As I mentioned earlier I attended the debate among the candidates for the 10th Congressional District, sponsored by the League of Women Voters (of both Loudoun and Fairfax) on Tuesday, October 17th.

Usually, such debates are not particularly good for analyzing detailed policy positions. Candidates generally stick to talking points without specifics. However, such occasions are somewhat useful for evaluating how candidates look, sound and “feel” to audiences. Since Congressman Wolf is well-known to his constituents, the onus was on Judy Feder, the Democrat challenger, to make an impression.

First the incumbent: Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) is surely an experienced campaigner and speaker, but he struck me — visually — as seemingly defensive and somewhat stodgy. There was a palpable lack of energy on his part (with one exception — more on that below). He appeared to be almost irritated, perhaps even distressed to be at the debate.

In response to most questions, he rattled off what legislations and commissions he sponsored and how much money he brought to the district. These are surely noteworthy achievements, but I wish he had spoken more forcefully about his principles and political views and contrasted them sharply with Judy Feder, rather than sounding like a bureaucrat ticking off checklists of “have done’s.”

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Some Democrats are apparently hopeful that Northern Virginia is becoming more “creative class,” which supposedly translates to more votes for the political Left:

But there is a third, critical factor working against the Republicans that is unique to Northern Virginia, and that is the marked demographic shift in the region credited with providing Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine with almost his entire margin of victory in his statewide gubernatorial race last November.

Not only did Kaine carry all areas of the region, including the more outlying Loudoun and Prince William counties, but Democrats

The results were, in part, attributed to the rise of the high tech, government contracts industry in the region, creating the fastest-growing job creation numbers in the nation in the last three years. While the boom is the result of the Bush administration’s war on terror and related initiatives, it is ironically adding to a voter base in the region that overall is anything but supportive of Bush and especially conservative GOP politicians.

This “new demographic” corresponds to what George Mason University’s Dr. Richard Florida calls the “Creative Class,” composed of well-educated, pragmatic, younger scientifically-based folk ranging from engineers to artisans who are critical thinkers and, above all, believe in fairness and equal justice.

Gee, apparently “better looking,” “taller,” “thinner,” “healthier,” “more stylish” and “affluent” were left out. This is a set of ridiculously subjective (or dare I say, unscientific) descriptives smashed together to make the Left’s ideal vision of itself look hip and noble at the same time.

Nonetheless, I will go along with at least this much: Northern Virginia’s demographics have changed substantially in the last several years, as can be expected given the enormous population and job growth, particularly in the exurban (as opposed to closer-in D.C. suburban) parts of the region. And, indeed, this shift will pose challenges to both Republican and Democrat incumbents and their entrenched powerbrokers.

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