A blue tide for the Old Dominion?
Posted November 3rd, 2007 at 10:05 am
Share This | Spotlight | Permalink

Guest Post by Morbo

Virginia holds statewide elections Tuesday. Every seat in the House of Delegates and state Senate is up for grabs. Democrats are running smart in this red state and just might make impressive gains in both chambers.

I’m not one to buy into the notion of bellwether elections, but if things go well in the Old Dominion on Nov. 6, I hope national Democratic leaders pay attention and analyze the results. As The Washington Post noted recently, Virginia’s Democratic Party is aggressive and well organized. Led by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, the party is making forays into regions of the state that have traditionally been deep red.

Here’s what the party is doing:

Targeting independents and moderates: Virginia Democrats are reminding people that they don’t have to switch parties to support Democrats. If they like what a candidate is saying, all they have to do is walk into the voting booth and pull the lever.

Addressing issues that matter to voters: The outer Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., lean right – but more and more people are seeing that the solutions of the state GOP aren’t solutions at all. These areas have experienced phenomenal growth, but Republicans refuse to address it by dealing with infrastructure such as roads and new schools. Democrats are reminding voters that the state Republican Party has no incentive to fix these problems because it is the pocket of interests that promote runaway development.

Engaging in old-fashioned legwork: There is no substitute for knocking on doors and doing phone work. Virginia Democrats are canvassing neighborhoods and working for votes, on a person-to-person basis. They’ve set up regional offices in these areas and maintain a visible presence. The message is simple: We want to earn your vote.

Running good candidates: Virginia Democrats snatched two Republican seats, one in the House and one in the Senate, in conservative Loudoun County by running disciplined candidates who focused on local issues while portraying the Republicans as out of touch and obsessed with divisive social issues.

The Democrats haven’t won in Virginia yet. The Republicans are hitting illegal immigration hard, and polls show voters are concerned about that issue. The challenge is for Democrats to prove that on this issue, Republican offer lots of demagoguery but no real solutions.

Republicans also seem to have a problem with hubris. Asked about party members who are flirting with backing Democrats, Eve Marie Barner, an official with the Loudoun County GOP sniffed, “It’s a matter of integrity. If you are a Republican, you play for your team.â€