Democrat Creigh Deeds is increasingly portraying himself as fiercely independent of top White House policy goals while embracing President Obama’s star power and loyal supporters in a last-ditch effort to construct a winning coalition for next week’s election.
Deeds, a rural state senator trailing in his bid for Virginia governor, has staked his hopes for a victory on re-creating at least some of the enthusiasm generated last year by Obama’s campaign. But fear of alienating independents and conservative Democrats has led him to publicly stray from the president’s proposals on the environment and health care.
The policy split is especially awkward as Obama prepares to visit Virginia on Tuesday for the second time to stump for Deeds, even as the White House signals continuing worries about his chances of making it to the governor’s mansion. Republican Bob McDonnell, a former state attorney general, maintains a comfortable lead in the polls.
But the strategy carries risks; Deeds is gambling that Obama supporters will remain motivated enough to head to the polls Nov. 3 despite disagreeing sharply with their gubernatorial nominee on several points.
Any Democratic candidate would “want to have Barack Obama’s grass-roots structure and grass-roots appeal as part of their candidacy,” said state Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, a longtime Deeds supporter.
“As far as some of the issues, you’ve got to create a certain amount of separation in the sense that as a governor, you’re going to agree on some issues and disagree on others,” Petersen said.
Deeds spokesman Jared Leopold said the Democrat shared the president’s broad goals on health care for increasing access and reducing costs. And Deeds, he said, agreed with the president on the science behind global warming.
Toni Travis, a professor of government and politics at George Mason University, called Deeds’ strategy “outmoded.”
“On this, Deeds has a disconnect in his mind somehow between Virginia and the national level, and that is totally ancient history as an approach to our politics or strategy,” Travis said.
Deeds has debuted a new television spot condemning a federal cap-and-trade bill on carbon emissions, legislation his opponent frequently claims Deeds supports.
Obama, on the same day the ad was released, attacked cap-and-trade critics in a speech.
“There are those who will suggest that moving toward clean energy will destroy our economy, when it’s the system we currently have that endangers our prosperity and prevents us from creating millions of new jobs,” Obama said.
Deeds gave some Democrats pause in his final debate with McDonnell when he espoused a position on health care that more closely mirrored McDonnell’s than Obama’s. Deeds said he didn’t think a government-run health insurance program “was necessary in any plan” for reform and said he would consider opting Virginia out of it if such a plan were passed.
The division is in large part the result of McDonnell’s near-constant hammering of Deeds on national issues.
“I think Republicans need to send Barack Obama a Christmas card when this is done,” said Del. Tim Hugo, R-Centreville.
