'Political middle' lost in legislature with redistricting

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The ongoing conflict in Richmond over the state budget and transportation shows how redistricting has muted centrists' voices and split Republicans along ideological lines, lawmakers and political scientists say.

"A lot of the political middle has seemed to disappear from the legislature," said Mark Rozell, a politics professor at George Mason University. "Now you have many more representatives that are really cause-oriented, and cause-oriented types are not very good at settling for half a loaf in order to get a deal."

Stephen J. Farnsworth, a politics professor at the University of Mary Washington, said redistricting has created voting districts so homogeneous that primary elections determine which candidates will become part of the General Assembly.

Homogeneous voting districts force candidates to focus on advocating specific issues such as abortion or tax relief, instead of developing a consensus among disparate voters, he said.

"In most House districts, if you win the primary, you are going to Richmond," Mr. Farnsworth said. "So instead of worrying about being in the moderate camp, all you really need to do is win your Democratic or Republican primary.

"The most ideological extreme -- 10 percent of the electorate -- are the ones who make the decisions in these one-sided contests," he said.

In the longest extended session in Virginia's history, the Republican-controlled General Assembly has been locked in a contest of wills for 130 days. The Senate wants to increase taxes for transportation projects, but the House wants to tap the state's billion-dollar surplus for transportation funds.

The impasse marks the legislature's fourth special session this decade and the fourth time this decade it has failed to produce a budget within its regular 60-day session.

In 2001, Congress approved Virginia's redistricting plan, which placed many incumbents in single-party voting districts. That year, most of the General Assembly's elections were decided in the primaries.

Last year, 11 of the House's 100 races were decided by less than 10 percent of the vote and only three incumbents lost, said Delegate Brian J. Moran of Alexandria, leader of the Democratic caucus.