With the still slow-to-recover economy on the forefront of many people’s minds, the Gazette-Journal visited the halls of Congress last week to talk with Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner and Rep. Rob Wittman, the three men who are the voice of Gloucester and Mathews counties in Washington, D.C.

Jim Webb

The first visit was with U.S. Senator Jim Webb, a Democrat, who previously announced he will not be seeking reelection in 2013. When asked why, he said, "There is no magical reason."

Six years ago, he said there was no magical reason that made him decide to run for U.S. Senate to begin with. He said he knew he had to decide nine months before the election and made his decision on Feb. 7, 2006. "I had no staff and no money," Webb said. "And a lot of people were surprised I did."

He said he knew he had to make that same decision by his birthday, Feb. 9, of last year on whether he was going to run for another term. He said he wanted to make sur...