Maryland and Virginia both enjoy the honor of having their sitting governors also being named to top national party posts. But the similarity between Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell ends there. The political trajectory of McDonnell — who was just named head of the Republican Governors Association — is clearly on the upswing, while Democratic Governors Association chief O’Malley’s trend line is going down.
In 2009, President Obama personally campaigned for Democrat Creigh Deeds to succeed Tim Kaine, one of his earliest supporters, as governor of Virginia.
Despite the president’s appearances in a state he swept in 2008, McDonnell cleaned Deeds’ clock 59 to 41 percent. His victory — and that of Republican Chris Christie in New Jersey — was the first to galvanize dispirited Republicans and would translate a year later into the historic 2010 takeover of the House of Representatives.
Although O’Malley’s second victory against former Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich that same year was duly noted, attention quickly shifted to the national story.
But the governors’ diverging fortunes today are not the result of lucky — or unlucky — timing. They were preordained by statewide policies they themselves pursued.
In 2007, O’Malley pushed through a $1.4 billion tax increase, the largest in Maryland history. His “millionaire’s tax” failed to raise more revenue, but did succeed in driving many wealthy taxpayers out of the state.
In contrast, McDonnell cut spending to eliminate a $4.2 billion budget deficit without raising taxes and defeated a $2 billion state income tax increase proposal. Today, O’Malley’s state still faces a $1.1 billion shortfall for 2013. Virginia has a budget surplus.
The Old Dominion has also surged past the Old Line State in a number of independent business-friendly rankings, including CNBC’s and the latest Pollina Corporate Real Estate study, both of which named Virginia the “Best State for Business,” no doubt leading to Northrop Grumman’s decision to relocate its corporate headquarters across the Potomac River.
In February, O’Malley’s first major address as head of the DGA included what Politico called a “stinging attack on Republican governors” like McDonnell.
In contrast, McDonnell praised Democratic state senators who unanimously passed a balanced budget with no tax increases. In a commencement speech at the University of Virginia in May, McDonnell urged graduates to adopt a higher level of public civility.
“Neither political party has a monopoly on virtue or patriotism. Neither political party owns the flag,” he said, winning approval from the liberal editorial page of the Roanoke Times.
O’Malley defended the Obama administration’s out-of-control spending, borrowing, and demands for tax increases, claiming the president “hasn’t gone far enough on reinvestment and stimulus and recovery.”
In contrast, McDonnell predicts that Obama will have a hard time winning Virginia again in 2012: “His message is more taxes, more regulation, more unionization and more government. That’s not gonna sell in most places in Virginia.”
O’Malley was recently taken to task by Fox News’ Greta van Susteren for claiming that Maryland has been “fiscally disciplined” on his watch. Besides an ongoing budget crisis, he faces revolt in the form of a public referendum on a bill he signed granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrants and opposition to his support of same-sex marriage, which even the Democratic-controlled legislature couldn’t pass last session.
Meanwhile, a Washington Post poll in May found McDonnell’s approval rating at 62 percent — higher than any other elected official in the state. He’ll be the keynote speaker at the GOP’s annual New Hampshire fundraiser next month.
Now there’s now serious talk about McDonnell as a possible vice presidential nominee. Unlike O’Malley, McDonnell’s prudent fiscal stewardship is now bearing fruit. His rising political star came about the old-fashioned way: He earned it.
Barbara F. Hollingsworth is The Examiner’s local opinion editor.
