The Year of the Republicans-Turned-Democrats?

The Wash Times runs a story on Republicans who changed parties and are now looking good to win next week.

Virginia Senate candidate Jim Webb is the best-known but others include Tim Mahoney, who is running for Rep. Mark Foley's seat in Florida and "lists Ronald Reagan as a political hero, opposes the 'death tax' and calls himself a 'conservative Christian''; New York's Jack Davis, who "is giving Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds one of the biggest challenges of his career. Mr. Davis, a multimillionaire businessman, says he wants to end illegal entry without granting amnesty, opposes higher taxes and wants to kill the death tax; and Flordia's Christine Jennings, a former banker gunning for "the seat being vacated by Rep. Katherine Harris" and a proponent of tax custs and lower spending.

Democratic adviser Steve Jarding says winning is trumping ideology:

"[Democrat stalwarts are] more accepting of people with different ideas, and that's a difference," Mr. Jarding said. "We're not going to be having all these litmus tests because they were killing us." 

Mr. Jarding said that had Democratic primary voters sided in the primary with Harris Miller -- a longtime politician who is ideologically more in tune with national Democrats -- "we would be 40 points behind George Allen right now." 

"Democrats are finally wising up," he said.

Whole tale here.