Politics of the Purple Cow

There’s been a bunch of talk in the blogosphere about the Democrats taking over the Virginia Senate. I’ve only really glanced at these, because I don’t live in Virginia, but I got email today pointing out that I have a personal connection to one of the “Key Races.” In District 34, J. C. “Chap” Petersen defeated the Republican incumbent, Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, 55-45 in what the Washington Post calls a “bitter and costly battle.”

Chap was the president of the rugby club at Williams my freshman year, and the guy who stuck me with my nickname, back in the day. Go figure. He’s run for office a few times before– the first time was before I left DC in ’99– and he finally won one. He’s got a good quote in the Post piece:

Petersen said he was “very, very pleased.” He attributed his wide margin to voter fatigue with Republican rule: “No doubt being a Democrat was helpful. That was a piece of the puzzle.”

So, hey, another step in the inevitable takeover of American society by members of the WRFC.