Democrat Broy hopes to unseat Vogel in 27th Senate District

View larger image Shaun Broy Recommend This Print This Get E-mail News Alerts Buy Photos/Page Reprints View larger image Jill Holtzman Vogel

By Candace Sipos -- csipos@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- There are two candidates left vying for the 27th District seat in the state Senate, a key spot that represents parts of six counties and the city of Winchester.
Incumbent Republican Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel faces Democrat Shaun Broy in Tuesday's balloting for a four-year term.

Four years ago, Vogel barely won the seat, taking 48 percent of the vote to Democrat Karen Schultz's 47 percent, according to the Virginia Public Access Project's website. Independent candidate Donald Marro, who dropped out of the 2011 race on Sunday, also ran four years ago, and took 4 percent of the vote.

This time around, redistricting has left the district with portions of two new counties -- Culpeper and Stafford -- along with Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick and Loudoun.

The candidates agree on a number of items, including the fact that campaigning is hard work, especially for such a diverse district. They also agree that they're completely different candidates with different characteristics, backgrounds and ideas, but they are fighting first and foremost with one issue in mind -- jobs and the economy.

"I've been fighting for the middle class working families since the beginning of the campaign," said Broy, 33, box office manager at Shenandoah University who was unemployed for almost a year. "I do come to the table with having faced some hard times in my life. I know the value of a dollar."

He ran for the Democratic nomination after no one else did, and became the "unannointed" nominee, he said.

Vogel, 41, also quickly brought up the economy, saying that its downfall has hit everyone, regardless of socioeconomic or business background. But she noted that Virginia was recently rated the best place to do business and best managed state, claiming that legislators' refusal to raise taxes and enlarge government programs should be thanked.

"In the end, we're not nearly as bad off as many other states," she said. "We've actually grown jobs."

Vogel also noted education and energy independence as two of her main agenda items, while Broy discussed individual rights and freedoms and bringing about political reform, such as term limits.

Broy was born in Winchester and grew up in Clarke County. As a certified member of the American Association of Political Consultants, he was the political director for a U.S. congressional campaign. He also became the youngest store manager in GAP Inc.'s history at the age of 21, according to his campaign website.

Also born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, Vogel serves as managing partner of a law firm. An Upperville resident, she was the deputy general counsel at the Department of Energy and was appointed deputy whip for the Senate Republican Caucus in 2011, according to her campaign website.