Virginia Governor's Race on Nov 8, 2005 (Tim Kaine now tied with Kilgore)

[yellowjacket7]

Snip (courtesy of mydd.com)

Good news on the home front. Rasmussen polling shows it's now tied in Virginia between Kilgore and the Democrat Kaine:


Sept 30 Sept 15
Kaine 45 40
Kilgore 45 43
Potts 5 5

Kaine's gained substantially, as I posted a week ago, their internal polling shows them up 1%, now Rasmussen shows a 5% swing to Kaine in the last two weeks, and the signs are of that trend continuing. A few days ago, Kilgore accused VDOT under Gov Warner of not getting all the transportation funds that it could for Virginia, sending a frontal attack on Gov Warner. This prompted a rebuttle along many lines in the state, with Warner blasting on Kilgore saying that Republican gubernatorial candidate's claims about the state's highway agency are --quote-- "absolutely factually untrue."

I guess Kilgore figured that Warner is going to go strong for Kaine, and he should attack Warner first, but it looks like all the momentum is now on Kaine's side. It's not like Bush can come in to help Kilgore at this point to offset the advantage toward Kaine that Warner's involvement protends. I'd garner that in a match-up between Bush and Warner in Virginia, that Warner would win by double-digits. Warner has a 69% approval rating, Bush a 49% approval rating, in Virginia, according to Rasmussen.

Kilgore is about to start flailing (GOP is ramping up on attacks of "illegals"), trying to make anything stick. His recent tv ad makes an outright lie that Kaine supported the Republican effort last year to raise the gas tax (yea, sorta strange, that one)-- a charge the papers refuted for Kaine. We are going to see a desperate Kilgore in the next month.

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If you live in Virginia, please consider volunteering for Kaine's campaign. Not much time left. Also, please donate, put out the bumper stickers and yard signs (free from Kaine's website -http://www.kaine2005.org /). Thank you for your efforts. Every bit of help is needed.

Please contribute $2, $5, $10, any amount you can afford now. If Tim Kaine wins this race, it would be very good for the Democratic Party's chances with respect to winning Virginia in 2008. Virginia is turning increasingly blue.

(cross-posted on the Virginia section). Thanks, and please kick for added visibility!

[Zynx]

1. Too bad Warner couldn't run for a second term.

Sounds like this wouldn't even be a contest if that was the case.

[yellowcanine]

2. He can. Just can't have consecutive terms. Virginia is weird that way.

I believe Mills Godwin (how is that for a moniker?) served several nonconsecutive terms back in the 60s.

[Zynx]

4. If, God forbid, Kilgore wins and Warner abandons his presidential bid

he could come back and fix the Republican mess all over again. ;-) Let's just hope that is not necessary.

[Catchawave]

3. The local paper doesn't miss a trick (OpEd)

Kilgore’s math wrong in attack on VDOT
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 30, 2005



A $30 million bonus in federal highway money to Virginia says that Jerry Kilgore is wrong.

Tuesday, the GOP gubernatorial candidate accused the Virginia Department of Transportation of delaying “hundreds of millions of dollars worth of highway and transit projects” and setting back “an entire construction season” by not accessing federal funds quickly enough.

So how come VDOT just received a record $30 million reward for its stewardship of the very federal transportation funds Kilgore claims were mishandled?

Because Kilgore blundered, badly. No projects were set back and no money lost because VDOT properly took some bookkeeping steps to put its financial house in better order. Kilgore should acknowledge the mistake and move on.


Two things make Kilgore’s blast at VDOT troubling. First, it implies a lack of understanding by a gubernatorial candidate of budgetary processes at a critical agency. Second, it suggests a willingness to scapegoat for political gain an agency that has worked hard for greater public respect over the past few years.......more

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=92965&ran=212037

[Zynx]

5. Kilgore must be a complete moron.

Just how stupid is this guy?

-Bill Frist Stupid
-Tom DeLay Stupid
-Donald Rumsfeld Stupid
-Rick Santorum Stupid
-Tom Coburn Stupid
-George W. Bush Stupid
-Michael Brown Stupid

How bad is he?

[The Great Escape]

6. I'd Say A Good Balance Of Coburn and Frist