Watkins Abbitt Jr. plans for re-election

The timing of Watkins Abbitt Jr.’s announcement for re-election in the 59th Virginia House district said a lot about his political savvy.

“I waited until after the filing deadline to announce,” he said, “because I didn’t want to give anybody any ideas.”

It must have worked, because Abbitt will be unopposed this fall in his bid for a 13th term. If re-elected, he will pass his father in longevity on the state level.

“He served 12 terms in the House, but he came in on a special election,” said Abbitt Jr., who has been running as an Independent since 2001. “Of course, he had 17 terms in Congress and was Commonwealth’s Attorney for 16 years.”

Abbitt Jr., who defeated Nelson County Supervisor Connie Brennan in the 2007 election, still plans to spend some time traveling around his district this summer and fall (“In a rural area, people expect to see their representative”), but not with the intensity that a contested election would require.

“I believe this is the largest district in the state,” he said. “It’s 2,200 square miles, and I put a lot of mileage on my car.”

Abbitt currently has stewardship of Appomattox, Cumberland, Buckingham and Nelson counties and portions of Fluvanna and Prince Edward.

“I see my role in the General Assembly as making sure the rural areas are not forgotten,” he said. “We don’t have the tax base of the districts in Northern Virginia, and that means we need help, especially with the economy the way it is.”

And as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Abbitt is well-positioned to aim some dollars toward his district. He also serves on the General Laws and Rules committees.

One of the more avid hunters and fishermen in the legislature, Abbitt has been honored by several conservation groups over the years. An Appomattox native, he owns Conner-Abbitt Insurance and Abbitt Realty.

“Jordan Miles, a student at Longwood, will be my campaign manager,” Abbitt said. “He did the press release on my re-election announcement, and I thought he did a pretty good job.”

Including the timing.