Free Republic

State Senator Creigh (CREE) Deeds has won Virginia's Democratic primary for governor. Deeds beat former Clinton White House insider Terry McAuliffe and former state Democratic legislative leader Brian Moran on Tuesday. The victory sets up a Deeds rematch with Republican Bob McDonnell, who beat him in the 2005 attorney general election by 323 votes. McDonnell is a conservative with strong ties to religious broadcaster Pat Robertson. He was unopposed for the GOP nomination. Deeds was the only Democrat in the race not from the Washington, D.C., suburbs. Primary rivals criticized him for legislative votes supporting Virginia's broad, pro-gun laws, actions...

State Sen. Creigh Deeds appears to be further separating himself from the other two contenders in the June 9 Democratic gubernatorial primary, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released two days before the election. A Democrat from rural Bath County, Deeds now holds a double-digit lead (40 percent) over rivals Terry McAuliffe (26 percent) and Brian Moran (24 percent) for the party nomination. The poll results follow a recent trend that has shown Deeds surging to the lead of the pack just weeks after earlier polls listed him third in the field. Deeds current lead is beyond the poll's...

PORTSMOUTH - While Howard Dean, Rep. Dennis Kucinich and the Rev. Al Sharpton may have more name recognition as "peace" candidates for president, Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., pointed out that he actually voted against the war in Iraq. "I am not a pacifist," Graham said. "In this instance, it was the wrong target." Graham acknowledged that war may be appropriate in some circumstances, but the federal government should be focusing on terrorist groups such as al-Qaida. The quest to depose Saddam Hussein has distracted the United States from higher priorities and energized terrorist groups against the U.S. military, Graham said...