The Virginia State Senate is ground zero for state legislative races across the country this year. With the great strides Republicans made in Saturday’s jungle primary in Louisiana in both legislative and statewide races, you can bet your bottom dollar that just about every ounce of Democrat effort will be focused in Virginia, in particular on state senate races. Don’t believe us? Just ask Republican Senators Ken Cuccinelli, Jay O’Brien, or Jeanmarie Devolites Davis.

There is no fiercer battleground this election season than Northern Virginia, where control of the state Senate could be largely determined by the outcome Nov. 6 of three hard-fought, high-dollar and closely watched contests in Fairfax County.But these campaigns will do more than decide who runs the 40-member Senate. They will demonstrate whether Republicans will continue — or can halt — their dramatic decline in popularity in Virginia and whether that trend is likely to persist in crucial 2008, a presidential election year.

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