With typical zest and hustle, Democrat Terry McAuliffe is kicing off a string of canvasses throughout Hampton Roads on Saturday hoping to whip up excitment for the June 9 Democratic primary race.
McAuliffe is locked in a three-way race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination with Sen. Creigh Deeds and Brian Moran. McAuliffe has put a major emphasis on courting Hampton Roads voters in part because of the region's large base of Democrats and also because none of the Democratic candidates can lay claim to Hampton Roads as home turf.
On Saturday McAuliffe will be rallying volunteers and searching for undecided voters in four Hampton Roads cities. His day starts in Virginia Beach, followed by Chesapeake, Norfolk and finally Hampton.
Sen. Creigh Deeds team is running with the Washington Post endorsement and trying to spread the word throughout the state.
Deeds released a brand new campaign television ad on Friday that runs along the same style as his other ads - very simple and clean. When Deeds snagged the Post endorsement it instantly became a tool that he can use to get Virginia voters to give him a second look in the race for governor against Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe.
The ad also gets voters thinking about Novemberand which candidate will best match up against Republican Bob McDonnell. Take a look.
(And in a completely unimportant sidenote - does that voice over guy always sound gravelly and awesome like that? Like when he orders breakfast at Denny's do the customers at all the other tables nearby instantly want to change their orders to what he's having? " The Grand Slamwich is the most prepared to quench my hunger with TWO pancakes, TWO links of sausage and TWO eggs. It's the only breakfast sandwich that got a 93 percent rating from my stomach last week"....)
If you're tuning into to Hampton Roads radio stations over the next week, you're going to get a glimpse at the competing campaign strategies from Democrat Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe.
McAuliffe just released his latest ad featuring will.i.am, the hip hop star who did a barnstorming tour through the state for McAuliffe along with old school rapper Biz Markie. The ad is going to be running in Richmond and Hampton Roads and will.i.am is trying to help McAuliffe make the final pitch to Virginia voters.
will.i.am kicks off the ad introducing himself and his band the Black-Eyed Peas - and also talks about how McAuliffe actively campaigned to help Barack Obama win the White House. "Together, we made it. We elected Barack Obama our president."
The ad instantly snatches the audience's attention - especially considering that the Black-Eyed Peas song "Boom boom pow" is dominating the airwaves these days. Plus McAuliffe gets the added benefit of attaching himself with a star who is inextricably linked to Obama's campaign - thanks to the "Yes we can" video.
So while McAuliffe uses celebrity to snag attention, Moran is busy touting the local leaders who are backing his campaign. Moran has locked down endorsements all over the state from sheriffs to school board members - and a large group of Hampton Roads mayors came out to support his campaign in December.
Just this week Moran picked up another handful of endorsements from Hampton Roads officials - including the support of Hampton City Councilmen George Wallace and Paige Washington.
Moran's latest radio ad speaks to the strategy in high volume - just look at the transcript - Moran drops so many names I'm surprised he didn't break a toe.
Female Voice A: With all the back and forth for governor, who can we count on?
Female Voice B: Well, Delegates Kenny Alexander, Jeion Ward, Lionell Spruill and former Delegate Mary Christian all support Brian Moran for governor.
A: Really?
B: Yes. And Portsmouth Mayor James Holley, Former Chesapeake Mayor William Ward, Hampton City Council Members George Wallace and Paige Washington, Chesapeake City Council Member Bryan Collins all endorse Brian Moran, too.
A: They know all three candidates, and they all support Brian Moran. That's saying something.
B: Doctor Sheila Hill, chair of the Chesapeake School Board, Reverend Todd Davidson, member of the Virginia Beach School Board Member, and Doctor William Harvey, president of Hampton University, support Brian Moran because he fought for the largest investment in education in the history of Virginia for our children. And Brian Moran worked with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine in a bipartisan way to keep Virginia moving forward.
A: No wonder so many leaders in our community are supporting Brian Moran for governor. I'll be supporting him, too.
B: He's earned it. BrianMoran.com
And so we're back to the clash that has been an undercurrent in this race since McAuliffe first started mulling a run for Virginia's executive mansion. McAuliffe can bring in the hot shots - celebrities who snag headlines and attention during a sleepy campaign. He can call on former President Bill Clinton to make a pair of campaign swings.
Moran and Sen. Creigh Deedscannot hope to out shine McAuliffe in the Democratic race for governor, but what they can do is draw on the contacts that they have made over their years in the General Assembly.
Del. Mary Christian might not have the number one single in the nation - and she might have absolutely no clue what "Boom boom pow" is - but it's folks like Christian who drive old school voters to the polls. And the folks who turn out to vote on a random Tuesday in June tend to be diehards.
So who is going to be able to drive more votes - Mary Christian or Will.i.am?
Brian Moran's campaign is taking serious offense to a new mailer backing Terry McAuliffe, blasting the longtime fundraising giant for a "false negative attack."
In the mailer, McAuliffe's team stacks up their candidate against the other three men running for the governor's mansion. The mail piece looks at McAuliffe, Moran, Sen. Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell - comparing their "records" on payday lending, campaign finance and lobbying.
As any campaign mailer should - the piece made McAuliffe look pretty good on paper - playing in the partisan grey areas and linking Moran, Deeds and McDonnell to tainted money - while making McAuliffe the squeaky clean choir boy of the group.
But Moran's folks are ticked off and they're taking it to McAuliffe who has repeatedly pledged not to attack other Democrats on the campaign trail. Here's a statement from Moran's campaign manager Andrew Roos.
“Brian Moran will take no lectures on ethics from the booking agent of the Lincoln bedroom and the architect of the Business Leadership Forum. The last place we would go for a public service lesson is a Wall Street insider. For decades, Mr. McAuliffe traded access for money, ensuring that big companies – not people – were in control, all the while pocketing millions through his proximity to power. This mailer is all the more ironic given Mr. McAuliffe’s repeated pledge to run a positive campaign. Virginians need a Governor who they can trust."
McAuliffe's flier is one of those where it is technically true - but the information leaves a lot to be desired.
For instance McAuliffe says he won't take any money from Dominion or its political action committee, but he has held a fundraiser at the home of Dominion's retired president and chief executive officer and he has also taken money from other prominent Dominion executives.
The Washington Post fact checkers have tried to iron out some of these ruffles.
The article hits on the payday lending issue and Dominion.
Needless to say it looks like the campaign is getting a little bit more aggressive as the sands of the hourglass run out.
UPDATE: Deeds' campaign is weighing in to here's a statement from Brooke Borkenhagen:
"Just last week Creigh was endorsed by The Washington Post over his two opponents from Northern Virginia. ABC 7 said that the most recent polling shows that, "McAuliffe and Moran are flat and Creigh is up." Creigh has all of the momentum in this race and Terry is clearly running scared. That's why Terry is trying to hustle Virginia voters with this deceptive mail piece."
Terry McAuliffe will make a quick afternoon swing through Hampton Roads on Friday meeting with beauty salon patrons in Virginia Beach and holding a meet and greet with seniors in Chesapeake.
It's getting down to the nitty gritty in the Democratic race for govenror between McAuliffe, Brian Moran and Sen. Creigh Deeds, so it's nice to see some Hampton Roads campaign stops - and it's not surprising seeing them come from McAuliffe. The newcomer to state politics has certainly made a serious effort wooing Hampton Roads voters.
Here are the details:
2:45 p.m. - Styles Unlimited - 1270 Diamond Springs Road Number 104, Virginia beach Va. 23455
5 p.m. Chesapeake Crossing Clubroom 1925 Robert Hall Boulevard, Chesapeake Va. 23324
In a little symbiotic campaigning, Republican Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling are huddling with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Richmond Friday for a joint appearance.
McDonnell of course is waiting for this weekend to become the official Republican nominee for the race for governor this fall so he can face off against who survives the Democratic primary between Brian Moran, Terry McAuliffe and Sen. Creigh Deeds.
Bolling faces a re-election challenge from Patrick Muldoon but is widely expected to retain his place on the ballot - although remember this is a convention so only the insiders are going to decide.
Meanwhile, Romney is laying the groundwork for possible 2012 Republican presidential campaign. Romney washed out of the crowded 2008 primary field - which was thick with folks like John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee. But Romney's business and executive background were seen as political strengths - especially when the global marketplace went in the tank during the fall campaign.
Romney has been widely discussed as a potential candidate in 2012 against conservative folks like Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Florida Gov. Charlie Christ and Newt Gingrich. And Romney has been mxing it up in the other governor's race on the ballot this year in New Jersey.
He also hosted a round table in Northern Virginia with business leaders - all this likely laying the groundwork for Romney to make a move to stop Barack Obama from securing a second term.
But Romney is not without problems in the GOP field - in fact he tried to fight against those issues in Hampton Roads. Romney delivered a commencement address at Pat Robertson's Regent University last year - but the Virginia Beach evangelical leader still ended up backing Giuliani - despite the former New York mayor's three marriages and acceptance of abortion and gay rights.
Romney doesn't have to mince words about McDonnell and Bolling - so he's likely to talk them up strongly on Friday - it ought to be interesting to see what McDonnell offers back.
Virginia Beach Democrat Jody Wagneris about to be up and running on television in Hampton Roads, Richmond and Charlottesville tonight with her first campaign ad.
Wagner is the former state treasurer and secretary of finance who has been scooping up endorsements recently if the Democratic primary race for Lt. governor against Mike Signer. In the ad, Wagner relies on some allies from the General Assembly including House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong and Senate Majority Leader Richard "Dick" Saslaw. In the Richmond ad, Wagner also uses Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones.
The ad highlights Wagner's background with the administrations of Gov. Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaineand ends with a nice tagline "As lieutenant governor, I'll focus on the next generation, not the next election.
At this point Wagner isn't buying time is the hyper-expensive Northern Virginia market - which is so expensive because it reaches so many potential voters. So it's not like every voter in the state is going to get a look at Wagner on TV - but it is certainly an advantage in a campaign that has largely fallen under the radar because of the crowded field running for governor on the Democratic side.
Wagner and Signer has both struggled to break through to the public - through no fault of their own - simply because Terry McAuliffe, Brian Moran and Sen. Creigh Deeds are gobbling up the airspace during a sleepy primary season.
Republican Bob McDonnell has found something he really wants to talk about on the campaign trail, but it looks like he's not getting the answers he wants from the Democratic field.
McDonnell is overly eager to talk about "card-check" the nickname for federal legislation that would eliminate secret balloting for workers voting on whether to join a union or not. It depends on who you talk to in Washington because the legislation is either - "card-check the federal job killer"- or "the Employee Free Choice Act - let's help workers stick together."
McDonnell knows he's against the legislation, whatever name you put on it. Meanwhile, Terry McAuliffe, Brian Moran and Sen. Creigh Deeds are hanging in the wind a little bit.
The Democrats probably don't want to stake out an aggressive position on federal legislation that is not on the front burner. It looked like labor groups were going to make a push on the legislation in March - but the emphasis left after it appeared that the bill as proposed was going nowhere in Congress. Anything they say at this point will probably not match whatever legislation emerges in Washington - so they're staying vague on a currently nebulous piece of legislation.
But McDonnell's folks aren't going to give the Democrats a pass - especially because McDonnell has been basically forced to start his TV ad campaign because he's getting hammered by Common Sense Virginia about the $125 million Republicans in the General Assembly turned down for expanded unemployment benefits.
If you want some opposing arguments on the union legislation check out these links.
It's getting down to crunch time in the Democratic primary for governor and every little bit helps at the end of a campaign.
Former U.S. Rep. Leslie Byrne came out in support of Sen. Creigh Deeds during a press conference in Northern Virginia. Byrne was Virginia's first female member of Congress when she was elected in 1992 and she gives Deeds another step of credibility with Democrats in the vote-rich Northern portions of the state, where Deeds would love to steal some support from Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe.
And Moran picked up the endorsement of the Humane Society Legislative Fund - who gave Moran the nod because of "strong leadership and work to protect animals." For Moran this is a good connection with a group that has a very dedicated base of supporters who are passionate about animals - if you think folks won't vote for a person they see as a dog protector then give Michael Vick a call.
Sen. Mark. R. Warner is back from a fact-finding trip through Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan where he had the opportunity to meet with Virginia soldiers and sailors stationed abroad.
Warner is clearly getting his legs underneath him as a first-term U.S. Senator - and if there's anything you want to make sure you're fluent speaking as a political leader in Virginia it's probably military jargon.
Sure Warner can get some help from Sen. Jim Webb and his background with the Marines and the Navy, but international conflict is likely to dominate political discussions and Warner knows he wants a seat at that table.
The full release is available below the jump, but it is interesting to note how much focus Warner's release put on Afghanistan over Iraq. Warner spends 5 paragraphs talking about Afghanistan and only and single one on Iraq and another on Pakistan.
UPDATE: Apologies - it appears this release focused on Afghanistan because Warner's office sent out a full release on the trip to Iraq over the weekend. The release was unfortunately hidden in a pack of holiday weekend notes in the old inbox - but obviously it takes most of the wind out of the last paragraph.
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