Local
Loudoun emerges as battleground in gubernatorial primary
By: William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer
November 25, 2008
Loudoun County is emerging as an early battleground in a potential three-way Democratic primary for the Virginia governor’s mansion in 2009.
All three hopefuls — Virginia Sen. Creigh Deeds, Del. Brian Moran and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe — have begun to mine the suburban county’s voter base, appearing at an event on Sunday thanking local volunteers in Sterling. The first major round of endorsements Moran announced were all from Loudoun County.
What was once the nation’s swiftest growing county, flush with new Democratic voters, delivered Sen. Barack Obama an eight-point victory earlier this month, part of a broader takeover that handed Virginia to a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in four decades.
With Deeds, from Bath County, holding popularity in the rural corners of the state, and Moran and McAuliffe appealing to Northern Virginia’s urban core, areas like Loudoun County could determine who gets the 2009 Democratic nod, said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at George Mason University. McAuliffe has not yet officially announced his candidacy.
“It’s the suburban areas where this nomination is likely to be won and lost,” Farnsworth said. “When you’re talking about Loudoun County you are talking about a lot of [new] people who are voting Democratic, whether they are new arrivals or people who have been trending away from Republicans over time.”
And that means Democratic voters there are less committed to a single candidate and are more up for grabs than other areas, Farnsworth said.
The victor will face off against Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell, a Republican who defeated Deeds in 2005 by a razor-thin margin. Building up a profile in the populous and still contested Northern Virginia suburbs during the primary would no doubt aid a Democrat during the general election.
“For any candidate to win Virginia, you must compete in bellwether communities like Loudoun County,” said Moran.
Said Loudoun County Democratic Committee Chairman Tim Buchholz: “A lot of effort still needs to be put in play in Loudoun County, it’s definitely not a place that you can take for granted and just assume it’s going to vote Democratic.”
“We still have to fight for that middle ground,” he said.
All three hopefuls — Virginia Sen. Creigh Deeds, Del. Brian Moran and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe — have begun to mine the suburban county’s voter base, appearing at an event on Sunday thanking local volunteers in Sterling. The first major round of endorsements Moran announced were all from Loudoun County.
What was once the nation’s swiftest growing county, flush with new Democratic voters, delivered Sen. Barack Obama an eight-point victory earlier this month, part of a broader takeover that handed Virginia to a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in four decades.
With Deeds, from Bath County, holding popularity in the rural corners of the state, and Moran and McAuliffe appealing to Northern Virginia’s urban core, areas like Loudoun County could determine who gets the 2009 Democratic nod, said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at George Mason University. McAuliffe has not yet officially announced his candidacy.
“It’s the suburban areas where this nomination is likely to be won and lost,” Farnsworth said. “When you’re talking about Loudoun County you are talking about a lot of [new] people who are voting Democratic, whether they are new arrivals or people who have been trending away from Republicans over time.”
And that means Democratic voters there are less committed to a single candidate and are more up for grabs than other areas, Farnsworth said.
The victor will face off against Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell, a Republican who defeated Deeds in 2005 by a razor-thin margin. Building up a profile in the populous and still contested Northern Virginia suburbs during the primary would no doubt aid a Democrat during the general election.
“For any candidate to win Virginia, you must compete in bellwether communities like Loudoun County,” said Moran.
Said Loudoun County Democratic Committee Chairman Tim Buchholz: “A lot of effort still needs to be put in play in Loudoun County, it’s definitely not a place that you can take for granted and just assume it’s going to vote Democratic.”
“We still have to fight for that middle ground,” he said.
