Jeffrey M. Frederick promised to fight for the Virginia Republican party chairmanship. Signs of his public campaign surfaced this afternoon when the party faithful received robo calls urging them to stick with him.

The calls, which appear to be sent to people who attended the party convention, say Richmond elitists are behind the effort to oust him. The culprits are pro-tax, anti-gun and pro-choice, according to the recorded message. And it explicitly calls out GOP gubernatorial candidate Robert F. McDonnell, who waded into battle over Frederick's fitness to serve.

Earlier this month the state party's governing body asked Del. Frederick (R-Prince William) to resign after a series of missteps, internal squabbles and the party's election losses last year. Frederick faces a vote to remove him at an emergency state central committee meeting next month.

Frederick campaigned for the job of chairman last year as a young, energetic leader who blamed his predecessor for failures at the ballot box. But many now consider his short tenure a failure, citing his lackluster fundraising, his disputes with Sen. John McCain's campaign team and his ill-timed remark comparing Sen. Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden.

We're calling the 11th Congressional District, with 75 percent of precincts reporting. As results came in, Connolly maintained his edge, holding onto 52 percent of the vote.

9:45
The race remains evenly divided, with 75 percent of precincts reporting.

Much of Fairfax and Prince William counties have yet to be counted. The Northern Virginia counties have 26 percent and 32 percent of precincts reporting, respectively.

Loudoun County has 65 percent of precincts reporting. Obama is maintaining a lead in each of the vote-rich counties.

9:25 p.m.
The difference is marginal now. With 67 percent of precincts reporting, McCain has 49.58 percent to Obama's 49.3.

8:54 p.m.
The gap is tighter. With 56 percent of precincts in, McCain has 50 percent of votes to Obama's 48 percent.

8:40 p.m.
In the presidential race McCain is holding a steady lead over Obama. With 42 percent of precincts counted, McCain has a 52 percent edge over Obama's 46 percent.

That total, however, does not include several vote-rich Northern Virginia cities and counties.

8:25
In the closely-watched 11th Congressional District, the race is tight.

Democrat Gerald E. Connolly (D) had 50 percent to Republican Keith S. Fimian's 47 percent, with 8 percent of precincts reporting.

Fimian, a successful business owner, lacks the name-recoginition of Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. But Fimian appears to be holding his own in early returns.

Democrats are counting on Connolly's popularity and the changing demographics of Northern Virginia, which has increasingly trended blue, to support a win.

8:15 p.m.

In Virginia's 8th District, Democrat James P. Moran had a commanding lead over low-profile newcomer Republican Mark W. Ellmore. With 10 percent of precincts reporting, the nine-term incumbent Moran held a 67 percent advantage over Ellmore's 30 percent.

7: 54 p.m.

It's very early, but Republican incumbent Frank R. Wolf appears to have a strong lead over Democrat Judith M. Feder in the 10th Congressional District. Wolf was leading with 66 percent to 33 percent. Independent Neeraj C. Nigam held 1 percent of the vote.

In the 1st Congressional district, that includes parts of Prince William and Fauquier counties, Republican Robert J. "Rob" Wittman held a convincing lead over Democrat Bill S. Day, Jr. and Libertarian Nathan D. Larson. With 8 percent of precincts reporting, Wittman had 60 percent to Day's 38 percent.

Now we wait for results to come in. But here's one thing we already know: Virginia mattered this year.

Sen. Barack Obama's decision to make a play for Virginia's 13 electoral votes meant that Sen. John McCain had to fight for votes in what had once been considered a reliably Republican state.

Democratic presidential candidates used to say "why bother?" campaigning in Virginia, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said at the Obama rally in Manassas last night. Republican presidential nominees said "we don't need to."

Well that won't work anymore.

This election year we got to relish in our new swing state status. Regardless of the outcome, we'll retain that.

Here's what else is at stake in down ballot races:

A U.S. Senate race that pit two former governors against each other - Democrat Mark R. Warner and Republican James S. Gilmore III.

In Virginia's 11 Congressional races, Democrats hope to narrow the Republicans' 8-3 advantage in the House.

Tonight we'll finally find out whether Virginia will hold onto its Old Dominion moniker or give way to what former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder has dubbed the New Dominion.

Barack Obama brought his 21-month campaign to a close tonight before what was called one of the largest gatherings in Prince William County history.

Tonight's "Change We Need" rally in Manassas was the Democrat's final campaign appearance before Tuesday's election.

Obama ended his general election campaign where it started -- in Virginia. After winning the Democratic nomination in June, Obama held rallies in Bristol and at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow in Prince William County.

"Despite what our opponents may say, there are no real or fake parts of Virginia, any more then there are real or fake parts of America," Obama said. "Virginia, your voice can change the world tomorrow."

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."

Looks like Sean T. Connaughton won't be returning to elected office anytime soon.

President Bush announced today that he intends to nominate Connaughton to be Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission for the remainder of a five-year term, through June 2012.

Connaughton has served as Administrator of the Maritime Administration at the Department of Transportation for the last two years.

Connaughton, who resigned as Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors to accept the Bush administration appointment, lost a bid to be the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor in 2005.

There has long been talk he would run for statewide office again when the Bush administration ended, but he's apparently put those plans on hold. . . for now.

It's a little early, but former U.S. Marine and retired Secret Service veteran Mike Hodge, has filed for the House of Delegates 52nd District. The seat isn't up until 2009.

Hodge, a Democrat, apparently wants to stake his claim on the seat while the plans of Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick (R-Prince William) are still up in the air. Frederick, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, initially vowed not to seek re-election next year if he was elected chair. But last month he said he may reconsider that pledge.

Hodge, who lives in Montclair, is touting his military and law enforcement background. He oversees the corporate security department at Washington Gas.

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.

Prince William County supervisors continue to deal with the aftermath of budget cuts.

Several citizens showed up at today's board meeting to lament cuts to the county's budget, including the Manassas senior day program.

One of the people who spoke was the wife of Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who is locked in a tight race for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate with James S. Gilmore.

Cathy Marshall said her 80-year-old father, Edward Fonseca, uses the senior day program several times a week. She implored the board to reconsider its decision.

A week after the Prince William Board of County Supervisors changed its hallmark illegal immigration enforcement, supervisors continue to argue over whether it was rolled back or expanded.

The board voted unanimously last Tuesday to direct police officers to question criminal suspects about their immigration status after an arrest is made. The policy the board approved in October ordered officers to check the legal status of all suspects, no matter how minor the offense, if they had reason to believe the person might be in the country unlawfully.

Nearly 100 people spoke at a hearing last night on the Prince William County budget. Although many people thought the county's illegal immigration policy would dominate the testimony, the crackdown took a back seat to firefighters, who showed up in droves.

Several firefighters implored the Board of County Supervisors to fully fund this year's proposed budget, which upgrades the department to regional and national standards. The updates were prompted in large part by the death of firefighter Kyle R. Wilson last year.

"This budget was driven by one priority and that was safety," said Adam Mowry, a career firefighter. "We need to catch up. Funding anything less would be nothing short of irresponsible."