Great article in the national journal http://nationaljournal.com/members/news/2006/11/1106nj1.htm and this blurb gives good insight on the Virginia Race:

"Talk about a train wreck -- and Webb was simply a bystander. "This has almost nothing to do with Webb, who, as a candidate, has clear liabilities," said Duke University political scientist David Rohde. "The macaca incident gives people doubts that they didn't have before. Remember, this is a state that elected a black governor [Douglas Wilder in 1989]. Virginians don't like to see themselves as racists."
Webb's liabilities on the campaign trail are easily identified: He appears uncomfortable talking about himself, doesn't speak in neat sound bites, is no glad-hander, and is as close to an anti-politician as there is in this cycle's races. A first-time candidate, Webb is a decorated marine who served in Vietnam and was Navy secretary under President Reagan before becoming a novelist. Before this campaign, he had been a Republican who called the Clinton administration corrupt. He even supported Allen in 2000."