Voters will get to choose between three Republicans running to replace Ken Cuccinelli (R) in Virginia’s 37th District State Senate seat, which spans western and central Fairfax County.

On Nov. 3, Cuccinelli was elected to become Virginia’s next attorney general and will be sworn into that office in January.

The local Republican Party is conducting a “firehouse” primary to select its nominee for the position on Saturday, Nov. 21. The date and time of the firehouse primary had not been determined at the time The Connection Newspapers went to press on Wednesday afternoon.

But former at-large School Board member Steve Hunt, former Environmental Protection Agency head Marianne Horinko and Greenspring retirement community’s executive direct Will Nance are expected to be on the Republican firehouse primary ballot.

STATE SENATE Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D-34), who represents Fairfax County, said the Democrats will make an announcement concerning their nominating process early next week.

So far, only one person, Del. Dave Marsden (D-41), appears to a serious candidate for the Democratic nomination.

Marsden’s current delegate seat shares 10 precincts with the 37th Senate Seat in the Springfield and Burke area. But a run for the 37th District Senate seat could be difficult for Marsden, since he technically lives in the Democratic Sen. Chap Petersen’s (D-34) district, not the one being vacated by Cuccinelli.

“I live about 100 yards from [the 37th Senate District.] I could literally thrown a rock and hit it from my door step,” said Marsden, who has lived in his Burke house since 1977.

If Marsden became the Democratic Party’s Senate candidate, he would have to move to the 37th District, he said.

IN THE FIREHOUSE primary, Cuccinelli has not endorsed a particular candidate, but Hunt, 51, has picked up the support of most of the current senator’s political and legislative staff as well as that of Del. Dave Albo (R-42).

Hunt is the only one of three candidates to run for elected office before, let alone occupy a position as an elected official. He served from 2003-07 on the Fairfax County School Board before losing in a Democratic Party sweep of the three countywide School Board seats two years ago.

Since 2007, he voiced interest in a few other elected offices. In 2008, he formed a committee to raise money for a run at Virginia’s 11th Congressional District seat, currently occupied by U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D), but dropped out so as not to cause a divisive primary with fellow Republican candidate Keith Fimian.

Hunt intended to run for the School Board again earlier this spring, when it looked like at-large member Ilryong Moon might have been vacating his seat for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Moon lost in the special election to fill the then vacant Braddock District seat on the county board, so Hunt never got a chance to jump into the race.

When asked why he was choosing to run for State Senate, Hunt said: “I saw this an opportunity to serve right off the bat.”

As an elected official, Hunt, a veteran who now works for government contractor SAIC, would focus on district transportation projects, keeping taxes low and military issues. If elected, he would introduce a bill that would exempt the widows and widowers of American military personnel killed in action from having to pay Virginia income tax.

Hunt is also active in the pro-life movement and has volunteered as an abstinence-only sex-education instructor.

NANCE, 41, has received the backing of a few conservative figures on the national political stage, including former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), best-selling author of the “Left Behind” book series Tim LaHaye and Michael Farris, chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association.

Nance, who lives off Popes Head Road, has a master’s degree in business administration and considers himself a fiscal and social conservative.

He is concerned about Northern Virginia’s transportation problems and the growth in the state budget.

“I think everyone is fed up with the congestion that we have to live with every day,” said Nance, who is also worried that Virginia’s state budget has grown too fast over the last 10 years.

On issues related to education, Nance said he would push for the opening of more charter schools in Virginia, which has been stymied locally by the Fairfax County School Board. According to his Web site, Nance would also push for Virginia to establish an “open enrollment” statute, which he said would give parents more flexibility to send children to a public school even though they do not live in that school’s boundary.

HORINKO, 48, is a Chantilly resident who served as acting administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency during President George W. Bush’s administration.

“I have been active in the Republican Party since I was a little kid. Public service is also something I value very highly,” said Horinko.

She now runs The Horinko Group, a consulting firm that assists businesses on a variety of environmental issues like understanding government regulation, improving energy efficiency or developing a “green ethic,” according to the business’ Web site.

On transportation issues, Horinko is the only candidate who says she would promote mass transit solutions, including pushing for a Metrorail extension out to western Fairfax.

The candidate, who has an undergraduate degree in chemistry and a law degree from Georgetown University, would also promote business-friendly environmental policies, such as offering tax credits and other incentives to employers who adopt green practices.

She does believe in enforcing environmental policies through additional government regulation, according to her Web site.

Horinko considers herself a defender of the Second Amendment and said Virginia gun owners with a concealed carry permit should be able to conceal their gun in other states with similar policies. She also opposes abortion, according to her Web site.

Horinko, who is the only candidate in the Republican primary with children in Fairfax County Public Schools, said she is also interested in seeing Virginia establish a second campus or school like Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax.

IT IS not clear when the special election to fill the seat would take place once the Republicans and Democrats pick a nominee.

Cuccinelli has not officially stepped down from the State Senate position yet. Until he does, Gov. Tim Kaine (D) cannot set a date for the special election.

But political parties must chose nominees for the office at least 30 days before a general election, so Kaine will be prohibited at least from scheduling an Election Day any earlier than mid to late December — 30 days after the Republican primary and right before the Christmas holiday.

A few political activists from both sides of the aisle said earlier this month that they had hoped the election could take place before the General Assembly resumes session at the beginning of next January so that residents of the 37th District, which includes parts of Centreville, Chantilly, Fairfax, Burke and Springfield, will have an elected representative for the entire session.

FAIRFAX COUNTY election officials will oversee the special election to choose the next senator and it will take place at normal polling places during normal voting hours in the 37th District.

But the upcoming firehouse primary will be run by the local Republican Party and will probably take place in one location. The polls are also not likely to be open for the entire day.

Both Republicans and the Democrats often make voters who typically participate in firehouse primary sign a pledge stating that they intend to support the party’s nominee, regardless of who is running in the upcoming special election.

These pledges have turned off some people who consider themselves political independents from participating in the firehouse primaries in the past. These independent voters tend to say they don’t feel comfortable stating that they would support one party’s candidate over another before they know who the actual nominee will be.