Virginia Sen. Creigh Deeds made a campaign sweep through the region Wednesday, reminding voters he aims to become the next governor and letting them know he has the support of U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-9th.
The two men made stops in Bristol, Abingdon, Wytheville and Christiansburg, where Deeds, 51, spoke to party faithful. Deeds narrowly lost the race for attorney general in 2005 to Bob McDonnell, who is the GOP pick for governor in 2009. That’s quite a feat considering Deeds is a native of tiny Bath County, while McDonnell hails from Northern Virginia. Deeds was outspent in the AG race by McDonnell, who had a campaign fund of about $6 million, compared to Deeds’ $3 million and Deeds came within 360 votes of winning.
“Rocky wins the rematch,” Deeds told the Bristol Herald Courier editorial board Wednesday.
We will endorse a Democratic candidate ahead of the June 9 primary, but at this point we urge citizens to take a look at each of the candidates. They are Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee; Brian Moran, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates; and Deeds.
McAuliffe is running for the primary as if he is already governor. He issues daily news alerts and his staff now tops 100 people. He talks with zeal and has well-articulated plans for transportation improvements, job creation and improving the economy. He is the showiest candidate by far and the best funded Democrat with an estimated $2.5 million war chest.
Deeds is less flashy, but deserves serious consideration. He has the most political experience in Virginia and is the only candidate to previously run for statewide office. He chuckled over once being told that his worst trait is being too self-effacing and earnest.
“I’ve always been underestimated, but precisely who I am is why I am best suited to be the next governor,” Deeds said Wednesday.
Deeds, a former Bath County commonwealth’s attorney, is focused on making higher education more accessible and affordable and investing in job training programs that focus on technology.
He also aims to have all regions of the state work together, not pit any against another. Building consensus is the only way to real progress, he told the editorial board.
“If you never build consensus, you never move forward,” he said.
The third person vying for the Democratic nomination is Brian Moran, who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1996-2008. He resigned from the House to campaign full time for the governor’s race. Moran has visited Bristol, but has not been interviewed by the newspaper’s editorial board. We aim to
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