University of Mary Washington’s latest poll shows Northam and Gillespie in a statistical dead heat in a D+7 poll — about five points away from truth.
New Poll Finds Northam Underperforming Among Black Voters
New polls among the black community show Northam dangerously underperforming, with Gillespie posting respectable numbers.
The Great Northern Virginia Democrat Civil War: Part Two
The Democratic civil war in Northern Virginia just became a hot one, with shots fired and trolls designed to shame Jennifer Wexton’s power grab.
Jackson Calls For National Day of Observance for U.S. Constitution
E.W. Jackson is issuing the call for a national day of observance in honor of the United States Constitution.
Long Knives Are Already Out Among VA-10 Democrats
Democrat Delegate Kathleen Murphy can clearly be heard on the leaked tapes saying, “We’ll be fighting with each other ‘til we are dead.”
Dominion Rushes Over 700 Employees To Florida
Great news from Richmond as Dominion Energy responds to the devastation in Florida in the wake of Hurricane Irma. From the press release:
More than 120 Dominion Energy employees, including linemen, damage assessors, safety experts and others are heading south along with 300 contractors from across Virginia and North Carolina. They will join the other 300 tree contractors who were previously released to begin the preliminary work of removing trees and debris ahead of line crews.
“Our employees and contractors are heading south with the expectation that they will be restoring power for at least two weeks,” Baine said. “We are proud of their willingness to leave their families and friends to work long days, providing desperately needed help.”
Mutual assistance from neighboring utilities is a hallmark of the electric utility industry, and can include not only crews but also other resources and equipment, such as helicopters and drones, high-water vehicles and other specialty equipment, as well as material that can be allocated and shared among electric companies to ensure all restoration and recovery needs are met.
Which is kinda how this works. Should Hurricane Jose make its way to the Eastern seaboard and make landfall in Virginia, the reciprocation will be in kind as we recover from our third hurricane this season — should that come to pass.
Braunlich: Ending DACA Will Harm Virginia, U.S. Economy
Ending the lawless executive order from the Obama era was going to be a tough call when 700,000 effective hostages were held in limbo.
Goodlatte, Comstock Leading The Fight Against MS-13 Gangs
The bill bars criminal alien gang members from receiving immigration benefits such as asylum, juvenile status, and temporary protected status.
WaPo: Gillespie Supports Move To Let Congress Determine DACA
Norham’s juggling act is whether he supports a resumption of “regular order” rather than extralegal overreach and judicial activism.
Vogel Puts Principle Over Party; Democratic Rival Preaches “A Second Revolution”
With Labor Day having come and gone, the statewide campaigns are now in full swing.
In normal years, this day marks the beginning of the general election, when campaigns gear up and begin pitching their message far and wide, using this time to connect with the independents who stayed out of the party primaries.
However, this is not a normal year.
Led by Tom Perriello and egged on by Bernie Sanders, Democrats spent the primary racing towards the left with little regard for Virginia’s center. On Labor Day, the Democratic ticket broke a six-decade bipartisan tradition in skipping Buena Vista’s Labor Day parade, an action the Roanoke Times said sent the wrong message to rural Virginia.
“Rightly or wrongly, this sends yet another signal that Democrats don’t really care about anything outside the urban crescent,” wrote the paper’s editorial board.
The reason why is simple: this year, Democrats have nominated a ticket too partisan and too extreme to compete for rural votes or even keep pace among independents, which several polls have Gillespie winning by double digits.
Justin Fairfax, Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor, won his primary appealing to the Sanders wing of the party, taking very liberal positions in favor of single payer health care and against the pipelines, earning him the admiration and endorsements of grassroots groups like “Our Revolution,” which describes itself as the “next step for Bernie Sanders’ movement.”
At the first LG debate, Fairfax found himself stumped when asked where he disagreed with his party, spending a full minute and a half talking up his party-line mindset without pointing to a single point of disagreement, major or minor.
Candidates usually don’t campaign on this level of partisanship in a general election. See for yourself:
By contrast, Vogel handled the question easily, pointing to a legislative record of bipartisanship and an independent streak which has become a diminishing quality in politicians today.
The contrast could not be more clear and nobody can seriously question which candidate is better able to connect with independent voters.
That challenge requires a certain style which de-emphasizes partisanship and focuses on themes of working together and getting things done. On that front, Fairfax has nothing to run on.
Even with the primary over, he can’t seem to leave behind his far-left activist mindset and his combatively partisan style. A full month after the primary, Fairfax delivered this immature, intemperate, and inflammatory comment at an event in Leesburg.
Partisanship aside, joking about refusing to say the president’s name is divisive and beneath the dignity of the office of Lieutenant Governor. It reflects very poorly on a candidate who will need to work with the White House on important priorities like transportation funding, education funding, and Virginia’s role as a home to countless federal civilian and military workers.
We live in a state where 20 cents of every dollar of economic activity is tied to the federal government. Fairfax’s invective may grow partisan base turnout, but they don’t grow Virginia’s economy.
Independents do not want to hear partisans railing about a “second American Revolution” or yelling into a bullhorn about a “wildfire of progressive change.” They want problems to be solved, and look on party-line candidates like Fairfax with skepticism.
Fairfax’s partisanship, rhetoric, and extreme views make him a potential liability to Northam. If current trends continue, Fairfax could find his campaign short on resources, if party strategists and donors believe his views and style constitute a risk to his running mates.