BRISTOL, Va. – Getting out the vote holds the key to Creigh Deeds winning the upcoming Virginia gubernatorial race, a state party official said Wednesday.
Dick Cranwell, Virginia’s Democratic Party chairman, urged a group of about 30 area residents to work hard to support Deeds against Republican Bob McDonnell. Cranwell’s visit to Java J’s in downtown Bristol, was his 10th campaign event in the past three days.
Deeds, a state senator from rural Bath County, trails McDonnell by about 8 to 9 percentage points in recent polls by The Washington Post and Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc.
“I stood for election 17 times as a state delegate and no poll ever elected me,” Cranwell said. “Election Day is the only poll that counts and we’ve seen Creigh gain two points in recent days.”
A Saturday Mason-Dixon poll shows McDonnell holds an 11-point advantage in Southwest Virginia and an 8-point lead statewide. Seventeen percent of likely area voters are still undecided, compared to 12 percent statewide.
While Deeds leads in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, he trails by significant margins here and in Richmond, the Southside and the Shenandoah Valley, according to the Mason-Dixon poll.
“The way I see it, if Democrats come out and vote we win. If we don’t do that, we won’t win,” Cranwell said.
This week, Cranwell and other Democrats are making stops in some of those key areas to try reach undecided voters.
“We need to be proud of Creigh Deeds,” Delegate Joe Johnson told the small crowd. “We’ve got to work hard, get out and vote and make sure your neighbors get to the polls.”
Cranwell, Johnson and state Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-Lebanon, spent nearly an hour at Java J’s citing candidate differences on job creation, education and transportation.
Asked if the Deeds campaign has failed to energize a base that has elected Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine as governor and – last year – delivered Virginia to President Barack Obama, Cranwell hedged.
“I think people have had trouble getting through all the clutter,” Cranwell said of confusing messages and campaign rhetoric.
dmcgee@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2532
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