After the death of

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Congresswoman

Jo Ann Davis Jo Ann Davis (née Sides; June 29, 1950 – October 6, 2007) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party from Virginia, she represented the s ...

on October 6, 2007, a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

was required to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the

110th United States Congress The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed of ...

. Governor

Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...

announced that the election would occur on December 11, 2007. The Republican and Democratic candidates were selected by

political convention The terms party conference (UK English), political convention ( US and Canadian English), and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party membe ...

s on November 10, 2007. Republican state legislator

Rob Wittman Robert Joseph Wittman (born February 3, 1959) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2007. The district stretches from the fringes of the Washington suburbs to the Hampton Roads area. He is a member of the Republi ...

was elected, defeating Democratic nominee Philip Forgit and independent candidate Lucky Narain.

Candidates

Democratic

Democrats nominated

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

veteran and former teacher Philip Forgit over retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Captain Ted Hontz by a 106–91 convention vote. The Democratic convention was held in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

. The

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds, and organizes races in ...

did not invest large amounts of money into the campaign, opting instead to fund

Robin Weirauch Robin Weirauch ( ; born January 3, 1957) is an American politician of the Democratic party who was the party's 2004 and 2006 nominee to challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Paul Gillmor for the seat in Ohio's 5th congressional dist ...

's campaign in a special congressional election in Ohio.

Republican

After five ballots, Republicans chose State Delegate

as their nominee when Paul Jost withdrew before the sixth ballot could be announced. The Republican convention was held at Caroline High School in

Caroline County, Virginia Caroline County is a county (United States), United States county located in the eastern part of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The northern boundary of the county borders on the Rappahannock River, notably at the hist ...

. The Republican convention drew a wide variety of candidates, including former State Delegate Dick Black; former

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

official Jim Bowden; Sherwood Bowditch, the Director of the Virginia Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs; David Caprara, an activist; retired FBI agent David Corderman; Chuck Davis, the widower of late Congresswoman Davis; businessman Paul Jost, attorney Kevin O'Neill, and businessman Rob Quartel.

Independent

Lucky Narain, a former

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John ...

volunteer, Army Reservist, and grant writer from Yorktown, filed the necessary petitions to be placed on the ballot as an independent candidate. He criticized Wittman for supporting a transportation tax increase despite having signed an anti-tax pledge; Wittman claimed that he had not signed that particular pledge.

General election results

References