Arlington Democrats lend a hand in upcoming special election

Just when you thought election season was over for a hot minute or two, the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s “Beyond Arlington” brigade is gearing up to help out downstate.

A Jan. 10 special election has been called to fill the state Senate seat of Republican Jen Kiggans, who in November defeated U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria (D-2nd) – one of the relatively few bright spots for the GOP as the anticipated “red wave” turned into a trickle on Election Day.

Kiggans’ seat could go either way, given the political composition of the district, and a Democratic pickup would give the party 22 seats in the 40-member state Senate, up from its current 21.

That could be important to Democrats for a number of reasons, including the possibility that it would give the majority party more seats on Senate committees.

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“If we turn out the vote, we in fact will win it,” predicted state Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington-Fairfax-McLean), encouraging those in the Democratic rank-and-file to help the effort in any way they can.

Arlington Democrats will be phone-banking in support of Democratic nominee Aaron Rouse, an ex-NFL football player and current member of the Virginia Beach City Council. On Dec. 11 and again on Jan. 7-8, Northern Virginia Democrats will be traveling to the district to knock off doors and provide additional support.

“Everything’s going to help,” Favola said.