Prince William County Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) made his third appearance before members of Congress today.

This time Stewart provided testimony to Republican members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration. The subject on tap this Sept. 11 was, "Unnecessary Crimes: The Toll of Illegal Alien Criminal on American Families."

The hearing was stacked with a sympathetic audience. Tears interrupted the emotional testimony of the victims' families.

But by the time the hearing turned to Stewart and a Houston Police Officers Union representative, the tears were substituted with applause.

"Local leadership alone cannot get the job done," Stewart said, after citing crime rate statistics and telling stories about crimes committed in Prince William.

When he spoke to the subcommittee a year ago, all its members were there. This time, only the GOP members heard what he had to say.

"I am disappointed to see that the majority party no longer considers this issue a priority," Stewart said. "Unfortunately, at the local level, we don't have the luxury to ignore it."

Prince William County Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) testified before the House Republican Policy Committee on immigration enforcement this afternoon.

Not sure exactly what he had to say, since he spoke "extemporaneously" -- his office sent out a release announcing his appearance after the hearing started. The last time Stewart testified before Congress, he veered from the county-prepared text, upsetting some supervisors.

On his way into the Board of Supervisors meeting, which started before he made it back to Prince William, he said he spoke about the "remarkable success of the crackdown on illegal immigration," citing a 19.3 percent decrease in the crime rate.

It didn't take Herndon Mayor Stephen J. DeBenedittis long to jump into re-election mode. Less than a week after Town Council member Harlon Reece announced his candidacy for mayor in the May 6 elections, DeBenedittis has formally declared that he will seek a second term.

RICHMOND - Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) tonight delivered the State of the Commonwealth address to the Joint Assembly in Richmond. The text of his speech follows:
"Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the General Assembly, my fellow Virginians:

It is with great pride in our shared history that we return tonight to our historic Capitol. This Capitol is entering its 220th year of service, as home to the oldest continuous legislature in the New World.

Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell (R) unveiled his legislative priorities Tuesday, a day before the state's lawmakers get to work for this year's 60-day session in Richmond.

It came the same day former governor and U.S. senator George Allen announced he will not run for governor in 2009. Allen's announcement clears the field a bit for McDonnell, who could face Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling for the Republican nomination.

Earlier today, I conducted a 20-minute interview with New York Public Radio about Virginia politics.

Amy Eddings, a guest host for the "The Leonard Lopate Show" on WYNC, wanted to know if Virginia really is turning blue? We discussed last week's state legislative elections and next year's presidential and U.S. Senate contests. I also took questions about the state's shifting demographics, illegal immigration and the role of military voters in state politics.

You can find an audio clip of the interview here.

RICHMOND- Here are the answers to the election questions asked in the Oct. 25 Virginia Notebook after Democrats won the four seats needed to reclaim control of the state Senate and also make inroads in the House of Delegates.

Q Can a Republican still win inside the Beltway?

A Maybe. With Democrat Margaret G. Vanderhye's victory over Republican David M. Hunt for the seat of retiring Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-Fairfax), there will be no elected Republican state official next year representing an inside-the-Beltway district. Hunt lost by just 540 votes, however. In Alexandria, Del. David L. Englin (D) beat Republican challenger Mark S. Allen by nearly 2 to 1. Even so, I wouldn't write off a Republican candidate's chance to someday prevail in Arlington, Alexandria or Fairfax.

Corey A. Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, said today he won't be a candidate for Congress next year.

Stewart, a Republican who was reelected last week with 55 percent of the vote, has been widely mentioned as a possible U.S. House candidate in the 11th District if Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Fairfax) decides not to seek reelection.

But Stewart said in an interview he has "never liked legislatures" and prefers being board chairman.

"The thought of being one of 435 people isn't appealing," Stewart said today. "Congress isn't all it's cracked up to be. You've got to run every two years, you are constantly campaigning."

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D) swept all nine magisterial districts in his thumping of Republican Gary H. Baise on Tuesday. He carried Sully and Springfield -- which he lost to Mychele B. Brickner (R) in 2003 -- by comfortable margins.

A closer look at the returns confirms that Connolly was successful in neutralizing illegal immigration as an issue. Connolly opposed get tough measures touted by other candidates such as withholding services and involving local police in immigration enforcement. Yet he won Herndon, the region's longtime immigration battleground, with nearly 57 percent of the vote, better than his showing in 2003.

The numbers also suggest that Connolly's push for creation of the "Enhanced Code Enforcement Strike Team" to crack down on illegal boarding houses also paid political dividends. In Lee District, he handily won precincts that generated the most complaints about residential overcrowding -- including Crestwood, which he narrowly lost to Brickner in 2003.

Several Republican incumbents in the House defeated Democratic challengers or third-party candidates. Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax) faced neither but he still only garnered almost 88 percent of the vote.

An extraordinary number - more than 12 percent - of the vote in 42nd District in Fairfax County for write-in candidates. In one precinct it was higher than 37 percent.

Albo said a handful of anti-Republican activists who run the albomustgo Web site stood outside three precincts - Lorton, Lorton Station and Laurel Hill - to convince voters to write in other candidates' names. That doesn't explain the high numbers, one more than 10 percent, in some of the other precincts.

"It's an 8th grade campaign,'' Albo said. "They hate Republicans."

The pollster for Fairfax County Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D) says his re-election campaign provides an example of how illegal immigration can be turned into "a second-tier issue" by candidates who emphasize problem-solving and leadership.

With the Nov..6 election less than two weeks away, here are some questions raised by the races throughout the state. Answers will appear in the next Virginia Notebook, which will be published Nov..15.

Q. Can a Republican still win inside the Beltway? Retiring Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-Fairfax) is the last Republican elected official representing a district that is mainly inside the Capital Beltway. Republican Dave Hunt and Democrat Margaret G. Vanderhye are vying to replace Callahan. If Vanderhye wins, it will complete the Democrats' 30-year effort to purge Alexandria, Arlington County and inner Fairfax County of Republican officeholders

It hasn't been an easy week for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D).

With the Nov..6 election a month away, Democrats had been feeling increasingly confident they could make big gains in the General Assembly. But their momentum might be stopped by the Kaine administration's blunder involving the appointment of Esam S. Omeish to the Virginia Commission on Immigration.

Republicans are seizing on the Omeish fiasco, using it to energize the party's conservative base. But in trying to score political points, have Republicans once again proven they're out of touch with increasingly diverse Northern Virginia?

Virginia Del. C. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) asked a "national reformed Muslim organization" to put together some guidelines for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) to consider before he replaces Dr. Esam Omeish on the Virginia Commission on Immigration.

Some Fairfax County Democrats are still buzzing about Gary H. Baise's likening of illegal immigration to the heroin trade at his Sept. 18 Chamber of Commerce debate with Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D).

Members of the Virginia Commission on Immigration this morning overwhelmingly selected Sen. John C. Watkins (R-Chesterfield), a moderate, over Del. Robert W. Marshall (R-Prince William) as the chairman of the panel.

Despite Marshall's arguments that he should be chairman because he sponsored the bill establishing the commission, the panel voted 16 to 3 to elect Watkins. The panel is suppose to advise Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) on possible changes to state policies related to immigration.

In the days leading up to the vote, moderate Senate Republicans and Kaine administration officials sought to line up support for Watkins because they said they thought Marshall was too conservative and combative to be effective.

There could be fireworks tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Virginia Commission on Immigration's first meeting.

The commission is studying the state's immigration policies and advising Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) on whether the state should adopt new policies to restrict of the flow of illegal immigrants into the state.

Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) was the sponsor of the bill establishing the committee, so he says he should be the chairman of the 20-member panel. But sources say moderate Senate GOP leaders and Kaine administration officials are trying to install Sen. John C. Watkins (R-Chesterfield) as chairman because Marshall has a reputation for being too combative and conservative.