Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is in high demand for Republican candidates nationwide, as the midterm elections approach on Nov. 2.
Within the coming months, McDonnell will have attended events for more than 10 out-of-state candidates, including Maryland gubernatorial candidate Bob Ehrlich, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, and California’s Meg Whitman, who is running for governor, and Carly Fiorina, who is running for Senate.
McDonnell appeared at two fundraisers in Pennsylvania for Republican gubernatorial hopeful Tom Corbett just last week. A “Tom Corbett for Governor” event raised about $100,000 and a Republican Governors Association event raised more than $400,000, said McDonnell senior adviser Phil Cox.
“He’s working hard,” Cox said. “We have more requests than we can accommodate.”
Florida Senate hopeful Marco Rubio had been scheduled to appear with McDonnell in Richmond on Sept. 16, but a scheduling conflict will prevent that, said Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos.
Rubio attended a fundraiser for then-gubernatorial hopeful McDonnell in May 2009, and Burgos said the camp would “absolutely” like to do another event with him.
The attention McDonnell is getting as a national figure for the GOP is typical for many Virginia governors, including Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, and George Allen, who could be eyeing a rematch with U.S. Sen. Jim Webb in 2012, said Stephen Farnsworth, a communication professor at George Mason University whose topics of expertise include presidential elections and Virginia politics.
“Because governors in Virginia serve one term, they’re always looking for another job,” he said.
Since 1977, beginning with Republican John Dalton, Virginia has always elected a governor who is a member of the opposite party of the U.S. president.
The party that loses a presidential election is leaderless and discouraged, so an off-year gubernatorial victory — like McDonnell’s — is an “offer of encouragement” for the party that’s not in power, Farnsworth said.
And McDonnell has taken advantage.
“I think he’s recognized as a national leader,” Cox said. “He ran a model campaign, but more importantly, he’s governed effectively.”
The governor also has made a commitment to do at least one event for each in-state Republican
congressional candidate, Cox said.
