Forbes beats Legrow
Published 8:39 am Wednesday, November 3, 2010
William Hendricks, left, votes in Franklin’s 4th Precinct Tuesday as election officer Roy Hunter watches. -- Nicholas Langhorne | Tidewater News
FRANKLIN—U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes cruised to re-election in the 4th Congressional District Tuesday over Democratic challenger Dr. Wynne LeGrow, a retired doctor from Emporia.
Forbes, who has held the seat since 2001, received nearly 70 percent of the votes cast in Isle of Wight County. He carried the city of Franklin and Southampton County with 54 and 64 percent of the vote, respectively.
Districtwide, Forbes garnered more than 62 percent of the vote with about 99 percent of precincts reporting.
Kenny Truitt, chairman of the Franklin/Southampton Republican Party, said Forbes was likely able to win re-election so easily because of his record.
“He’s such a staunch conservative and a champion of fiscal responsibility,” Truitt said. “I think the people of the 4th District were, like myself, very eager to see him re-elected to go back up there and continue the fine job he’s been doing.”
Truitt said the mood of voters this election was more “anti-liberal” than “anti-incumbent,” which worked in Forbes’ favor, he said.
** With 99% of the precincts reporting; * With 92% of the precincts reporting; Totals include write-in votes
“He’s never voted for a bailout, even the Bush bailouts, so he’s not someone that just goes along with the party. He stands on principles,” Truitt said. “He seems to be one of the few people that can go up there and not forget who he’s working for.”
Richard Railey Jr. of the Southampton Democratic Party said he wasn’t surprised by Forbes’ victory and anyone who follows politics would’ve “predicted that Randy Forbes would’ve handily won,” given the district’s political makeup.
“And that’s no reflection on the doctor from Emporia,” Railey said. “It’s just that he had a dreadfully hard race.”
The 4th District stretches from Chesapeake to Powhatan County, located west of Richmond.
Virginia voters also approved three amendments to the state constitution Tuesday.
One amendment allows the General Assembly to pass a law exempting veterans who are totally disable due to military service from paying local taxes on their primary home. Another amendment allows the General Assembly to let municipalities grant tax exemptions for people 65 or older or those who are totally disabled.
The third amendment allows the state’s “rainy day fund” to be increased from 10 percent to 15 percent of the states average annual tax revenues from the three preceding fiscal years.
