I kind of doubt he gets aligned with the Tea Party. I have looked over his voting record some and he tends to fall in the more moderate area in his history as a state delegate. Tends to fall in line with gun control for one, which led to the NRA backing Boucher instead. He has been against cutting funding for programs for kids and at risk families it looks like as well. For a recent topic you brought up, he voted against In-state tuition for undocumented persons.

Also for that "Showcasing SWVA" hasn't that been going on since around 87? Im afraid the numbers would fall on the negative side if we done a comparison of what it has gained versus what we have lost. It averages a little less than 220 jobs a year, or 15 jobs per county in the 9th from my math. Thats not exactly setting the woods on fire. Russell and Scott County have done okay in that department in recent years, but Smyth County has been hit hard by job losses, as has Patrick and Henry County (Henry is partially in the 9th) and I am really not sure about the NE part of our district.