Outgoing Delegate Chris Saxman, R-Staunton, will be serving as co-chair for Governor-elect McDonnell’s education transition team.  Saxman is an obvious choice for this post, given he listed advocating for more school choice as one of the things he’d be doing upon leaving the House of Delegates.  Now, Saxman will be able to help the McDonnell administration craft an education plan that adds more charter schools for Virginian students and works to maintain the level of services provided despite the rough economic times.  This position just makes perfect sense for this rising conservative star.

Read more at NewsVirginian.com. 

Fairfax County Republican Committee will hold a firehouse primary to determine who will represent the GOP in the special election for Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinnelli’s State Senate seat.   Primary candidates include: Marianne Horinko, Steve Hunt and Will Nance.  It will be held tonight (12/1) at Centreville High School (6001 Union Mill Rd, Clifton, VA) from 6-10 p.m.  The winner will face Democratic nominee Del. Dave Marsden, who ran unopposed.

While Virginia and tobacco are inextricably linked, the Commonwealth will institute a smoking ban in most of the state’s 17,500 bars and restaurants.  Virginia will join Maryland, New York City, Washington D.C., and many others who now outlaw smoking in drinking and eating establishments.  Critics of the ban say that this is another personal freedom that the government is taking away from its citizens.

Read more from Sandyha Somashekhar at The Washington Post

Environment and Energy Daily released a list of their senate projections for the American Clean Energy and Security Act (Cap-And-Trade).  E & E Daily predicts that Mark Warner (D-VA) is a “likely yes” vote and Jim Webb (D-VA) is a “fence-sitter.”  Cap-And-Trade would put a strain on Southwest and Southside Virginia, where coal and agriculture are major industries.  A vote for Cap-And-Trade from either Warner or Webb would provide serious ammunition for Republican challengers in 2010 – as two House seats VA-9 (Rep. Boucher-D) and VA-5 (Rep. Perriello-D) have been targeted as potential GOP pick-ups during the mid-term elections.

Read more from Christa Marshall of ClimateWire at The New York Times

As the economy continues to struggle and more people lose their jobs, there has been a sharp increase in food stamp usage.  The United States Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or as it is commonly known Food Stamps Program, gives federal assistance to low and no income families.  In the past, the use of food stamps often came with a negative connotation, but as more and more families find themselves struggling to make ends meet, that stigma has disappeared.

President Obama’s approval rating has now hit an all-time low at 48%.   Politico has compiled 7 factors that are contributing to his decrease in public support.

Read more from John Harris at Politico

Are Twitter Lists affecting the Twitter phenomenon of FollowFriday? 

Read more from Vadim Lavrusik at Mashable.  

OurVirginiaNow has asked Del. Dave Marsden (D-41) to immediately step down from his seat in the House of Delegates as he seeks to run for Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinelli’s VA-37 State Senate seat.  Paul Miller, President of OurVirginiaNow, said, “I think Marsden ought to resign his House seat immediately.  He owes us that.  He was elected to produce results for his constituents, not continue to seek other elected positions he may deem more attractive for his career.”  OurVirginiaNow is a Virginia state political action committee dedicated to electing Republicans in Virginia and Washington.

Read more from Anita Kumar at The Washington Post

Bearing Drift has reported that Del. Marsden (D-41) may have broken a campaign finance law.  Apparently, Marsden purchased his domain name on Nov. 17th before he had filed to run for the open VA-37 State Senate seat, which violates the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act.  Marsden has already received heavy criticism from both Republicans and Democrats, and now he is being accused of breaking the law.  We’re thinking there’s a good chance the VA-37 seat will remain in Republican control.

Read more from Bearing Drift

As social media has boomed in popularity, political campaigns have jumped on board to try and connect with voters online.  But it’s still unclear how to determine the effectiveness of a Twitter account.  Having 1000 friends on Facebook does not necessarily mean that you are effective or influential, and neither does having 1000 followers on Twitter.  Public relations leader Edelman PR has created a free tool that attempts to measure a Twitter user’s “importance.”