Republicans continued to blame Gov. Tim Kaine -- and his would-be successor Creigh Deeds -- for being slow in spending the state's share of federal stimulus money for transportation.

U.S. Frank Wolf and Fairfax Supervisor Pat Herrity, among others, criticized Kaine this morning on a conference call for not using the money for much-needed existing projects in congested Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

"We could use that money desperately,'' Wolf told reporters. "We're in a critical situation. The economic growth and the opportunities here depend on improving transportation. There are a lot of things up here that that money could be used for."

Republicans have been talking nonstop about transportation stimulus money since Friday, when the Democratic chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee sent Kaine a stern letter that said the state is the last in the nation to spend its money.

"These projects have all been on the book for years. I just don't understand why they are not moving," Herrity said. "It seems we ought to be leading the pack, not behind the pack."

The liberal group Americans United for Change is airing TV ads criticizing U.S. Reps. Frank Wolf of Northern Virginia and Eric Cantor of Richmond for voting against a climate bill that would establish limits on greenhouse gases, create a trading system for emission permits and provide incentives to alter how companies use energy.

The group is spending $430,000 on the ads, which began airing this week and will run through Sept. 7. The "Dear Congressman" ads will run on cable TV in Washington (for Wolf) and on broadcast TV in Richmond (for Cantor).

The health care debate is hitting the road. Expect to hear plenty about it during Congress's monthlong August recess.

Here in Virginia, national Democrats have started making calls -- both automated and live -- in Rep. Frank Wolf's Northern Virginia district to push him to to support President Obama's health care plan.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting 25 Republicans as part of a program called "Health Care ER" that includes radio ads, phone calls, mass e-mails, letters to the editor, online petitions and teleconference town halls.

"Time and again, Republicans including Rep. Wolf protect a broken system of skyrocketing costs, insurance companies making health care decisions, and record-setting insurance company profits instead of working with President Obama to bring real health insurance reform for middle class families," said Jon Vogel, executive director.

Wolf spokesman Dan Scandling called the attack "standard operating procedure," and said his office is receiving four times as many calls against the health care plan as for it. "I think the only people who support the health care plan are the people working at the DCCC," he said.

Read the script of the calls in Wolf's district below:

And you thought rest stops were just a convenient place to break up a long road trip, use the facilities and grab a Mr. Pibb from the vending machine.

Rest areas have become a hot political issue after VDOT announced that it will be shuttering 18 of the roadside respites, beginning tonight, as a cost-saving measure. The decision has provoked criticism from those who say Virginia's tourism industry will suffer (you know, all those pamphlets). More importantly, they say, it will rob the highways of some of a safe space for a drowsy driver to take a break before getting back on the road.

No fewer than three politicians have sent out alerts to the media today demanding that the rest areas be kept open. Lieutenant Gov. Bill Bolling has suggested using paving money to keep the rest stops operating. Rep. Frank Wolf (R) sent a letter to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) "imploring" him to "reverse this terrible decision." Gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell went so far as to say that, if elected, he would reopen them within 90 days of assuming office.

"If the rest stops do close tomorrow, and remain dark in the months ahead, that will end when I am elected governor," he said in a statement.

When asked about the issue in a conference call this morning, McDonnell's Democratic opponent Sen. Creigh Deeds one-upped the former attorney general, saying he would reopen the rest areas within 60 days.

The Post's editorial staff surveyed some of the top names in Virginia politics and punditry, asking what it will take for Creigh Deeds or Bob McDonnell to win the governor's mansion in the fall.

The results range the spectrum. Gov. Tim Kaine thinks the election is about continuing the governing approach advanced by he and former Gov. Mark Warner. So does top Democratic strategist Mo Elleithee. But analyst and blogger Bob Holsworth warns Deeds not to tie himself too closely to Warner and Kaine in an uncertain times; voters will want to see Deeds be his own man.

Author Garrett Epps and Republican strategist J. Kenneth Klinge agree the race will likely be won in the suburbs. Republican Del. H. Morgan Griffith says both candidates should master the policy details because voters are itching for substance.

The selections all make for some very interesting reading. They'll be published in tomorrow's paper, but you can get a sneak peak here.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Robert F. McDonnell unveiled a multi-part plan to address gang violence this afternoon as the former attorney general portrayed himself as the choice law-and-order candidate.

"We have seen the presence of gangs in Northern Virginia that we never thought we would see," McDonnell said. "It is time to intensify our efforts."

McDonnell, speaking outside the Loudoun County Courthouse in Leesburg, outlined a broad policy proposal, which included the expansion of Virginia's Gang Reduction and Intervention Program (GRIP); increased federal, and possibly state, funding for the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force; the creation of "gang-free zones" in public areas outside of schools, including bus stops, hospitals and community centers; the creation of a state anti-gang coordinator underneath the Virginia Secretary of Public Safety to centralize state policing efforts; and tougher state penalties for gang recruitment.

Rep. Frank R. Wolf's campaign is apologizing this morning for the actions of a congressional staffer, who apparently struck a campaign worker for opponent Judy Feder after a candidate's forum in Winchester Friday. The incident was caught on tape and posted on the blog www.raisingkaine.com last night by Feder's paid blogger, Lowell Feld.

According to both camps, the two Feder staffers, one carrying a video camera, approached Wolf and peppered him with questions. Dan Scandling, Wolf's campaign spokesman, said the two workers had been "circling" Wolf, his wife Carolyn and congressional staffer Ben Dutton, and asking aggressive questions in an attempt to provoke an angry response.

Virginia's congressional delegation was sharply divided on a $700 billion financial bailout defeated by the U.S. House Monday afternoon.

Six of Virginia's members of Congress voted against the package and five voted in favor.

Five of eight Republican members voted against the bailout as did one Democrat, Rep. Bobby Scott of Hampton Roads.

Use the post.com congressional votes database to find out how your representative voted.

National Democrats announced today that they will provide assistance to two more congressional races in Virginia this November. That brings the number in the state to four.

Judy Feder, who is running against Rep. Frank Wolf in Northern Virginia, and Rep. Tom Perriello, who is runninng against Virgil Goode in the southern part of the state, were placed in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue" program, which directs assistance to Democratic challengers across the nation.

They were chosen because they surpassed fundraising goals and showed "voters that they stand for change and will represent new priorities when elected to Congress."

"The candidates for change being named to the DCCC Red to Blue program are running solid campaigns and are committed to making things easier for middle class families in their districts," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, DCCC chairman. "With less than 100 days to make their case for change to voters in their districts, the Red to Blue program will give these candidates the financial and structural edge to be even more competitive in November."

Washingtonpost.com's Chris Cillizza ranks the seat of retiring Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) as the second most likely congressional district in the country to flip from one party to the other in this year's elections.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly, who secured the Democratic nomination 10 days ago, is running against Republican businessman Keith Fimian in Virginia's 11th District.

No other Virginia district makes Cillizza's top 20 list this week, but some Democrats believe Rep. Thelma Drake, a Republican who represents Virginia Beach, is vulnerable. Virginia Democrats are also hopeful they can give GOP Reps. Frank R. Wolf in Northern Virginia and Virgil Goode in Southside tough races, even though they represent Republican-leaning districts.

After morning and lunch-hour rushes that looked more like a trickle, Northern Virginia election officials predicted historically low turnout in today's congressional primaries despite a fiercely competitive Democratic contest for an open seat in the 11th District, where Republican Tom Davis is retiring.

At Sleepy Hollow Elementary School, Democratic candidate Leslie Byrne greets a prospective voter and his son at the polls. (By Emma Patti -- washingtonpost.com)

Through much of the afternoon, precincts across the region looked like ghost towns. At the Fair Oaks precinct of central Fairfax County, just 15 ballots had been cast at 2 p.m., officials said.

"Turnout is, I don't want to say anemic, but turnout is very, very, very, very light," said Rokey Suleman, Fairfax County's general registrar, who predicted that turnout was unlikely to exceed 5 percent by the time polls close at 7 p.m. -- a dismal contrast to the one-third of registered voters who participated in February's presidential contest statewide. Turnout in the 2006 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate was 5.8 percent in Fairfax County.

In Fairfax City, general registrar Jeremiah Vangen reported just 605 ballots cast by 2 p.m. out of more than 14,000 registered voters. Polls close at 7 p.m.

At the Mantua polling place, Democratic candidate Gerry Connolly greets Mantua precinct captain Patty Parker before voting. (By Emma Patti -- washingtonpost.com)

"The presidential campaign has overshadowed this campaign," said Sally Ormsby, a precinct captain at the Price precinct in central Fairfax County. "People weren't focused on this, even though it's a huge competition."

In the hotly contested 11th District, which encompasses central and southern Fairfax County and a swath of Prince William County, low turnout adds a measure of uncertainty in a four-way primary battle between Fairfax County Board Chairman Gerald E. Connolly, former representative Leslie L. Byrne, former Navy pilot Doug Denneny and physical therapist Lori P. Alexander.

Sen. John W. Warner (R), who is retiring, announced today he has contributed $2,000 to former Republican governor James S. Gilmore III's campaign to succeed him in the Senate.

Warner's announcement comes on the heels of a report in The Hill newspaper that speculated the state's senior senator may not support Gilmore, who secured the GOP nomination last weekend. Warner apparently made the donation to Gilmore sometime this week.

In a statement, Warner said he has also donated $2,000 each this month to GOP Reps. Frank R. Wolf, Thelma Drake, Eric I. Cantor, Randy Forbes and Robert Goodlatte, all of whom are seeking reelection.

Democrat Judy Feder raised $310,000 during the first three months of the year, bringing her total haul for her campaign against Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va) to $900,000.

Feder, one of the best funded Democratic challengers in the country, will report today she has $700,000 in the bank.

Sen. Barack Obama didn't just beat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Virginia Democratic primary Feb..12. He defeated her so handily that Virginia politicians running for Congress or statewide office might want to study the results for clues about their political futures.

Obama's 28-point margin of victory was one of the largest percentage-point wins in recent history by a candidate in a supposedly competitive statewide primary or general election.

After they won control of the state Senate last month, Virginia Democrats were confident about their potential for future success, even in Republican-leaning areas.

But it took only a month for reality to set in. In many parts of Virginia, voters continue to have strong affection for Republicans.