Both sides of the debate over the future of uranium mining in Virginia have showered lawmakers with donations in advance of today's election, which could prove pivotal for politics in the Old Dominion, with control of the state Senate up for grabs.

Today's results could be a harbinger of things to come in a state that is certain to be a major battleground in next year's White House election and where an epic Senate battle is set to take place between former Sen. George Allen (R) and former Gov. Tim Kaine (D).

Virginia Uranium Inc., which wants the General Assembly to lift a moratorium on uranium mining, has contributed almost $100,000 this year to groups and candidates, according to disclosure records complied by the Virginia Public Access Project. Most of those donations, $68,000 so far, have gone to Republicans.

The company wants to tap into what geologists call the largest undeveloped uranium resource in the United States in rural Pittsylvania County, near the town of Chatham in the southern part of the state (Greenwire, May 27). The General Assembly is likely to take up the issue at its upcoming session early next year.

Environmentalists, usually skeptical of all uranium mining, are adamant about trying to stop any extraction in rural Virginia. While the company says mining can be done safely, opponents worry about potential water, land and air pollution. The Virginia League of Conservation Voters has doled out almost $140,000 this year to candidates, including in-kind donations, the vast majority to Democrats like Spotsylvania-based state Sen. Edward Houck.

"I support the ban on uranium mining because the risk to the waterways, public health and agricultural economy of our communities outweigh any potential benefits," Houck said in a recent statement. He participated in an anti-mining rally at the University of Mary Washington last month.

While the League of Conservation Voters supports a variety of environmental causes, Virginia Uranium is mainly committed to one thing -- lifting the mining moratorium. Despite more support for Republicans, the company is spreading some money to Democrats and has not taken a stand on the GOP's goal to take over the Senate, something that would give the party full control of state government.

The GOP needs to flip two seats to take over the Senate, but Virginia Uranium is hedging its bets. It has contributed $5,000 to the Democratic Party's Commonwealth Victory Fund. It has also given to state Sens. George Barker and Phillip Puckett, two Democrats fighting for their political life.

Company executives are targeting lawmakers who may be key in next year's debate over lifting the moratorium. Puckett, for example, sits on the Uranium Mining Subcommittee of the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission. Conservative Republican Del. Kathy Byron, who sits on the Science and Labor Committee and represents a district relatively close to Chatham, received $500 from Virginia Uranium.

"We have tremendous support on both sides of the political aisle in Virginia with legislators who like some of the things Virginia Uranium can bring to the table," Patrick Wales, Virginia Uranium project manager, said in a recent interview, touting the jobs the mine could bring to economically troubled Southside Virginia.

Although the debate has gained intensity throughout the Commonwealth, with even the state NAACP stepping in to support the mining moratorium, the focus of this year's legislative elections has largely been on the economy. Republicans have tried to tie Democrats to an increasingly unpopular President Obama.

And many politicians have refrained from taking sides on the uranium project. State lawmakers are waiting for a forthcoming assessment by the National Academy of Sciences, although the report is not expected to make any direct recommendations to the General Assembly.

But Simona Kragh, a political science professor at Averett University in southern Virginia, said low turnout in an off-year election could boost issue-oriented voters, like those committed to stopping uranium mining.

"There is the possibility that those people being committed politically, they will be influential in [today's] elections," she said in an interview. Kragh pointed out that while many Southside Virginians are fired up about the debate, the region is largely conservative.

Virginia Uranium has been lobbying for years on the issue, hiring several firms to promote its cause, including well-known McGuire Woods LLP. The latest disclosure report shows Virginia Uranium spent more than $50,000 on lobbying efforts between May 2009 and April 2010.

In late September, the company took interested residents and lawmakers to a mine in Canada to show how uranium mining can be done safely. Earlier this year, Virginia Uranium also took a group to France to see a former mine site, in an effort to show how the process can occur in a climate like Virginia's. The move proved controversial, with critics saying the company wanted to buy lawmaker votes with trips to Europe (Greenwire, July 7).

The company sponsored a similar trip in 2010, paying roughly $9,000 for at least three lawmakers to attend, according to Virginia Public Access Project records.