WVEC - War In Iraq Is Key Issue For Candidates In 1st District Race

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WVEC - War In Iraq Is Key Issue For Candidates In 1st District Race

You might think election time is over, now that it's December. But not so in Virginia's 1st District.

Voters in parts of Hampton Roads north to Fredericksburg and Prince William County will vote Tuesday, December 11 to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Jo Ann Davis.

Davis, a Republican from Gloucester, died at her home Oct. 6 after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57 and had represented eastern Virginia in Congress since 2000.

On the ballot are Lucky Narain, who's running as an independent.

Special election to be held Tuesday

"The nation needs people who can think independently, they need a consensus builder," the 28-year-old Army reservist said Thursday, noting that his military background is needed as Congress weighs options in Iraq.

Republican State Delegate Rob Wittman, a republican, says he wants to build on Davis's accomplishments.

"I have experience through my years in local and state government with a strong record of getting things done."

Wittman says the Iraqi government needs to be pressed to take advantage of a surge that is working.

Democratic challenger Philip Forgit is a Williamsburg school teacher.

He believes there needs to be a strategy to get US service members out of Iraq, but he's against an immediate withdrawal of forces.

"If you want change, you have to vote for something different," he says.

Forgit has another mission - to elect a democrat in the reliably republican district.

The three men say their biggest challenge is getting people to the polls next Tuesday.

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