John Bell for Virginia

The House of Delegates’ 13th District has changed dramatically over the past few years: more people, more business, more traffic.

Democrat John Bell is banking on the notion that those changes foreshadow voters wanting another switch: that of their representative in Richmond.Bell claims that his Republican opponent’s time at the State Capitol has focused too much on social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage.

He said he would target “commutes, jobs and schools.”

“I’m a frustrated commuter,” said Bell, who’s lived in both counties in the 13th District. “I go to McLean every day.”

One way to have more money for roads would be to improve maintenance efficiency, he said, thereby saving money devoted to that task.

On jobs, he said 13th District residents could benefit if two industries were brought to Prince William and Loudoun: the fields of alternative energy and automating medical records.

And on education, he said he wants to maintain the availability of extracurricular activities for students.

To defeat such an entrenched opponent, Bell has tried to literally reach as many voters as possible.

On Oct. 12, he said his campaign had knocked on 3,500 doors the weekend before.

“I don’t know of another House campaign in Virginia that had that much canvassing,” Gov. Timothy M. Kaine told Bell workers and volunteers outside the campaign headquarters in Gainesville that day.