If Democrats can win at least four of the 23 seats the Republicans now hold in the 40-member Virginia Senate in Tuesday's elections, they will have their first Senate majority in a dozen years.

In the 100-seat House, it's far less likely that Democrats will gain the 11 GOP seats they need to take control.

For Democrats, winning the Senate is a strategic imperative. It's the last Senate race before the General Assembly redraws legislative and congressional district boundaries in 2011. Without control of at least one legislative chamber, Republicans can minimize the number of Democrat-friendly districts, just as they did in 2001, and lock in GOP majorities for another decade.

The stakes for both sides are clear from the more than $60 million raised by legislative candidates on Tuesday's ballot — double the fundraising the last time every legislative seat was up for election in 2003. This year's total includes 767 checks of $1,000 or more written from Oct. 24 through Friday. Those "late-large" contributions are worth nearly $5 million, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project.

Democrats enjoy a few tactical advantages:

_ Of the six open Senate seats, all but one were held by Republicans. In the lone Democratic open seat, the Democratic nominee faces no GOP rival. Four of the five open seats of departing Republicans face serious, well-financed Democrats.

_ Democrats are targeting several Republican incumbents, including three in the Democrat-friendly suburbs of Washington, D.C.

_ Democrats have a popular sitting governor, a popular multimillionaire former governor and a star freshman U.S. Sen. to help their legislative candidates raise money and attract big crowds until election day.

Even so, neither side can guarantee the decisive 21 or more seats in the Senate come Wednesday.

The most hotly contested races:

DISTRICT 1: Republican Tricia Stall signed a pledge with the Alliance for the Separation of School and State to support "ending government involvement in education." Democrats saw that as a golden opportunity and fielded John C. Miller. But in a Hampton Roads district where voters are angered about new regional transportation taxes, her anti-tax message has resonance. Stall beat Sen. Marty Williams, R-Newport News, in a June primary.

Miller raised $920,000 as of Oct. 24, and received about $26,000 in late-large checks since; Stall raised $724,000 by that date, and has received $100,000 in late-large donations.

DISTRICT 6: Two-term Sen. Nick Rerras, R-Norfolk, a resolute campaigner, is in a difficult race with Democratic Norfolk neurosurgeon Ralph Northam. Haunting Rerras are his remarks about demonic possession as the cause of mental illness and "feminazis" who want tough enforcement of laws against spouse abuse. Rerras has responded, as GOP candidates in many races have, by labeling Northam as a coddler of illegal immigrants.

Rerras raised $670,000 and $109,000 in late-large donations; Northam raised about $1 million and $108,000 in late-large cash.

DISTRICT 22: Former GOP Roanoke Mayor Ralph Smith, a hard-line conservative, defeated moderate Sen. Brandon Bell in the GOP primary. In a district that votes Republican but likes moderation in its leaders, Democrat Michael J. Breiner is appealing to centrists.

Breiner raised about $628,000 and $78,000 in late-large donations; Smith raised $278,000 and $54,000 in late-large contributions.

DISTRICT 27: Republicans had always planned a nomination challenge to moderate Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr., R-Winchester. Potts retired this year after four terms. Conservative GOP nominee Jill Holtzman Vogel was co-counsel to in the 2000 Florida presidential recount for the Bush-Cheney campaign. She runs in what has been a solidly Republican district, but rapid suburban sprawl into the region makes it more moderate and makes Democrat Karen Schultz competitive.

Holtzman has raised nearly $1.5 million, and $47,000 more in late-large donations; Schultz raised nearly $1 million and about $286,000 in late-large contributions.

DISTRICT 28: The retirement of Sen. John H. Chichester, R-Northumberland, after 7 1/2 terms leaves Richard Stuart as the GOP nominee in the fast-growing Fredericksburg and Northern Neck district. Democrat Albert Pollard, a former House member, mixed some conservative views with a strong green streak. Transportation, the environment and illegal immigration are issues.

Pollard raised about $975,000 plus about $161,000 in late-large contributions; Stuart raised about $874,000 and about $192,000 in late-large donations.

DISTRICT 29: Sen. Charles J. Colgan, D-Prince William, after nine terms, is the Senate's longest-serving member. He considered retirement after his best friend, Republican Del. Harry Parrish of Prince William, died in 2006, but saw the 2007 Transportation Act as unfinished business for his congested, fast-growing region. Colgan supports a fuel tax to fund a broader transportation solution. The hot button illegal immigration issue in Prince William has put what appeared to be easy re-election over Republican Robert FitzSimmonds in doubt. FitzSimmonds wants employers who hire illegal immigrants punished and favors denying in-state tuition at state colleges to undocumented immigrants. Colgan also supports harsher measures for hiring illegals.

Colgan has raised $445,000; Fitzsimmonds raised about $461,000 plus $11,500 in late-large donations.

DISTRICT 34: No Republican senator's district has as many Democratic voters as Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis's does. Democrats targeted Devolites Davis, running former Del. Chap Petersen. In the expensive and contentious race, she has tried to run to Petersen's left in supporting gay rights and gun control. Devolites Davis's chief backer has been her husband, Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis, who has poured nearly $700,000 from his congressional campaign committee into her re-election bid, including a $250,000 check on Tuesday. Petersen's has received at least $430,000 from Democratic PACs.

Devolites Davis raised nearly $1.5 million and about $354,000 in late-large money; Petersen raised about $1.2 million and added about $230,000 in late-large donations.

DISTRICT 37: Another targeted northern Virginia Republican is Sen. Ken Cuccinelli. Transportation is a major issue in the district — one of the state's most gridlocked. Democrat Janet Oleszek has attacked Cuccinelli as pro-gun, anti-abortion and a backer of the 2007 transportation law that imposes harsh new penalties on "abusive drivers." Cuccinelli has fought back, describing Oleszek as having an insatiable appetite for tax increases.

Cuccinelli raised nearly $1.1 million plus and late-large cash of about $56,000; Oleszek had slightly more than $900,000 and about $247,000 in late-large donations.

DISTRICT 39: Also targeted is Sen. Jay O'Brien, who is relying heavily on the issue of illegal immigrants to win re-election in a district that straddles Fairfax and Prince William counties. He backs local governments' controversial efforts to deny illegal immigrants government services. Democrat George Barker has made transportation his top issue and attacked O'Brien for supporting the abusive-driving fees, which can reach into the thousands of dollars yet do not apply to out-of-state drivers.

O'Brien raised about $826,000 plus about $242 in late-large contributions; Barker raised about $830,000 plus about $52,000 in late-large money.


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