2001 General Assembly — Legislators to Watch

Sen. Emily Couric,
D-Charlottesville,
represented her party's high hopes for recapturing a statewide office in the 2001 elections. But a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and the subsequent treatment sidelined what promised to be a competitive bid for lieutenant governor. Couric, an author and sister of "Today Show" host Katie Couric, had raised more than $120,000 before abandoning her statewide campaign. Despite her illness, Couric plans to stay in the fray. She sought and won the job of general chairman for the state Democratic Party, a critical role for a party shut out in statewide races and reduced to minority status in the General Assembly. Without the distraction of a statewide campaign, Couric is expected to be an articulate voice for her party in the legislature and a fundraising powerhouse this election year. Couric's elevation in the party headlines a power trend that is giving women legislators in both parties more visible roles.