Thursday, June 11, 2009
Deeds lays groundwork for next phase of race for Virginia governor
With an eye toward November, the lawmaker from Bath County and his campaign turnaround are the center of attention.
Associated Press
Democratic gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Creigh Deeds (center) greets supporters after a unity rally Wednesday at Democratic headquarters in Richmond. Deeds, from Bath County, went against two opponents from Northern Virginia.
STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times
Photo taken June 10, 2009 Carol Lee McGuire-Bishop, a retired social studies teacher from Clifton Forge, said,"I think it shows that money can't buy elections and if you're true to your values you win." "I'm elated."
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roanoke.com/politics
RICHMOND -- On his first full day as the Democratic nominee for governor, Creigh Deeds took a congratulatory phone call from President Obama, rallied with the two men he defeated in Tuesday's primary and began planning for a general election showdown with Republican Bob McDonnell.
The state senator from Bath County left it to others Wednesday to assess how he pulled off a stunning and decisive primary victory over two better-funded opponents from vote-rich Northern Virginia, a triumph so complete that Deeds even beat his rivals in their own back yards.
Deeds' win punctuated a remarkable surge for a campaign that had been written off by many observers just a few weeks ago.
"We're a stronger party, and I'm a better candidate because of this primary process," Deeds said Wednesday at a rally with Gov. Tim Kaine and his vanquished opponents, former Del. Brian Moran of Alexandria and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe of McLean.
For much of the race, Deeds appeared to have little going his way. He raised less money than Moran and McAuliffe, and his mostly rural political base seemed far removed, both geographically and philosophically, from the fast-growing Northern Virginia suburbs and other areas where Democrats have flourished in recent elections.
Deeds trailed in the polls for much of the spring, until television advertising, a surprise newspaper endorsement and sniping between the Moran and McAuliffe camps helped build momentum for his candidacy.
Party leaders and campaign strategists said Deeds peaked at the right time, capturing late-breaking undecided voters in an election that drew a stronger turnout than many expected.
"Oftentimes you think undecideds break evenly, but they broke heavily to Creigh," said Kaine, who presided over a Wednesday morning unity rally at state Democratic headquarters.
"I think they broke to him because they figured out who Creigh Deeds was as a person, and they really liked him," Kaine told reporters. "I think Creigh's strength has always been his authenticity. He is who he is. What you see is what you get. And I think people want that in politics. They don't want everything to be so poll tested or driven by consultants."
Deeds ran closer to the political center than Moran or McAuliffe, and argued that he could best bridge regional differences and capture independent voters who were critical to the elections of Kaine and his Democratic predecessor, Mark Warner.
"He was able to present himself, in the end, as a natural heir," said Mo Elleithee, senior strategist for McAuliffe and a veteran of the Warner and Kaine gubernatorial campaigns.
"He did virtually everything well," Elleithee said of Deeds. "He ran an incredibly disciplined campaign."
Republicans were eager to take on the brash McAuliffe, best known as a partisan mouthpiece and prolific fundraiser for the party and for former President Clinton.
But McDonnell campaign chairman Ed Gillespie said Deeds' nomination was not a surprise, suggesting that Deeds gained when Moran went on the attack against McAuliffe at a time McAuliffe appeared to be the frontrunner.
"That was a smart strategy, to lay low and not really engage and let the other two have at it," said Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman.
Deeds stuck doggedly to his campaign plan, changing little even when things looked bleak. He told reporters Tuesday night that he heeded advice given to him years ago by former House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell of Vinton, now the chairman of the state Democratic Party.
"He used to say, 'Boys, you plan your work and you work your plan,' " Deeds said. "And that's what we did. We planned this campaign, and we worked our plan. We didn't get too far off of what we were originally going to do."
Deeds took a calculated gamble in early May. His campaign laid off five field staffers to free up money for television ads, though three of the staffers stayed on as volunteers. Deeds began climbing in the polls and his momentum accelerated in late May when he gained an editorial endorsement from The Washington Post, the hometown paper of Moran and McAuliffe.
"That endorsement, I think, was huge," said Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax County, a Deeds supporter. "It was probably the turning point in his campaign. People began to look at him and look at his record in earnest."
Deeds also benefited from a late surge in campaign contributions that helped pay for television ads in the expensive Northern Virginia market, where the campaign relentlessly promoted the Post endorsement.
"I guess if there's a moral to this story, it's how to run a budget," Deeds campaign manager Joe Abbey said late last week.
McDonnell had no opposition for the Republican nomination and reached the end of May with nearly $5 million in the bank. But Deeds aides said they expect the campaign's recent fundraising surge to continue. And Kaine, who is chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is well positioned to help his would-be successor.
The general election will be a rematch of the 2005 race for attorney general, which McDonnell won by 360 votes in the closest statewide election in modern Virginia history.
"The contrast could not be more stark," Deeds said Wednesday. "We have to decide if we're going to continue to lead in an optimistic, common-sense form, the mold made by Mark Warner and Tim Kaine ... or whether we're going to go back. Bob McDonnell has a social and economic agenda that will take us back."
Gillespie said McDonnell looks forward to debating issues such as taxes, charter schools and business-labor relations, areas where Republicans think they can gain an advantage and reverse the recent election fortunes.
Republicans already are hitting Deeds for his support of a proposed gasoline tax increase last year, and Deeds has vowed to make transportation funding a top priority as governor.
"Now it's a contest between one candidate and another candidate in a general election and laying low isn't gong to work," Gillespie said. "You're going to have to talk about the issues."
