Obama Eyeing Virginia's Rural Voters

The battles in a new battleground state are being waged at opposite corners of Virginia by Democrats in traditionally conservative areas and by Republicans in a bastion of liberal-leaning voters.

The appearances by Sen. Barack Obama today in Lebanon, Va., and by Sen. John McCain and running mate Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska in Fairfax, Va., on Wednesday offer up this striking symmetry, underscoring the tightness of a race that polls place within the margin of error.

Obama is aggressively courting votes in Southwest Virginia, making his second visit to the region in three months after finishing a distant second to Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries here. It is the Illinois senator’s fourth visit to the state, whose primary he won decisively.

In his appearance today, Obama is expected to speak on economics and related topics, according to his campaign and advisers. His running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, will be in St. Louis.

Lebanon, a mining town that has diversified its economy with high-tech jobs, was touted as an economic success story by former Gov. Mark Warner, a U.S. Senate candidate, in his address two weeks ago to the Democratic National Convention.

Though Virginia hasn’t voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since 1964, both sides concede that the state is in play. As Obama and McCain swing through the state, their movements, to a degree, mirror each other, according to one political analyst.

Obama is trying to mitigate his opponent’s popularity in politically red territory by appearing frequently there, said Cordel Faulk, communications director at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, and commentary editor for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. McCain, Faulk said, “is trying to do [in Northern Virginia] what Obama’s trying to do in Southwest Virginia.” That is to “make sure Obama’s not running up the score” in the increasingly blue, vote-rich counties outside Washington, D.C.

Obama, as Faulk sees it, is taking a page from the playbook of Douglas Wilder, Virginia’s only black governor, who was able to win by holding down his losses in Southwest Virginia and winning big elsewhere in the state.

The Wilder strategy is a “template of how a black man can win votes in Virginia for executive office,” he said. “You can’t ignore [the race factor].”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher said he has had “numerous conversations with [Obama] directly and with his senior staff” emphasizing the importance of appealing to the 9th District’s undecided voters. About 12 percent of voters there are undecided, which he said in a phone interview Monday are the “largest number” of such voters “anywhere in the state.”

“The candidate who is here the most frequently, who communicates about Southwest Virginia needs and concerns most directly, will be the candidate who wins over large numbers of those voters,” Boucher said.

The congressman cited legislation co-sponsored by Obama to foster an industry of converting coal to liquid fuel, and his support for expanding federal funding for clean-coal technology as proof that he is in sync with the region’s needs.

But McCain’s Virginia strategists, while agreeing the presidential race is tight, believe their candidate’s message will resonate better with rural voters in the state.

Bob McDonnell, Virginia’s attorney general and state co-chairman for the McCain campaign, listed the Arizona senator’s support for coal, cutting taxes for small businesses and “general views on values issues” as strong recommenders.

“I really can’t understand Sen. Obama’s strategy,” McDonnell said by phone on Monday, calling the Democratic presidential hopeful “way out of line” with voters in Southwest Virginia.

McCain has not visited Southwest Virginia, and McDonnell could not say whether McCain and Palin will visit the region. He added, “we would like them to come.

“Based on my sense on the ground, I think it is a competitive state. It is certainly in play,” McDonnell said.

Faulk, of the Center for Politics, also believes Virginia is in play “for the time being.” And though he thinks Obama’s strategy here is “smart,” he said the Democratic nominee will have a “tough tide to swim against.”

“I wonder, as we move into October, when people start to concentrate more on the race, if they’ll settle back into old patterns,” he said.

For Boucher’s part, he is confident Obama will return to the 9th Congressional District “at least another time prior to the election.”

dgilbert@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2558

IF YOU GO
Lebanon High School will run on a normal schedule with student dismissal at 3 p.m. Doors will open to the public at 3:15 p.m., and Sen. Barack Obama is scheduled to speak at 5:15 p.m.

There will be parking in the student parking lot and at a lower field by the track, Principal Tony Dodi said.

Dodi said that law enforcement will direct traffic all day and evening. Bleacher seating in the gymnasium will be on a first-come, first-served basis, and Dodi recommended arriving by 2 p.m. to get a parking spot within close walking distance.

The Secret Service will have walk-through metal detectors set up.

There is a good chance today for precipitation in Lebanon, said a forecaster for the National Weather Service, placing the chance of showers and thunderstorms at 50 percent, possibly higher. A cold front is moving in from the Ohio Valley, and there is a slight chance of more severe weather – including wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour and small hail – as far southwest as Pulaski, forecaster Shawn O’Neill said.