The political machinery that swept Barack Obama to victory in Virginia last year has swung into motion in an effort to salvage Democrat Creigh Deeds’ gubernatorial hopes, embarking on an aggressive rescue attempt that will test the president’s clout in Virginia politics.
The White House’s political arm — Organizing for America — has paired with the Deeds campaign in recent days to mobilize volunteers for rounds of door-knocking, recruiting supporters from D.C. and Maryland to aid in the effort.
Deeds, too, has reached out to young and minority voters in the hopes of stirring constituencies that last year helped a Democratic presidential candidate take the commonwealth for the first time in four decades. Obama plans to return to Virginia on Oct. 27.
The governor’s race will serve as the first true measure of the Obama campaign’s lasting stamp in the Old Dominion. Democrats, however, are openly concerned that a voter coalition that helped put the president in office shows little sign of reconstituting itself this year. Fueling their worries, Deeds has demonstrated little of Obama’s oratorical flair and confidence, tripping over his words during debates with Republican opponent Bob McDonnell. McDonnell holds a lead of between seven and nine points in polls with just over two weeks until the election.
Keeping Democratic voters engaged, while always difficult in an off-off year election, has “been particularly challenging this year,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-11th.
“In no small measure because having had such a spectacular success last year, frankly a lot of our base feels a little bit too satisfied and complacent in the results,” Connolly said. “And we’ve got a short window in which to remind them we have elections in Virginia every year.”
Oct. 20: President Bill Clinton, Democratic National Committee Chairman (and Deeds opponent in the gubernatorial primary) Terry McAuliffe
Oct. 27: President Obama
Democrats hope to shore up that enthusiasm gap by reminding voters of the energy of 2008, and Obama — once thought to be distancing himself from Deeds — has extended himself more forcefully into the race. Deeds on Saturday held campaign events aimed at energizing Asian, Latino and other immigrant communities in Northern Virginia, before joining Gov. Tim Kaine for a rally at the University of Mary Washington to engage college Democrats. Amanda McCullough, a freshman and member of the Young Democrats at the Fredericksburg school, described Democratic enthusiasm there as “pretty good,” but noted a sense of fatigue after the 2008 election that Obama’s involvement could help counter. “People are tired, people are just starting to wake up again,” she said. “It was just such a tough race, especially in Virginia. You had counties go blue for the first time in years.”
