Virginia: Election Morning News Roundup

Richmond Times-Dispatch ^ | 11/6/2001 | Various

[cogitator]

Alternately combative and reflective, Republican Mark L. Earley yesterday concluded his quest for the governorship, appealing to voters for an upset. The White House dismissed suggestions the Virginia race will be a referendum on President Bush.

"The polls want to put us down, but are you ready to put us over the top?" Earley asked about 170 supporters at a morning rally in heavily GOP Henrico County.

[cogitator]

Vote Earley; stay up late.

[cogitator]

Flag

[hchutch]

That shot at Giuliani won't play well...

[xsmommy]

the very thought of mark warner sets my teeth on edge. i PRAY that i don't have to look at him for the next 4 years, but rather that he can fade to well-deserved obscurity....

[1L]

I have not followed this so please enlighten me: why is a Republican having such a hard time running for Virginia Gov.?

[chemainus]

Mark Warner is the slickest thing since willy the Impeached Clintoonia..... paid millions for country music artists to make jingles of the ilk " twang twang twang " Mark Warner is a good ole' boy from the hills if VirGin Aye AAA " this type thing and convinced the rural mountaineers he was FOR sportsmen and For 2nd Amendment and Against taxes ....all blatant lies.... then went to northern Virginia and told them what they wanted to hear i.e. more taxes to be spent on YOU.... he automatically has the affirmative action stooges, blacks, hispanics and all illegals on his side......and Early is not a really outgoing guy who pissed off his base by trying to equivocate on 2nd Amendment and abortion...... Warner is the most blatant carpetbagger and liar since Hitlery in New Yawk !!

[Ligeia]

Earley, who will vote in Chesterfield this afternoon, was accompanied by his running mates for lieutenant governor and attorney general, Del. Jay Katzen of Fauquier and former Secretary of Public Safety Jerry W. Kilgore, respectively. At various stops, the ticket was joined by Gov. Jim Gilmore, U.S. Sen. John W. Warner and U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf of the 10th District.

Senator George Allen is also part of this group. It makes quite an impressive camera shot to have all those men at your side. Noticably absent from this same group when it appeared in Springfield on Saturday was Congressman Tom Davis. I was told by someone in his office he's letting Earley use that Davis is in Costa Rica. I was astonished. Now? At election time? She told me these trips are planned way in advance, to which I replied, "yeah, well, so is election day."

Virginians are reporting in their voting experiences on this thread Vote Earley ( and often)

[GraniteStateConservative]

The $64,000 question...

Actually part of it is that there was never a hand-picked successor. They let John Hager (the Lt. Gov.) duke it out with Earley-- and they did. Warner had no opposition. He ran against John Warner for Senate and lost 52-47 in 1996. He decided he'd run for the Governor's race immediately thereafter and has been running ever since. Warner also has invested a lot of his money in economic development in parts of Virginia (buying votes in a different way).

Earley has a significant campaign budget gap with Warner-- which hurts with name recognition and political operations setups.

VA now puts party designations on its ballots-- I think that might be enough to get Earley in.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Which country musicians supported Warner in this way???

I smell a boycott! < j/k >

[Blagden Alley]

The impressions of a freeper in DC who's watching the Northern Virginia part of it:

1. The Virginia Republicans have gone stale. Not enough new, interesting people. Not enough recruiting, especially in entrepreneurial NVA. Not fatal in itself, but not as good as it could be.

2. Voters do occasionally want change. It happens in politics. Giuliani got in that way.

3. Mark Warner has a face in NVA. I don't like it, but at least he's a face. Earley (at least on TV) isn't. You know what he looks like, but that's it. My guess is that Warner is a major Clymer (if that isn't redundant) but he has some presence to a TV-only watcher.

4. Gilmore was not charismatic. Not a crime, but not the greatest coattails.

5. But I'm still not taking bets either way. I do hope Earley pulls it out.

[traderkirk]

Why is Earley having a tough time?

1. Split between the Great Governor Gilmore and squishy House of Delegate Republicans over the phase out of the hated car tax. Caused a budget "crisis" which resulted in a lot of negative press attention on the the new Republican-controlled state government.

2. Warner has lots of money and widespread name recognition due to previous campaigns.

3. Warner's largely successful effort to appear moderate. Rightward tilt on guns and taxes negate the Mary Sue Terry effect. Most of Warner's early radio commercials sounded positivly conservative in repition of a no new taxes mantra.

There may be more, many whispers of poor campaign management by the Earley people (usually that's what you hear when a campaign isn't way out in front anyway) but this is a pretty good list.

[Salgak]

The short answer: lack of party unity, both in the primary and the regular campaign. There are several factions that never really recovered after the Earley-Hager split, and some "moderate" Northern Republican semi-GOPers (Earle Williams comes to mind. . .) went quisling and endorsed Mark Warner after Earley said he would NOT support a regional sales tax increase (i.e. Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria voting to raise taxes, Price William, Loudoun, etc voting against, and STILL having to pay the taxes. . .)

[Salgak]

You're really surprised Tom Davis isn't in the picture ??? I'm not. . .you should have seen his fancy footwork in 1994, didn't even want to be seen NEAR Ollie North. . .

[cogitator]

1. Split between the Great Governor Gilmore and squishy House of Delegate Republicans over the phase out of the hated car tax. Caused a budget "crisis" which resulted in a lot of negative press attention on the the new Republican-controlled state government.

It was the Virginia Senate (not up for election this year) that caused the problems for Gilmore and the car-tax repeal. The House of Delegates was solidly behind Gilmore (the Repuublican side, anyway).

[Mudboy Slim]

After 16 years--non-stop--of subscribing to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, this morning I sent in my cancellation letter addressed directly to Ross MacKenzie. Despite my respect for Mr. MacKenzie's opinion, I can no longer tolerate having that Leftist RAG despoiling my household on a daily basis...and Jeff Schapiro's the Leader of the Pack of Liars who report for this paper!! Sure, I'll miss the RTD sports page and the Editorial Page and the Letters-to-the-Editor, but the RTD no longer reports the news as much as promote their Socialist Collectivist Agenda...I've had enuff!!

I'm gonna have Schapiro's job before this is all over...what a PUNK!!!

FReegards...MUD

BTW...it's looking more and more like a GOP Sweep!! Earley Wins!! Katzen Wins!! Kilgore Wins!! The GOP picks up seats in the House of Delegates and the VA Senate!!

[cogitator]

BTW...it's looking more and more like a GOP Sweep!! Earley Wins!! Katzen Wins!! Kilgore Wins!! The GOP picks up seats in the House of Delegates and the VA Senate!!

Mud, hate to break it to you, but the VA Senate isn't up for election this year.

Which means the the VA GOP won't lose any Senate seats this year, of course. Ha!

But as for the rest of the races: I still think the governor's race is going to go down to the wire. Because a number of polls had about the same numbers, those numbers can't be way off. We shall see tonight.

[Mudboy Slim]

"...the VA Senate isn't up for election this year."

LOL...I knew I didn't vote fer VA State Senator, but I figgered we alternated Senate Votes like they do with the Feds...my bad!!

FReegards...MUD

[hchutch]

They're at the cemetaries already?

[SarahW]

Richmond Times-Dispath a leftist Rag!!!!??? BwaHAHAHHAHA!

First time I have ever heard that criticism leveled at Ross MacKenzie.