstruction.” Virgil Goode ran as a Republican in 2002, but first won the Fifth as a Democrat in 1996.
Last fall, Congress failed to pass a budget and the government shut down for 16 days after the Democratic-controlled Senate refused to pass appropriations bills from the Republican-controlled House that stripped out funding for the Affordable Care Act. “If you look at what happened, you can’t blame one body,” said Hurt. “There’s plenty of blame to go around.”
He points to President Obama, who refused to budge on the Affordable Care Act, and to the Senate for not passing the House’s bills. Still, he conceded, “People expect us to get things done.”
Added Hurt, “I don’t think anybody looks back on that with pride. It was regrettable.”
He disputes the notion that the 113th Congress was a do-nothing Congress. “We on the House side offered hundreds of bills that were put in [Senate majority leader] Harry Reid’s trashcan,” he said.
And while Capitol Hill is a “very poisonous place,” Hurt said the vast majority of his bills were bipartisan, such as a bill on 529 college savings plans introduced with Maryland Democrat John Delaney. “All I can do as one member is to try to work across the aisle to get things done,” he said.
Now seeking his third term, Hurt said he’s proud of his constituent service and that unemployment, while still high in hard-hit Southside, is lower than when he first ran in 2010.
Hurt is skeptical about efforts in Virginia for nonpartisan redistricting. “It’s hard for me to see how the district can be drawn without politics,” he said, noting that Patrick Henry tried to draw the first congressional district to keep James Madison from being elected—and Madison won. A nonpartisan commission is unaccountable, he said, unlike elected officials. “At the end of the day, people can throw out the folks if they don’t like the redistricting plan.”
And he cautions that the Fifth District is not necessarily a Republican shoo-in because in 2012, Romney took 52.5 percent of the vote while Obama garnered 46 percent. Said Hurt, “That’s not a runaway.”
The Dem challenger
Lawrence Gaughan
Age: 47
Occupation: Actor, director, founder of nonpartisan GOV360
Resides: Danville
Previous political experience: Worked on lots of political campaigns, starting with Doug Wilder’s race for lieutenant governor in 1985.
Political role model: Senator Mike Mansfield. He was a man of integrity.
Biggest issue in 2014: Jobs
What will you do to fix Congress? Mediate rather than instigate.
Do you support the Dominion/Atlantic Coast pipeline? 100 percent opposed, because a) it will infringe on private property rights, b) a pipeline will be a blight on our beautiful scenery, and 3) pipelines that are built over rugged terrain ALWAYS have containment issues—leaks.
Should marijuana continue to be illegal? We should allow states to decide if they want to decriminalize it so that it is not classified as a Schedule 1 illegal drug. This means the DEA would not operate or engage in marijuana arrests and there would be no federal charges in states with the new laws. I also support growing industrial hemp as a textile product and economic replacement for the loss of revenue from the tobacco industry in southern Virginia. But Virginia is a long way from passing such laws, particularly with the current slate of Republican legislators.
Do you support same-sex marriage? My Republican opponent is not an equal rights person. He does not support the overwhelming precedent of court decisions upholding same sex marriage, and I do. It is an economic issue, a moral issue, and an issue of basic Constitutional freedoms. My opponent’s position on same sex marriage goes against the Constitution.
Martha Jefferson Hospital-born Lawrence Gaughan is well aware of the problems low voter turnout present—he founded the nonpartisan nonprofit GOV360 to do research into low turnout.
According to Gaughan, George Bush won the 2000 presidential election not because of hanging chads but because 1.8 million Florida Democrats didn’t come out and vote. “There’s a correlation between low voter turnout and bad government,” he said.
And he said studies show the reason people don’t vote is because they see the parties as the same.
How does Gaughan, a virtual unknown in the Fifth District whose Irish name is pronounced “gone,” plan to spur voter turnout? “Messaging,” he said. “Putting the daylight between myself and others.”
His signs use a Blue Ridge Mountain motif to differentiate him from the more standard solid blue or red political signs with white. And he believes music can connect with people, and refers a reporter to his campaign’s version of Pete Seeger’s “Lonesome Valley” called “Lonesome Ballot” on his website.
A 1985 graduate of Albemarle High, Gaughan’s first movie gig was Morgan Stewart’s Coming Home, which was filmed in central Virginia. He got a BFA in theater arts from the University of Montana, and a master’s degree in social change from Pepperdine University in California. He moved back to Charlottesville in 2000 and, still working in L.A., became bicoastal.
Gaughan sees his lack of elected office as an asset, and calls Hurt a career politician. The Founding Fathers, Gaughan said, pulling out a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution, wanted farmers and teachers to serve in Congress, not career politicians.
He opened his campaign headquarters in Danville, where the unemployment rate is 8.1 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Charlottesville’s rate was 4.8 percent in July). “That was a no-brainer,” he said. “It’s very important for this campaign to connect with ordinary working people who are tired of career politicians.”
Gaughan knows a Democrat hasn’t won the Fifth District since Tom Perriello did in 2008, and he said he’s counting on the independence of voters to “vote for the person, not the party.”
He also thinks he has one other advantage: former governor and Senator Mark Warner, who took 65 percent of the statewide vote in 2008, is on the ballot again. Of course, that was a presidential election year.
Third parties
Paul Jones
Libertarian
Age: 66
Occupation: Small-business man
Resides: Charlottesville
Previous political experience: None
Political role model: Ron Paul, Robert Sarvis
Biggest issue in 2014: The size and cost of government.
What will you do to fix Congress? Increase the number of representatives in the House, split the current pay and let them all work from home. Also, abide by the Constitution, which doesn’t say the federal government should be in charge of education.
Do you support the Dominion/Atlantic Coast pipeline? No. Eminent domain should only be used by the government, not private interests.
Should marijuana continue to be illegal? No. I don’t think government should decide what you should do to your own body if it doesn’t hurt anyone else. It’s like Prohibition. It just doesn’t work, and it’s making criminals out of people.
Do you support same-sex marriage? Yes. I don’t think government should decide who we should marry and who we can’t. I do think it should be a state by state issue, not federal government policy.
Paul Jones is another first-timer choosing to make his political debut running for Congress. “I’m so tired of Republicans and Democrats,” he said. “Taxes go up no matter who wins. I want to give people an option.”
He’s bugged by the size and cost of government, and cites the Veterans Affairs scandal as an example of a federal government so huge that Congress can’t oversee it. “There are well over 100 agencies that could be eliminated,” said Jones, listing education, energy, and commerce—“except for the Patent Office.” He’d particularly like to get rid of departments that exist just to give money away, he said.
Despite the grim prognostications of his chances, “I’m running to win,” said Jones. “I don’t care what the political experts say.”
Kenneth Hildebrandt
Green Party
Age: 54
Occupation: Chiropractor, independent Web journalist
Resides: Natalie
Previous political experience: Ran for Congress in 2012, has interviewed presidential, gubernatorial, and congressional candidates.
Political role model: None
Biggest issue in 2014: The threat of environmental collapse from nuclear power and war, when hemp could be a safe alternative for energy.
What will you do to fix Congress? I’d be one voice out of 435 and I’m going to tell it like it is.
Do you support the Dominion/Atlantic Coast pipeline? No, no, no. Hemp is a safe, non-polluting alternative.
Should marijuana continue to be illegal? No. Between legal hemp and marijuana, we could solve the national debt.
Do you support same-sex marriage? I’m for people rights. We don’t live in a theocracy. I’m not for discrimination of any kind. We’re supposed to be different from the Taliban.
On the day he speaks with C-VILLE, Dr. Ken Hildebrandt is fired up about the debates. The League of Women Voters is holding a candidates’ forum at 7pm Wednesday, October 29 at City Hall, Hildebrandt will be there—as will all the Fifth District candidates except for the incumbent, Robert Hurt.
“If you let me in a televised debate, I’ll win,” he assured.
Hildebrandt received 1.6 percent of the vote in 2012 when he challenged Hurt, and said he’s running again “because we’re in the same predicament.”
He touts industrial hemp as an energy solution, and points out that in 1938, Popular Mechanics called it “The New Billion-Dollar Crop.” Hurt, said Hildebrandt, prosecuted people for “a plant to send them to live in a cage. I’m from a healing background. It’s a different world view.”
Voters don’t come out in the midterms, said Hildebrandt, because they only get to pick between the same parties; he offers alternatives the two major parties don’t. “That’s all I want, for reality to be known,” he said. Steep odds aside, Hildebrandt, too, said he’s in the race to win.
Left: Incumbent Mark Warner. Center: Republican challenger Ed Gillespie. Right: Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis.
U.S. Senate
The incumbent
Mark Warner
Age: 59
Occupation: Businessman, entrepreneur
Resides: Alexandria
Previous political experience: Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2002-2006.
Political role model: John Warner
Biggest issue in 2014: At nearly every stop on the campaign trail, I hear about the burden of student debt. As the first in my family to graduate from college, I came out with about $15,000 in student loans. In today’s economy, students and their families are seeing bills in the $50,000-$70,000 range. Had I taken on that much debt, I am not sure I would have taken the chance to start a business. That’s why I have introduced specific proposals that would help borrowers pay down their loans, including capping the amount of your monthly bills at 10 percent of your income, providing employers with the option to offer $5,000 pre-tax to help employees pay off their debt, and making the costs and benefits of college more transparent before you apply. In America, nobody should go broke just because they go to college.
What will you do to fix Congress? I have a proven track record of working across the aisle to solve problems facing Virginians. As governor, my bipartisan approach helped me turn a $6 billion deficit into a $1 billion surplus and provided a record amount of funding for public education in Virginia. In the Senate, I have governed the same way, because I believe that the only way to solve the challenges we face is by working together. Whether it is interesting new tools to help folks pay off student debt, bipartisan proposals to tackle our debt and deficit, or legislation to bring jobs back from overseas, I am committed to finding common sense solutions that can actually get through Congress. If rehired, I will continue to reach out to anyone with a good idea that can help Virginians.
Do you support the Dominion/Atlantic Coast pipeline? There are clear benefits, both to Virginia and the country, from the increase of natural gas production. It is critical that we consider the views of landowners and communities in any process involving pipelines. The first step is to notify property owners and get their input. I am going to closely monitor the final route selection and evaluate the environmental, property rights, and community interests. It is essential that local voices get a fair hearing in this process.
Should marijuana continue to be illegal? Twenty-three states have sanctioned the use of medicinal marijuana and I support its appropriate use. I think the question will be decided on a state-by-state basis and Virginia should wait until there is more data from Colorado and Washington state.
Do you support same-sex marriage? I was the first governor to make sure LGBT members of our state workforce were protected from discrimination, I voted to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and I support marriage equality and believe that all Virginians should be able to marry the person they love.
Mark Warner made his fortune on cellular phone franchises, founded the venture capital firm Columbia Capital, and was an early investor in tech companies, including Nextel. The Center for Responsive Politics ranks him as the wealthiest in the Senate, with an estimated net worth of over $250 million.
He took office as governor in 2002 with a record deficit. When he left in 2006, the state still held its AAA bond rating and a surplus. The popular governor briefly had buzz as a possible presidential candidate, but instead ran for the U.S. Senate in 2008, crushing another former governor, Jim Gilmore, with 65 percent of the vote.
Warner seeks his second term as senator with nearly $9 million cash on hand, a huge margin in the polls, and endorsements from moderate Republicans across the state like former U.S. Senator John Warner and former Governor Linwood Holton.
A member of the Gang of Six, Warner worked with Republicans to come up with a plan to slash the deficit and reform the tax codes. Although it wasn’t adopted, he further cemented a reputation for bipartisanship.
The Republican challenger
Ed Gillespie
Age: 53
Occupation: Strategic communications consultant
Resides: Fairfax County
Previous political experience: Former White House aide, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, top policy and communications aide on Capitol Hill for more than a decade, and founder of three successful small businesses.
Political role model: I have been fortunate enough to work with many leaders for whom I have a great deal of respect, drawing lessons from all of them, including former President George W. Bush, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and former U.S. Representative Andy Ireland.
Biggest issue in 2014: Economic anxiety. As I listen to voters across the Commonwealth, I hear everywhere the concerns of people feeling squeezed by fewer hours, lost jobs, stagnant wages, skyrocketing healthcare costs and rising energy prices. I put forward a five-point economic growth plan to ease the squeeze on hard-working Virginians. The policies I put forward would get our economy moving again and provide opportunities for the middle class and working poor to improve their lives through good-paying jobs, and help lift millions out of poverty.
Do you support the Dominion/Atlantic Coast pipeline? I have put forward a detailed plan to unleash American energy. If the pipeline can be constructed in a way that respects our constitutionally guaranteed private property rights, I would support it.
Should marijuana continue to be illegal? I do not support federal legislation to legalize recreational marijuana use.
Do you support same-sex marriage? I believe marriage is between one man and one woman, but believe defining marriage is the proper purview of the states and would not support federal legislation to ban it.
What will you do to fix Congress? I’ve put forward an economic agenda to create jobs and they’re ideas that I believe could get bipartisan support. My experience in the public and private sector will help me be an effective senator on Day One. And I’ll ask Virginians to hold me accountable for my promises, just as I’m asking them to hold Mark Warner accountable this year for saying he would be an independent voice and then voting with President Obama’s job-killing policies 97 percent of the time.
Ed Gillespie has plenty of experience with political campaigns, including getting former Governor Bob McDonnell elected in 2009, but this is his first whirl as the candidate. He told the Washington Post, “This may sound a little odd to you, but what surprises me is how much I love being the candidate. I like being out there, talking to people, listening to people, hearing what their concerns are [and] standing up for what I believe in.”
His opponent, Mark Warner, also chose a Senate race to make his political debut, and was defeated in 1996 by Republican Senator John Warner, who endorsed Mark Warner earlier this year.
Gillespie’s resumé includes the Contract with America, which he helped write in 1994 and which brought a Republican majority and Newt Gingrich leadership to the House. He also helped create the American Crossroads super PAC with former Bush adviser Karl Rove.
Polls have put Warner at more than a 20-point advantage, but a recent Quinnipiac poll narrows that lead to 9 percent. “Momentum growing!” Gillespie tweeted on September 21.
Third party
Robert Sarvis
Libertarian
Age: 38
Occupation: Software developer, lawyer
Resides: Annandale
Previous political experience: Ran for State Senate in 2011, ran for governor of Virginia in 2013.
Political role model: James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln
Biggest issue in 2014: Economy/jobs, health care, cronyism and corporate welfare, $17 trillion debt.
What will you do to fix Congress? I support institutional reforms like term limits and increasing the size of the House of Representatives. A third-party senator can improve the discourse in Washington and offer a way out of the partisan deadlock and dysfunction. Because I have no loyalties to either major party, nor to big-money corporate interests, I can work with members of any party and can focus on putting the public interest back at the heart of public policy.
Do you support the Dominion/Atlantic Coast pipeline? This pipeline is yet another example of collusion between big government and big business. Not only may homeowners lose their property through eminent domain, Dominion Power has already been granted the power to trespass on their property without their consent, thanks to a bipartisan piece of legislation signed into law by my Democratic opponent, Mark Warner, in 2004. Affected residents already feel like they aren’t getting the answers they deserve from company and government officials. The only way to end this kind of cronyism is to break out of the two-party system and make sure government at all levels is serving the public interest and respecting private property and due process rights of our citizens.
Should marijuana continue to be illegal? It is high time to legalize marijuana, for both medical and recreational use. We must stop ruining people’s lives for smoking a plant that is less harmful than alcohol. Our last three presidents admit to trying marijuana, yet they don’t have the courage to stop the injustice of our laws? It’s hypocrisy.
Do you support same-sex marriage? Yes. Fewer than 50 years ago, my own marriage would have been illegal in this state. If it weren’t for the courage of Richard and Mildred Loving in 1967, I might not have been able to marry the woman I love. I’m the only candidate for U.S. Senate who promises to sponsor bills to treat same-sex couples equally in our federal tax and immigration laws.
Ayear ago, Robert Sarvis ran for governor and pulled in 6.52 percent of the vote as a Libertarian. Running in a nationwide federal election is different, he said. “Last year it was easier to get press coverage.”
“It’s hard to get people out of the two-party mindset,” said Sarvis. “This race isn’t even close. People don’t have to worry about affecting the outcome. In this election, you’re throwing your vote away if you don’t vote for me.”
Sarvis acknowledges the probability of winning is low. But if he can get over 10 percent of the vote, Libertarians can get major party status, which means they won’t have to collect 10,000 signatures to get on a statewide ballot or be stuck at the bottom of the ballot, and will be able to take part in debates, he said.
“One goal is to inspire young people,” he said. Another is to recruit Libertarian candidates. “I’m running to win,” he declared. “If you get over 10 percent, that’s a win.”
“The only way to end this kind of cronyism is to break out of the two-party system.”
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