Virginia’s 10th District Portions of the 10th District of Virginia stretch from the banks of the Potomac all the way west through the Shenandoah Valley to the West Virginia state line, encompassing a patchwork of federal employees, well- heeled suburban professionals, horse farmers, first - and second-generation immigrants, and working-class whites. Since the district was drawn nearly 70 years ago, it’s been in Republican hands for all but three congressional terms. That may be about to change. The incumbent is Barbara Comstock, a former congressional aide who since her election in 2014 has tried a balancing act worthy of the Flying Wallendas. While the district, like Virginia itself, has been trending steadily blue, Comstock managed a close reelection victory in 2016 even as Hillary Clinton won the district by 10 points. Trump is unpopular here and Comstock has tried to keep her distance – opposing him especially on issues dear to her constituents, such as a proposed wage freeze for federal workers. Her opponent is State Senator Jennifer Wexton. She’s hit Comstock, a NRA favorite, on gun control and social issues. Comstock presents herself as a sensible, right-leaning pragmatist. Her newly conceived catchphrase is “Results not Resistance.” She boasts of her vote against the Republican leadership’s failed repeal of Obamacare, but also of her support for Trump’s tax bill, which killed the individual mandate and most likely doomed former President Barack Obama’s signature accomplishment. But in this sprawling district, Trump is taking
Comstock presents herself as a sensible, right-leaning pragmatist. Her newly conceived catchphrase is “Results not Resistance.” a back seat – if you’ll forgive me – to local transportation issues, especially funding for the local Metro system and a sputtering Dulles Airport. The only nonpartisan poll, from this summer, shows Wexton with a near double-digit lead. Given Comstock’s political skill, nobody doubts that this race, like most races, will tighten. But even the Wallendas fell off the wire once in a while. California’s 39th District There are still patches of red in blue-as-the- sky California. Of the state’s 53 congressional seats, 14 are Republican. Several of these are in or around Orange County, artifacts from the days when Reagan Republicanism dominated the state. The 39th District captures California’s demographic changes well: Once home to mostly white workers from the vanished aerospace industry, today it’s a “majority minority,” though the precise ethnic mix might make a difference. Two- thirds of residents are either Hispanic or Asian. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a pillar of House Republicans, announced his retirement this year after holding the seat for 26 years. Korean-born Young Kim worked for Royce for 20 years before being elected to the state assembly. She faces a Frito Lay employee
34 October 2018
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