Too Close to Call in VA Congressional Race: Will Tea Party Help or Hurt Republican Challenger?

Midterm elections are just weeks away and outside Washington, DC the race for a Congressional seat in a competitive district of Virginia is heating up. Located in Virginia's 2nd district, the race pits Republican candidate Scott Rigell against Congressman Glenn Nye, a freshman Democrat. Rigell has mounted what is shaping up to be a successful campaign against Nye, in a race that is now considered a toss up according to the latest Real Clear Politics estimate. Nye's district, which has long trended Republican, voted him into office in 2008 with a 52 to 48 percent win over his incumbent challenger, Thelma Drake.

Going up against Nye this time around is local business owner Scott Rigell, who, while not endorsed by the Tea Party, has signed a pledge authored by a local Tea Party chapter, something he hopes will bolster his campaign between now and election day. If last week's win for Christine O'Donnell in Delaware's GOP Senate primary is any indication, Rigell can expect to gain momentum from aligning himself with Tea Party principles. After distancing himself from the Tea Party earlier in his campaign, Rigell defended his decision to sign on to a local Tea Party pledge Sunday on Fox News, saying "the pledge was to the people of the second district [of Virginia]" and that the values "in the pledge are core values" he's held all his life.

Rigell is also benefitting from numerous high profile conservative endorsements, among them the second most powerful Republican in the House, Congressman Eric Cantor, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Virginia Governor George Allen. To those who question whether Rigell is a true conservative, and cite his 1,000 dollar donation to the Presidential campaign of Barack Obama, Rigell said his strong showing during the Republican primary back in June speaks for itself, and that he's "looking forward to a victory on November 2nd."

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