It was the classic insider-vs.-outsider matchup as candidates for the newly drawn 40th state Senate district squared off at the Sept. 5 Arlington County Civic Federation debate.
Republican David Henshaw took after incumbent Democrat Barbara Favola – politely – on issues including education, abortion and crime.
“Arlington deserves a choice,” said Henshaw, a retired U.S. military bomber pilot who currently is a 777 captain out of Washington Dulles International Airport.
He acknowledged his is a long-shot bid; the new 40th District, which includes the vast majority of Arlington’s population, votes reliably Democratic, and Favola has mowed down opponents (within and outside her own party) since first winning election to the Arlington County Board in 1997.
“I have a record of success. I have always been very pragmatic and I’ve always looked for solutions,” said Favola, who in 2012 succeeded Mary Margaret Whipple in the state Senate. Until recent redistricting, her district sprawled from Arlington west to McLean, Great Falls and even a portion of Loudoun County.
Henshaw had little argument with pragmatism. “I agree with that approach,” he said.
Favola, already a committee chair in the state Senate, said her growing seniority will give her more oomph in Richmond, particularly if Democrats retain their narrow control of the Senate after November.
“I believe I have served my constituents well,” she said.
Henshaw praised Favola’s quarter-century in elected office, but said it was time for a change, calling Favola “out of touch” with Virginians on a number of issues.
“That’s a lot of public service you’ve done – I do appreciate that,” he said in a direct exchange with the incumbent. “At the same time, though, I think it’s time for a change.”
Favola’s service in elected office had an interesting start. In 1997, she lost the Democratic County Board primary to Jay Fisette in a race to succeed Ellen Bozman, who was retiring from the board after 24 years in office.
But owing to the resignation of County Board member James Hunter III due to ill health later that same year, Favola won a special election to fill his seat, and actually beat Fisette to the County Board by about three months.
In 2011, when she ran for state Senate to succeed Whipple, Favola was seen as vulnerable against both a Democratic-primary challenger (Jaime Areizaga-Soto) and her Republican general-election opponent (Caren Merrick), but won easy victories against both. She handily won re-election in 2015 and 2019 and steamrollered James DeVita – a political unknown who ran to Favola’s left – in the 2023 Democratic primary.
