VA Gov update, Warner, polls, and ads

by Jerome Armstrong, Sun Sep 18, 2005 at 06:41:46 AM EDT

Yesterday, with about 3500 other Warner supporters, I was out with the family on Mark Warner's farm that looks over the Potomac for the annual "pig roast" (though we opted for the veggie burgers). Heck of a kids affair too, from games with prizes to the pony rides and the swimming pool-- our 5-year old Taj is won over. I chatted with the WaPost's reporter doing their blogging on the race, Michael Shear, about the state of blogging in Virginia (pretty strong).

The Governor, after doing a 2005 campaign rally for Democrats that chanted"2008, 2008", spent all afternoon under a tall tree in front of his house, as the people waited in line to talk with him. One after the other --this is how a governor gets a 76% approval rating-- he'd chat and politic with old friends and then move onto the next one of thousands.

And,House Democrats Hitch Wagon to Warner, it's paying off for Democrats. The Republicans have lost 4 delegate seats from their high of 64 in 2001:

"We as Democrats have shown what Democratic leadership can do in terms of moving our state forward," Warner told a crowd of about 200. "It was the commonwealth of Virginia, under Democratic leadership, that was named the best-managed state in the nation... I'm going to be out campaigning... virtually every week from now until this election," Warner told the Democrats." Around 3 pm, Tim Kaine flew in by helicopter, hoped over the fence, and greeted supporters. Another poll is out today, the second one by Mason-Dixon:

             Sept          July

Kaine (D)      40            38
Kilgore(R)     41            37
Potts(R-I)      6             9
Undecided      13            16

The poll shows Kaine leading Kilgore in the vote-rich regions of Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. But it shows Kilgore leading everywhere else, including his native Southwest Virginia and the Richmond metro area where Kaine lives. Kilgore holds a 1-point lead over Kaine in the Richmond area after trailing the Democrat by 13 points in the July poll.That seems a stretch, Kilgore leading by 1% in Richmond. Potts seems out of it, but he does have a new ad up, but it's not online. Kaine's new ad is out, called Slice, pretty spooky stuff attacking Kaine for wanting to cut education.

Tags: Governor 2005-6 (all tags)

Comments

6 Comments

Sort by

permalink

VA Blogging

I chatted with the WaPost's reporter doing their blogging on the race, Michael Shear, about the state of blogging in Virginia (pretty strong).

Hell yeah it is. :)

-Waldo Jaquith

by Waldo Jaquith 2005-09-18 07:30AM | 0 recs

permalink

Looks like Potts'

votes are all going to Kilgore. Here's hoping that Potts can turn it around a little and continue to steals votes from Kilgore.

by Eric11 2005-09-18 10:53AM | 0 recs

permalink

corrections and comments

>Mark Warner's farm does not look "over the Potomac" but does the Rappahannock

"we opted for the veggie burgers"
>You should have at least tried the pulled pork ... great!

"Heck of a kids affair too, from games with prizes to the pony rides and the swimming pool-- our 5-year old Taj is won over."
>Both of mine are grown but every child I saw had a smile on their face

>Adults feasted on plenty of political talk, basketball, volleyball and even kayaking

"The Governor, after doing a 2005 campaign rally" >It was actually a quaterly meeting of the VA Democratic Party
>He got a 'Standing-O' while everyone "chanted "2008, 2008",

"...spent all afternoon under a tall tree in front of his house, as the people waited in line to talk with him. One after the other --this is how a governor gets a 76% approval rating-- he'd chat and politic with old friends and then move onto the next one of thousands."
>Despite the great turnout and his personal stamina IMO he gets the approval rating because he is a great Governor with a hands on style, administrative skill, and ability to negotiate have turned the Commonwealth around ... over 7 million Virginians did the correct thing in electing him .... and now need to elect Tim Kaine to 'KEEP VIRGINIA MOVING FORWARD'

> Sorry I didn't see you there
Regards,
Shawn

by odonnell2006 2005-09-18 03:12PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: corrections and comments

Actually 984,177 voters who put Mark Warner in office are responsible for the over 7 miilion Virginians who have seen and are seeing the benefits of a Democratic Governor.

by odonnell2006 2005-09-18 03:39PM | 0 recs

permalink

The last stretch

I've contacted the Kaine campaign about volunteering, which I also highly reccomend to anyone else who lives in Virginia. I wish I live in the southern areas, where I went to college for a while, but perhaps I can help to widen the margin up here in NoVA.

by Covin 2005-09-18 04:03PM | 0 recs

permalink

What do you think of Warner....

As a presidential candidate? I know a lot of bloggers don't like to talk about the concept of electability, and are convinced that Bush will have harmed the Repugs' credibility so much by 2008 that the most liberal Democrat in the Senate could win, but I'm inclined to doubt it. I rather think that Feingold (or Hillary, for that matter) would lose with precisely the same electoral map as Kerry, and possibly lose states like Ohio and Florida by a larger margin over issues like gun control and the death penalty.

Does Warner have a definite position on the Iraq War on record? As governor, he wasn't in a position to vote for or against it, which could be an advantage. It's worth remembering that the last two Democrats to attain the White House have been moderate governors of Southern states -- and that if Warner could just peal Virginia out of the Republican column, it would make winning an electoral majority a whole lot easier. (And we could then make Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) his running mate and make it a slam-dunk....)

by Alex 2005-09-19 06:13PM | 0 recs