Congressional Republicans ask newly-elected Virginia rep to break lawand vote in Congress, he refuse

By TYLER WHITLEY

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Rep.-elect Robert J. "Rob" Wittman resisted efforts by Republican

leaders in Congress to be sworn in today, in time to vote on tax and

energy legislation.

The 48-year-old Republican won an overwhelming victory Tuesday in a

special election for the 1st District seat formerly held by Rep. Jo

Ann Davis, a Gloucester County Republican who died in early October of

breast cancer.

A research of state law showed that Wittman cannot join Congress until

the State Board of Elections certifies his victory Dec. 20, an aide

said.

Wittman plans to resign his House of Delegates seat representing the

Northern Neck's 99th District after he is sworn in, spokesman Bill

Kling said. State law prohibits an elected official from holding two

offices at the same time.

Because of a coding error in James City County that fed misinformation

to the State Board of Elections' statewide computer system, several

thousand votes were not accounted for Tuesday night.

As a result, Wittman's margin of victory declined yesterday and the

turnout increased.

The final, unofficial vote count showed Wittman winning 50,079 votes,

or 59.43 percent of the total, to Democrat Phil Forgit's 32,432, or

38.5 percent. Independent Lucky R. Narain of Yorktown won 1,656, or 2

percent.

A total of 84,252 people voted, or 18.6 percent of registered voters

in the district.

The resignation will trigger a special election for Wittman's seat in

the House of Delegates. Because state law forbids an election 60 days

before a primary, the earliest date an election could be held would be

Feb. 19, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday.

That would be a week after Virginia's Feb. 12 presidential primaries.

Democrat Albert C. Pollard Jr., whom Wittman succeeded in the 99th

House district in 2006, said he plans to run for the House seat. While

Pollard recently lost a state Senate election to Republican Richard

Stuart, he won all the Northern Neck counties.

Davis' fourth two-year term in the House of Representatives expires in

January, 2009. Wittman said he plans to run for re-election next

November.

After only three hours sleep, Wittman traveled from his Montross home

to Newport News early yesterday morning to thank workers arriving at

the giant shipyard there. Wittman caught shift workers arriving at

5:15 a.m.

"I wanted to let folks know that I am here to work hard," Wittman

said.

Wanting to hold onto a congressional seat that has been in Republican

hands since 1976, the National Republican Congressional Committee put

$120,000 into the Wittman campaign, campaign finance reports show.

This angered Democrats, including Forgit.

Kaine told a news conference yesterday that he asked national

Democrats to spend money on the race.

"I look at Virginia as my one and only; they're looking at 50 places,"

Kaine said.

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-12-13-0163.html