Vice President Joe Biden ventured into the Old Dominion on Thursday to fundraise for Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Creigh Deeds, the first in what is expected to be numerous Obama administration assists on the Virginia campaign trail.
Biden made stops in Alexandria and Richmond to promote health care reform and defend the $787 billion federal stimulus package before headlining a private fundraiser on behalf of the newly minted Democratic nominee.
The visit to Virginia signals a commitment by both the White House and Deeds campaign to weave their fortunes together, with Deeds banking on the mellowing but still strong popularity of President Barack Obama to carry him to victory over Republican Bob McDonnell.
The GOP, in turn, used the appearance to tether Deeds to national Democratic policy proposals: government-run health care, card check, and cap and trade, which McDonnell has framed as job-killers in a state already suffering from rising unemployment.
“Lately [Deeds] has been rather opaque as to what he believes in,” U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., told reporters Thursday. “Virginians deserve to know where he stands on critical issues to the middle class and small business.”
Cantor, the House Republican whip, said the results of the stimulus plan “are disappointing, and the job losses real.”
Biden, speaking before a crowd in Richmond, attacked stimulus critics as unwilling to help the unemployed and prevent layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters.
“Would they sit back and do nothing as our economy collapsed? What would they do?” Biden asked.
With Obama’s win in Virginia in 2008 and his relatively high popularity, the White House remains an asset for the Deeds campaign, said George Mason University political science professor Stephen Farnsworth. As long as those numbers hold, “it makes a great deal of sense to use the Obama team at every opportunity,” he said.
Biden may have been Deeds’ second choice to share the stage, but Obama was busy campaigning with New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, who recent polls show is trailing Republican opponent Chris Christie by double digits. Virginia and New Jersey are the only two states with governor’s races this year.
