Vice President Biden last night helped raise money for three freshman House Democrats from Virginia — Gerry Connolly, Glenn Nye and Tom Perriello — and very prominently noted that two of them are from swing seats that could be in real danger in 2010. From the Washington Post pool report:
VPOTUS noted that two of the three Democrats in attendance – U.S. Reps. Glenn Nye and Tom Perriello – would face difficult challenges in their more rural, southern Virginia districts.
“I don’t have to tell you that you’re in a very competitive state,” he said. “You got some tough votes coming up.” He noted that the third Virginia House Democrat – U.S. Rep. Gerry Connelly – had a “few liberals” in his left-leaning Northern Virginia district. He called the triumvirate “independent minded” and “damn competent,” but united on several core Democratic Party themes, including energy policy and health care.
“These guys are smart. Some of the guys Chuck (Robb) and I have campaigned for are turkeys,” he said. “Not all Democrats are created equal, while most Republicans are.”
Connolly’s win in 2008, in a GOP-held open seat that had been trending Democratic over time, was widely expected. But the victories by Nye and Perriello, who both narrowly defeated Republican incumbents, were big upsets. And Biden is definitely aware that these two guys are big targets for Republican efforts to take out Dems next year.
