All five candidates in Virginia’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race will spend the days leading up to Memorial Day weekend in Northern Virginia, where voters are abundant and pockets are deep.
Democrat Tim Kaine held a fundraiser Thursday night in the wealthy suburb of McLean that featured Vice President Joe Biden, according to Biden’s official schedule. Kaine’s campaign did not respond to several messages asking for details, but McLean is a common stop for candidates looking to hit up the kind of high-end donors a vice president can draw.
Biden’s foray into Virginia also allowed Republican George Allen, Kaine’s likely foe in November’s general election, to blast Kaine’s ties to President Obama’s administration.
“It’s no surprise that Tim Kaine is being rewarded by Vice President Biden for his loyal defense of the Obama/Kaine agenda of higher taxes, bigger government and fewer jobs,” Allen spokeswoman Emily Davis said.
Allen also is in the area, joining the rest of the Republican field Friday evening in Falls Church for the last of three debates before the June 12 primary.
Tea Party activist Jamie Radtke, Del. Bob Marshall of Manassas and Chesapeake pastor E.W. Jackson all promised fireworks in their last opportunity to stand toe-to-toe with Allen. Marshall and Jackson were coy with what they plan to say, but Radtke said she planned to go after Allen’s record of opposing the economic stimulus package “when he’s lining his pocket with federal stimulus money.”
Whether voters preoccupied with the Memorial Day weekend will pay attention is another story.
“[The debates] have limited coverage,” Radtke said. “People who are relying on debates to win on June 12 don’t have the organization to win.”
Jackson said he hoped to make a strong appeal to Northern Virginia voters, a large chunk of the state’s electorate.
“It’s important that Republicans understand that we need to broaden our coalition and elect someone who is able to reach beyond the activists to independents, into the black communities and the Hispanic community,” Jackson said.
Kaine on Thursday stopped in Springfield to talk social security with seniors and to bash Allen for supporting a plan to privatize the popular government entitlement program while serving in the U.S. Senate.
“Social Security is probably the most effective social program that has ever been enacted by the Congress of the United States,” said Kaine. “I will fight against any effort to privatize Social Security if I am in the Senate because the program has worked.”
