Decision Virginia

Meet Jill Holtzman-Vogel. She is the only female member of the Republican Senate Minority in the Virginia General Assembly. Before last week, she was a just an average member of the state legislature. Now that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been thrust into a national spotlight, Vogel is drawing comparisons to the GOP V-P pick. Vogel is a socially conservative Republican and is currently pregnant. She is also a practicing lawyer in Northern Virginia.

*note, I previously had said that Vogel was pregnant with her 5th child which, as reader pointed out was incorrect.

Tonight at 11 we will introduce you Vogel and show you the similarities that she has with Sarah Palin. (She even kind of looks like her). We will also take a look at the controversies swirling around Palin and we will explore the impact it could have on the race for the White House.

Speaking of which, our current DecisionVirginia.com poll asks your opinion on the Sarah Palin controversies. To vote go to the main political page and cast your ballot. We wil have the results tonight at 11.

Barack Obama’s running mate Joe Biden has announced a plan to come to Virginia tomorrow, for what is rumored to be two stops, but neither of which will be in Richmond.

This will be the Democratic VP nominee’s first trip to Virginia since he was named to the ticket. And, to reiterate a frequently mentioned point, it puts further emphasis on how close the race is in this battleground state.

It is confirmed that Biden will be in Virginia Beach and then could travel to Northern Virginia.  We will update you as soon as we learn more.

Ryan Nobles - bio | email

Here we go again. Except this time it is coming after us. The newsroom is bracing or the remnants of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hanna which are expected to hit us sometime Friday and into Saturday. (Just, by the way, when I have family in town for the NASCAR race). I as, many Richmonders, probably are, am hoping this storm either takes its time to get here, or decides to just fall apart. (Both of which probably have no meteorological chance of happening.) Our weather team is following that action closely on their blog. So while everyone is focused on the rain. I will attempt to stay focused on politics.

Here is what we are working on for tonight:

Palin Speech- Today could be a make or break night for the Republicans in St. Paul. Sarah Palin will give her acceptance speech and it will be her first opportunity to make her case to the American People. She and the McCain campaign have spent the last few days dogging controversies in her personal life that have made her introduction to the national stage a rocky one. Will she be able to overcome that or will she wilt under the pressure? It could be one of the key moments in the campaign.

Sen. Jill Holtzman-Vogel- Jill Holtzman-Vogel is the only Republican woman in the Virginia State Senate and she is currently pregnant with her fifth child. She has many similarities to the new pick for Vice President and is in St. Paul tonight for her speech. We will talk to her about the demands of family life and public office and if Palin can get past the revelations about her personal life.

Lynn Swann- I also talked with Pro Football Hall of Famer Lynn Swann. He is a staunch Republican and recently lost a race for Governor of Pennsylvania. The former Pittsburgh Steeler great is one of the few prominent African-Americans supporting John McCain. He is also a very strong social conservative. We will hear what he has to say about Barack Obama’s message of change and how that differs from the one he offered as a candidate for Governor 2 years ago. (And yes I did talk to him about his Alma Mater USC crushing UVA, but don’t worry that won’t be part of my story).

Our coverage begins tonight at 5:30pm on NBC 12

Ryan Nobles - bio | email

It was about this time last week that Virginians were getting set to watch Governor Warner’s speech from Denver. Say what you want about his performance, but there is no doubt that it did not have the national appeal that previous speakers in that slot have received (namely Barack Obama and Bill Clinton).

Warner, however is still bantied about as a national candidate and I even read a story that said Obama’s pick of Joe Biden, makes him the frontrunner to run for President on the Democratic side in 2012 or 2016 depending on what happens this year. (I did not write it, Hillary supporters).

But before all of that happens, Warner has to win his race for Senate here in Virginia. Even though every measure you can take at this point shows that he is cruising to an easy victory, his fiesty opponent Jim Gilmore remains positive and hopeful that he has a legitimate shot to win in November.

Tonight at 11 we will take a closer look at Gilmore’s plan to break in to Warner’s lead.