Congressman-elect Glenn Nye, a 34 year old, first-time candidate, defeated incumbent Thelma Drake for Virginia's 2nd district Congressional seat. Nye ended Drake's 4 year reign as Congresswoman from this coastal Virginia district in a close election, 52.40% (141,857) to 47.46% (128,486).  Glenn is the most recent Camp Wellstone Alum elected to the United States Congress, bringing the total to four within the 111^th Congress, joining John Hall of New York's 19^th district, Dave Loebsack of Iowa's 2^nd and Tim Walz of Minnesota's 1^st.

Though he will be one of the youngest members in Congress, Glenn comes to politics with a strong background in foreign service.  Nye has experience in the Middle East working with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on a community development program in the West Bank and Gaza; he also recently worked in Iraq, "where he advised a  program, working closely with military colleagues to stabilize Iraqi neighborhoods by creating employment for over 70,000 Iraqis". (Congresspedia) In addition, he served as US Foreign Service Officer with American Diplomatic Missions in Macedonia, Kosovo, and Singapore. These experiences position him to be a strong, knowledgeable voice in international relations.  

Local democrats were happy with the result, but credited the victory to Nye's message, hard working volunteers, and the notion of change in this trying time for our country.

"I think people were ready for change," said Will Jenkins, Nye's communications director, on Wednesday. "Clearly, we're seeing that everywhere." Jenkins credited Nye's win to "his experience and his message, his common sense."

Frank Moore, chairman of Accomack's Democratic Party, said Nye's win "was a surprise to many people, including me." He credited the county's dozens of volunteers for helping get the message out.

Others focused on Nye's appeal to "to the Virginia 2^nd's large base of military voters, and likely got some help from the Democratic coattails of Obama and Warner. Drake, with 13 years in elected office and an army of loyal supporters, raised more money during the campaign, but an infusion of money from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee propelled Nye's final push." He will be able to fight for those military constituents' needs as the freshman "has been promised a spot on the Armed Services Committee, a crucial post" for the military-heavy district. 

Though it is plausible that Obama helped push Nye to victory it seems unlikely when considering the following; "In upsetting Drake, the Democrat outperformed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in the district which includes the Eastern Shore, all of Virginia Beach and parts of Norfolk and Hampton. Nye won by 12,402 votes. Obama carried the district by 560 votes out of 247,000 cast." Perhaps Glenn Nye the Congress guy along with Mark Warner, former governor, now Senator-elect, had some coattails of their own in Virginia's 2^nd district. 

Though the election of Mark Warner and Barack Obama surely provided an assist, it is through focused, thoughtful messaging, a strong volunteer base, and a coherent voter contact program that voters are persuaded and mobilized. At Camp Wellstone we teach these skills for winning elections and we are proud to see Glenn Nye ascend to the halls of Congress as our 4^th alumni. If you are interested in attending trainings near your area check here.

Photo used under Creative Commons License via Lawyer Mama.