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State Central Committee member Chuck Smith has announced his run for the 2nd Congressional seat in VA, election in 2010. Chuck is a former Marine and Navy JAG officer. This is the seat where Democrat Glenn Nye recently beat Republican Thelma Drake. For more information, see http://chucksmith2010.com/index.html

Rep. Thelma Drake late Thursday night conceded the election for the 2nd Congressional District to political newcomer Glenn Nye after a bitterly fought race. With a small number of absentee ballots still being counted, Republican Drake released a statement saying some voters waited in line for hours and many troops serving overseas, including Iraq and Afghanistan, sent absentee ballots. "Those ballots have been counted and the voters have decided," she said, congratulating Democrat Nye....

Her re-election chances resting on uncounted absentee ballots, Rep. Thelma Drake, R-2nd, has joined the McCain-Palin campaign in a lawsuit seeking to count absentee ballots by military personnel serving overseas. Drake, a Republican, trails Democrat Glenn C. Nye III by 7,916 votes in the district in and around Virginia Beach. Nye has claimed victory, but Drake has not conceded because she says the count of the district's 28,000 absentee ballots continued yesterday. Meanwhile in the 5th Congressional District, Democrat Tom S.P. Perriello, who started the day leading Republican Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. by 31 votes, had a 639-vote lead...

WASHINGTON While dozens of their colleagues in both parties switched their votes from "no" on Monday to "yes" on Friday to help pass a $700 billion financial system rescue plan, local representatives remained unanimously opposed. Here's some of what members had to say after the 263-171 vote. U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake, R-Norfolk"I came to the conclusion that this bill is at its foundation fatally flawed. The bill pledges $700 billion of taxpayer dollars with no guarantee this will correct the underlying problem and stabilize the markets."Now that the vote is behind us, we all should agree that the next step is...

I want to let you know about an important opportunity to bring Virginia-style leadership that will change Washington. Glenn Nye is the Democratic Nominee for Congress in the Second District of Virginia, and bringing him to Washington will make a huge difference in creating the change our nation needs. I've been proud to support and campaign with Glenn, and I'm asking you to join me today. Glenn is a unique candidate who truly fits his district. He is a fifth-generation Second District resident and former Foreign Service officer who volunteered to serve in conflict zones in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq....

ARLINGTON, VA -- With today's Wall Street Journal report that pro-Obama Democrats have "airdropped a mini-army of 30 lawyers, investigators and opposition researchers into Anchorage" to dig for dirt on our vice presidential nominee, the McCain-Palin campaign today launched the Palin Truth Squad to counter recent attacks on Governor Sarah Palin, her family, her friends and her record of accomplishment. The Palin Truth Squad will set the record straight against Internet and liberal smears of Governor Palin. "We're proud of Governor Palin's leadership in Alaska and record of taking on entrenched special interests and the good old boys network,"...

NORFOLK The Navy could spend nearly $500 million to ready Mayport Naval Station in Florida for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier - perhaps from Norfolk - by 2014. Or it could choose to make no changes in the base's operations. A draft report released Friday by the Navy proposed a range of options for the future of Mayport, the Jacksonville base that lost its only carrier, the John F. Kennedy, when the ship was decommissioned last year. The Navy's decision, expected early next year, could determine whether ships and perhaps thousands of sailors from Hampton Roads relocate to northern Florida. Mark...

SAVE Act Discharge Petition Filed, Gaining Momentum(March 12) Yesterday, House Republican leaders endorsed a discharge petition for the enforcement-only SAVE Act (Secure America with Verification Enforcement; H.R. 4088). The petition was filed Tuesday morning by Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.) and has 158 bi-partisan signers as of 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday.If the petition collects 218 House signatures, a simple majority, the bill can bypass the committee process and be placed on the House floor for a vote, regardless of any objections by Democratic leaders. The SAVE Act, with 155 bi-partisan signers in the House and Senate, would drive millions of...

While in college 28 years ago, 2nd District Democratic congressional candidate Philip Kellam pleaded guilty to a simple assault charge after an argument with a woman, but the judge threw the case out. Kellam's campaign manager said Kellam, then a student at Elon College, did not strike the woman. Kellam, commissioner of revenue in Virginia Beach and a member of a famous political family, is in a close race with Rep. Thelma Drake, a Norfolk Republican, for the congressional seat... After Kellam pleaded guilty June 2, 1978, in Alamance County {N.C.] court to simple assault, a judge entered a "prayer...

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has reserved $51.5 million of television advertising in 32 congressional districts. The allocation reveals an aggressive posture toward the midterm elections, with 27 Republican-held districts targeted and only five Democratic districts identified as needing the defense of DCCC cash.By reserving the ad space early, the DCCC has tipped its hand as the August recess begins; the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is circulating the list of targets.The $51.5 million total exceeds previously reported figures by $20 million and confirms that Democrats will be on offense for much of the fall in states such as...

If you want to understand why Democrats are the minority party in Congress, look at four states: Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Kentucky. Before the 1994 elections, when Democrats still controlled both chambers, these Southern states had 24 Democratic House members and 14 Republicans. Among senators, there were five Republicans and three Democrats. Today, there are 24 GOP House members and 15 Democrats, and all eight senators are Republicans. Democrats acknowledge that their prospects for regaining control are dim until they start winning elections in this region. Several of this year's races are lab experiments in this effort, with Democrats...

As many as 24 Democratic-allied outside interest groups have launched attacks or waged other political activity in 82 congressional districts represented by House Republicans, according to data compiled the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). The breadth of this mobilization against House Republican candidates appears to surpass by far any similar effort being waged against Democratic House candidates or Senate candidates. The data show how much Democrats are benefiting from the work of outside allies and how energized labor, environmental and liberal advocacy groups are about the prospect of taking back the House. The research also reveals why many House Republicans...

Dear MoveOn member, As part of our big plan to win the election we've been running TV ads in key districts around the country. Yesterday I got news that a TV station in Virginia has refused us the right to air our newest ad that focuses on Iraq. They won't even return our phone calls. It smelled fishy so we looked into it. Sure enough, the Republican Party has been threatening to sue TV stations that run our ads. That's not all. Two of the senior executives at the station—including one of the guys who makes the decision about running...

Today President Bush spoke about the American Competitiveness Initiative to a large crowd at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, KentuckyHe also spoke at a fund raiser for Kentucky Congresman Geoff Davis at the Hilton Cincinnati Airport in Florence, Kentucky. The President also attended a luncheon for Rep Thelma Drake, R-Va., who was unable to attend her fundraiser due to an important vote in a House committee. But before he left for these events he met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, at the White House this morning

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - President Bush on Friday warned against shielding the U.S. economy from global competition in a speech that was sandwiched between fundraisers for Virginia and Kentucky lawmakers facing tough midterm elections. "The United States of America must not wall ourselves off from the world and must not forget our duty to lead the world," Bush said at Northern Kentucky University where he expanded on a theme of his State of the Union address. To stay competitive, Bush said, the United States needs to keep taxes low, encourage entrepreneurs, secure the future solvency of Medicare and Social Security,...

I wasn't sure HOW to do this, but this was too funny and I wanted to share. Thelma Drake is a republican representative in Virginia's 2nd district. She's been targeted by MoveOn.org and other liberal groups. Her Democratic Candidate is Phil Kellum. He set up a web site. On that web site, he has a list of issues, although they aren't linked to his home page. Funny thing though. His district is in Virginia Beach, Virginia. But his issues are about Pennsylvania's 17th state district. Check it out before he gets wise and cleans it up. I've pasted a snippet...

VIRGINIA BEACH — First it was the big oil companies. Now it’s the big pharmaceutical companies. MoveOn.org wants voters to believe that U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake is in the pocket of both. On Wednesday, MoveOn.org – a Democratic-leaning political action committee – kicked off a new series of television ads. It features Drake allegedly caught “red-handed” taking campaign contributions from drug companies while supporting the Bush administration’s prescription drug plan. MoveOn contends that the plan helps drug companies but not senior citizens on Medicare. “Seniors relied on her, but Thelma Drake got thousands from big drug companies,” the ad says....

With President Bush's popularity at an all-time low, hovering in the mid-30s in most national surveys, and the conservative base of the Republican Party increasingly dismayed with the President's performance on issues such as runaway government spending and immigration "reform," chances are increasing that the Democrats could eke out a majority in the House of Representatives in the elections this fall. Four months ago, I concluded that there were 20 Republican House seats that were vulnerable to Democratic takeover, now I believe that there are 30. To achieve a majority, the Democrats would need to win a net gain of...

A liberal activist group's $1.3 million ad campaign criticizing four Republican House members for voting in support of "energy and big oil companies" was rejected Monday by NBC stations in Columbus, Ohio and Hartford, Conn. The ads paid for by Move-on.org contend that the four GOP lawmakers — Reps. Chris Chocola in Indiana's 2nd district, Thelma Drake in Virginia's 2nd district, Nancy Johnson in Connecticut's 5th district and Deborah Pryce in Ohio's 15th district — are taking money from oil and energy companies and then supporting laws that reward those companies. Even though two stations rejected them, the ads are...

The President and the first lady spent the weekend in Washington attending St John's Church on Sunday. Later in the day there was a State Dinner for the nation's governors at the White House Today the President addressed the National Governors Association annual meeting in the State Dining Room of the White House. He then met Belarusian human rights activist Irina Krasovskaya and Svyatlana Zavadskaya in the Oval Office. The First Lady and the President attended a reception for the nation's governors at the National Building Museum in Washington. The Vice President is visiting Norfolk to speak at a fundraiser...