If there is one group of voters John McCain can count on in Hampton Roads, it’s the military. But Barack Obama is trying to dip into this rich voting base and appears to be having some success, though just how much is up for debate.
“I don’t think they can take it, but they can attract a certain portion of it,” said Quentin Kidd, a political science professor at Christopher Newport University in Newport News.
The size of that portion is critical, Kidd said, because McCain needs to win a large enough number of the group to offset Obama’s advantage among black and young voters.
“The question is, can Obama make it a 60 percent to 40 percent gap as opposed to a 70 percent to 30 percent gap among military voters?” Kidd said. “If he can do that, he wins Hampton Roads.”
National polling suggests Obama has his work cut out for him.
An Oct. 21 Military Times poll of active duty and retired servicemen and women found McCain ahead 68 percent to 23 percent. But McCain’s support nearly vanished among black members of the service, the poll found, with 79 percent saying they planned to vote for Obama and just 12 percent supporting McCain.
In Hampton Roads, some military families have joined a grassroots organization called “Blue Star Families for Obama” and say their group is hundreds strong here.
“We don’t think the military is being treated right and it is being abused by the current administration, and we don’t see any improvement with John McCain,” said Rick Kennerly, 55, a Virginia Beach Army veteran whose Navy captain wife is currently deployed.
Republicans say families such as Kennerly are a minority, and they believe most people connected to the military in Hampton Roads
are in McCain’s camp.
“I’m not concerned about them,” said Kenny Golden, chairman of the Virginia Beach Republicans, as he handed out McCain signs at the party’s headquarters recently. “Most of them are probably Democrats to begin with.”
Air Force Sgt. William Jones, 30, mulled the two candidates recently as he enjoyed some off-duty time outside Langley Air Force Base, where he serves as a mechanic.
“I like Obama, the way he presents himself, but I feel more comfortable with McCain because of his experience and because he’s military,” Jones said. While still undecided, Jones said he may ultimately pick Obama, in part because of his age. “Because he’s a little younger, he looks more in shape for the job.”
