Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th, last night held a telephone town hall with more than 8,000 participants to explain his vote in favor of the $1.2 trillion health-care overhaul. Meanwhile, Rep. Glenn Nye, D-2nd, took heat from the left as a progressive group launched an online ad campaign accusing him of “betraying” the Democratic Party by voting against the health-care bill.

Two of the six Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation last night voted against President Barack Obama’s 10-year, $1.2 trillion health-care reform plan. Reps. Glenn Nye, D-2nd, and Rick Boucher, D-9th, were the only Virginia lawmakers to break ranks with their parties. Nye, who serves Hampton Roads, said in a statement that the bill does not sufficiently cut health-care costs that are harming families and small businesses.

Three of the six Democrats in Virginia’s U.S. House delegation remain undecided heading into this weekend’s pivotal vote on President Barack Obama’s 10-year, $1.2 trillion health-care overhaul. A fourth, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-11th, wants to listen to the debate but is leaning toward supporting the bill, his spokesman said. The Virginians conferred with constituents yesterday as House Democratic leaders acknowledged that they don’t yet have the 218 votes they need to pass the health-care package. House Democrats signaled that they might delay the vote until tomorrow or early next week.

Virginia statements on the shootings at Fort Hood:
“I am truly saddened to hear of the tragic shooting at Fort Hood, home to thousands of our nation’s active-duty military and their families. My heart goes out to the military community at Fort Hood and the families of the victims. Until we learn the full scope of the events, I will continue to monitor the situation closely.“

If the public is clamoring for health-care reform, it wasn’t evident at a rally yesterday across from St. John’s Church in Richmond. About 50 people attended the rally to urge three on-the-fence members of the Virginia congressional delegation to get behind a health-care bill that has been adopted by a House of Representatives committee.

Two Democrats recently elected to Congress in Virginia did not support the budget plan that endorses President Barack Obama’s goals. Rep. Glenn Nye, D-2nd, was one of 17 House Democrats who voted against the budget blueprint yesterday. Nye, who defeated Republican Thelma Drake in November, last month became one of two new members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog coalition of 51 moderate and conservative Democrats.

Mark R. Warner took the oath of office as Virginia’s new U.S. senator yesterday, saying he hopes to help steer the country through even tougher economic challenges than Virginia faced when he became governor in 2002. Warner succeeds Republican John W. Warner, who retired after 30 years in the Senate. John Warner and Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., walked Mark Warner down the aisle of the Senate chamber to be sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Democratic Congressman-elect Glenn Nye began assembling a staff yesterday after Rep. Thelma Drake, R-2nd, conceded in the district in and around Virginia Beach. Meantime, in the 5th Congressional District in Southside, Democratic challenger Tom Perriello claimed victory, but longtime incumbent Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. said he was not giving up.