The three Democrats seeking their party’s nomination in the Virginia governor’s race readied their final pitches to undecided voters with just days left before an uncertain, low-turnout primary Tuesday.
State Sen. Creigh Deeds capitalized on the perception of a “Deeds surge” that has vaulted the once-counted-out moderate from Bath County back into the running.
Former Del. Brian Moran continued to shell his archenemy, Terry McAuliffe, while McAuliffe stayed relentlessly on message and prepared to muster his sizable advantage in cash and staffing.
Deeds, especially, is pushing the message that he’s the strongest candidate to challenge Republican nominee Robert McDonnell, who bested him in the 2005 Virginia attorney general race by the closest margin in statewide electoral history. That paper-thin margin, Deeds supporters say, is evidence that — given the leftward trend of the commonwealth’s electorate — a rematch would favor the Democrat.
“The fact is, in 2005, when we were on the ticket together, he lost by 323 votes, and we know that since then Virginia has become more Democratic,” said former U.S. Rep. Leslie Byrne, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor that year. “I think a great case can be made that when he runs he can win.”
McAuliffe is running as an outsider untainted by the Richmond power structure. Moran has argued throughout that the taint of McAuliffe’s former life as a national Democratic fundraiser is a far greater liability — and that his inexperience in Virginia politics is no asset.
“[McAuliffe’s] vulnerabilities have been very persistent,” said University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato. “There is just a resistance, even on the part of Democrats, to accept him as a legitimate gubernatorial nominee. They just don’t see him as a Virginian, they don’t see him as somebody who has worked in the field and knows the subject.”
Policy differences have been scarce among the three, though Moran — alone in his support of overturning a constitutional ban on gay marriage and his opposition to a proposed coal-fired power plant in Surry County — has campaigned to the left of his opponents.
Nevertheless, “this is a hard choice for a lot of Democrats that I’ve talked to, they really don’t see that much different on issues between them,” said Bob Gibson, executive director of the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.
“It comes down to style of leadership and who can be the strongest nominee,” Gibson said.
