Archive: Republicans
From the Bush-Kilgore Rally
Here's a report from Post reporter Michelle Boorstein, who was in the crowd at tonight's Republican rally in Richmond, with President Bush: At Richmond International Airport on Monday evening, hundreds of people, bright lights and cranked-up rock music turned a small private hangar into something more like a movie set. Cars backed up for a mile waiting to get into the Dominion Hangar, where state workers with hanging ID tags, teenagers lying on the tarmac looking up at the landing planes and Secret Service agents gathered to see Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry W. Kilgore and President Bush. Many people wore stickers showing their support for Kilgore, or Sen. Bill Bolling, the GOP's candidate for lieutenant governor, or simply the Republican Party. Campaign officials said that the hangar holds 2,000 people. Before Bush arrived, the hangar was filling up and more than 100 people were spilling outside. Mary Bria, 58, a consultant...
By Robert Thomson | November 7, 2005; 09:01 PM ET | Comments (25)
Bush Comes (Again)
President Bush is expected to come to Virginia on behalf of Jerry Kilgore for a last minute, election eve event in Richmond, sources in Virginia say. Here's the early story. The big question: Who does this help? The Kilgore campaign appears to think that Bush -- despite low poll numbers -- will help motivate Republicans to turn out on Tuesday. The Tim Kaine campaign appears to believe that Bush will motivate Democrats and independents to vote for Kaine....
By Michael Shear | November 4, 2005; 10:49 AM ET | Comments (7)
Which Way, Wilder?
So, who is Doug going to endorse? The topic of where former Virginia governor and current Richmond mayor L. Douglas Wilder is going to throw his support in the governor's race is starting to become a hot one among political insiders around the state. A couple of months back, Wilder opened up the pitch for his support by asking Tim Kaine, Jerry Kilgore and Russ Potts a few questions about a 10-point plan he developed to help improve cities around the commonwealth. All three candidates were cooperative, although Kilgore scored highest, agreeing on all 10 points, including a tax credit for low- and moderate-income families. Kaine, who embraced eight of Wilder's points, didn't agree to the tax credit. But now a new wrinkle. Wilder has asked Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) to use the state's surplus to help set up a program that will help poor and working class Virginians pay...
By Chris Jenkins | October 21, 2005; 07:42 PM ET | Comments (6)
The Ad War
Sorry for the lag between posts. It's been quite a week. The big news? An ad by Jerry Kilgore, attacking Tim Kaine on the death penalty. It's two ads, actually. You can see them here. Kaine immediately responded with an ad of his own. You can see that one here. And a bit later, he went up with a second ad, which you can find here, too. The conclusion? The immediate conventional wisdom was that the ads were devastating for Kaine. They depict very sorrowful family members talking about their loved ones who were murdered, and -- in essence -- blaming Kaine, who opposes the death penalty but says he will enforce it if elected. Without the benefit of any polling, though, political pundits are left wondering what impact the ads really had. Did they hurt Kaine as much as people think? Or could there be a backlash from people who...
By Michael Shear | October 14, 2005; 04:46 PM ET | Comments (13)
Warm and Fuzzy
Not everything these days is an attack ad. (Well, OK, almost everything). As proof, take a look at the following political commercials from Jerry Kilgore and his attorney general running mate, Bob McDonnell. See the Kilgore ad here. And the McDonnell ad here. The McDonnell ad -- the first from a down-ticket candidate -- is pretty standard fare. Bob in front of a warship. Bob with his family. Bob putting criminals behind bars (with the image of a jail door slamming shut.) "As your Attorney General, I'll work for mandatory sentences for first offense sexual predators who attack our children," McDonnell says. "As your Attorney General I'll protect Virginians and punish criminals." Kilgore's new ad is more clever. Jerry Kilgore (Courtesy Kilgore for Governor) Terry Kilgore (Courtesy Terry Kilgore) It uses the fact that Jerry Kilgore has an identical twin brother, Terry, who's a member of the Virginia House of Delegates....
By Michael Shear | October 5, 2005; 10:08 AM ET | Comments (9)
Good Intentions?
The Republican National Committee is trying to do it's part in helping to get out the vote on Nov. 8 in Virginia's various races. The RNC has been calling folks around the Old Dominion over the last couple of days with the following telephone message: "Our records indicate you might not be properly registered to vote at this address," says a female voice. "The race for Virginia's next governor will be close. Every vote will count. That's why its so important that you are properly registered to vote." The soothing voice goes on to say that the callee will get a form in the mail within a few days and suggests that it will help them register. Sounds like a helpful reminder. Well, according to Democrats, it is just shameful. Democratic Party Chairman C. Richard Cranwell said that the RNC phone blitz amounts to a sinister plot to suppress voter turnout....
By Chris Jenkins | September 27, 2005; 03:38 PM ET | Comments (12)
Blogging About Base Budgeting
Bear with us here. This is a post about something called "base budgeting." Mark Warner's budget chief gave a presentation to House delegates Monday in which he said his staffers are assuming that next year's budget will not include a transfer of about $290 million from the state's general fund to its transportation fund. In documents and testimony, budget chief Rick Brown said the "base budget" for Virginia -- which includes all required spending and none of the frills -- will not, by default, include the transfer. The decision, he said, will be made separately by Warner later. (Stay with me.) Republican lawmakers flipped. What!? they said, their voices tinged with outrage. How could Warner "take" that money out of transportation at a time that traffic congestion is so bad. They accused Warner of robbing $1 billion from transportation over six years. Is that true? As usual, it depends on how...
By Michael Shear | September 21, 2005; 11:22 PM ET | Comments (5)
Recipe for a Melee?
The Greater Richmond Convention Center and the Richmond Marriott are separated only by the width of 5th Street in downtown Richmond. That may not be enough. On Nov. 8, Jerry Kilgore and his followers will be whooping it up at the convention center as the returns pour in, while Tim Kaine and his throngs celebrate the end of the campaign at the Marriott. It is, according to seasoned political pros in Virginia, the first time that two candidates have been virtually on top of each other on election night. (In 2001, for example, Mark Warner was at the Marriott and Mark Earley was at the Omni -- also in Richmond but far enough away that nary would the two parties mix.) So should we expect chaos? Probably not. Despite the passions of the campaign -- and there are certainly those -- Virginians are basically an orderly lot. In fact, I wouldn't...
By Michael Shear | September 20, 2005; 12:14 PM ET | Comments (16)
Where's Gilmore?
It was all set to be a blockbuster -- former governor Jim Gilmore, the Republican heavy-hitter, v. Virginia Democratic Chairman Dicky Cranwell, Gilmore's former nemesis in the legislature. And in the middle: Mark Plotkin, the political guru of WTOP radio whose main goal in life seems to be to annoy every politician he can. With all that, the hour-long debate Friday morning couldn't help but be a doozy. And then Gilmore backed out. A royally upset Plotkin told listeners at 10 a.m. that Gilmore -- who had requested an opportunity on the radio -- had called at the last minute to back out. "If I'm showing my displeasure, I am," Plotkin said. Gilmore spokesman Dan Kreske said Gilmore had cancelled because of a full schedule Friday morning. "He had a late flight in from Colorado, a meeting on [Hurricane] Katrina relief, and a meeting with the president of Romania. We had...
By Michael Shear | September 16, 2005; 12:16 PM ET | Comments (10)
The Speaker Speaks
Glue sticks and death. If House Speaker Bill Howell gets his way, neither one will be taxed in Virginia. The Republican from Stafford County held a news conference today to announce that GOP delegates will push for two tax initiatives in 2006: a repeal of the estate tax and a "tax holiday" for people buying school supplies in late summer. "Today, we are pleased to announce our commitment to advancing two sound public policy initiatives that will ease the burden on families working to provide a quality education for their children, protect family-owned businesses and farms, and further enhance Virginia's economy," Howell said in a statement released after the event. Not exactly big, sweeping anti-tax proposals from one of the top Republicans in the state. But Howell and the delegates who joined him at the news conference apparently believe they are achievable, regardless of who wins the governor's race in November....
By Michael Shear | August 18, 2005; 04:14 PM ET | Comments (10)
Virginia Politics and Illegal Immigrants: Chapter 2
Republican gubernatorial nominee Jerry Kilgore lobbed a hot potato into the statewide campaign last week by firmly objecting to a proposed taxpayer-supported day-laborer pavilion in Herndon for largely Latino workers. He said that such a taxpayer offering would undermine the rule of law and "denigrates" citizens who immigrated to the country legally. Kilgore's comments immediately led his opponents to say that he was charging up his base at the expense of hardworking men and women: "It's a sound-bite, hot-button wedge issue," said Russ Potts, the race's independent candidate. Well, just two days later Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), who appears to be in a tough fight for his House seat against political newcomer Greg Werkheiser, ratcheted up the rhetoric on the issue when he told CNN that: "Jerry Kilgore and myself believe we should be taking a more aggressive role in kicking them out of the country." And apparently Albo...
By Chris Jenkins | August 12, 2005; 04:25 PM ET | Comments (3)
RATS!
Yes, there are rats in the state's new executive office building in Richmond. No, we're not talking about lobbyists. We're talking about the real, furry kind, with tails and sharp teeth and an apparently voracious appetite for pork rinds. They seem to be crawling around the Patrick Henry building, where the legislature will hold its 2006 session. The state has apparently caught 200 of them. The news was first reported in the Virginian-Pilot and then today followed by the Times Dispatch. According to both stories, there have been several rat sightings in the new building, which houses the governor's office and much of his cabinet. Carmella Bills, the public relations manager for the House of Delegates, says she found rat poop in the top drawer of her desk, according to Times Dispatch reporter Mike Hardy. No jokes, please, about the rats that will arrive in January....
By Michael Shear | August 9, 2005; 11:58 AM ET | Comments (2)
Not Eliot Spitzer
Del. Bob McDonnell says he will not be an Eliot Spitzer-style attorney general if Virginia voters elect him on Nov. 8, and he accused his opponent, Creigh Deeds, of secretly harboring desires to be an "activist" AG. Why invoke New York Attorney General Spitzer's name? And why borrow terms like "activist" from the national debate over judges? McDonnell wants to paint his opponent as a foe of business, that's why. He made the accusations today at a press conference, flanked by the leaders of the National Federation of Independent Business and the Virginia Manufacturers Association. Just as an aside: The leaders of both of those business groups lauded McDonnell for his exceptional record toward business. One called him "rock solid." Another said he has been a "staunch supporter" of business and said small businesses "owe you a very great thank you." Even so, both men declined to endorse McDonnell, saying they...
By Michael Shear | August 3, 2005; 03:11 PM ET | Comments (2)
Oops
The bloggers who call themselves Not Larry Sabato claim on their blog to be "100% accurate so far." Not anymore. For a brief time Tuesday, the blog announced the imminent death of House Appropriations Chairman Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-Fairfax). The item went on to describe the likelihood that a special election would be called to replace him and to speculate on his possible successors. The only problem: It wasn't true. Callahan, who is 73 years old, is fine. The anonymous bloggers at Not Larry Sabato admitted their mistake quickly, took the post down, and posted this update: "That was a draft. Sorry about the post this morning, that was a draft that got posted before it was ready. We have those written for about 8 different Delegates who have had health rumors around them in the past, along with a write up of their districts and potential replacements. When moving...
By Michael Shear | August 2, 2005; 12:40 PM ET | Comments (5)
Marrs Attack
The letter from Republican Del. Brad Marrs of Richmond was meant to raise money. Certainly, it raised hackles. Marrs, a conservative Republican, used the letter to attack his independent challenger, Katherine Waddell, a former Republican herself. In his letter, Marrs criticized her for taking a $10,000 contribution from a "wealthy homosexual businessman." The letter was first reported by Jeff Schapiro in the Richmond Times Dispatch, and it has created quite a buzz in Richmond. Waddell immediately denounced the attack. In Schapiro's article, she called it "unfortunate to single out groups of people." On her Web site, Waddell says that "social extremists are not conservatives. They use governments' long arm to dictate some of the most basic and private decisions individuals make." Marrs told the Times Dispatch that the reference to a gay donor was "standard political campaigning . . . no great innovation." The bloggers have eaten the issue up. Two...
By Michael Shear | August 1, 2005; 04:40 PM ET | Comments (2)
Eavesdropping, Part LXXVII
Jerry Kilgore had successfully beat the GOP eavesdropping case to death. He'd buried it. It was gone. Over. Kaput. Finished. Never to be ... Well, you get the idea. But now, it's reared its ugly head again, and Kilgore has only one party to blame: the Republican Party. Last week, the GOP filed a lawsuit against its former insurance company, claiming that the company should have picked up the tab for the $750,000 payment the party made to Democratic lawmakers whose conference call was secretly recorded by former GOP executive director Ed Matricardi. When news of the insurance lawsuit emerged, the entire Richmond political establishment let out a collective: Huh? Why, most of them ask, would the Republican Party want to bring that story up again, three months before Election Day. It's not, after all, like the scandal has had no bearing on the governor's race. Kilgore was deposed in the...
By Michael Shear | August 1, 2005; 12:17 PM ET | Comments (4)
Md. Gov Says He Likes Warner, Really
The First Couple hit the trail Thursday night to support leading Republicans in Virginia and Maryland. President Bush went to a dinner for gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore at the home of developer and home builder Dwight Schar in McLean. Laura Bush went to Bethesda, to attend a fundraiser for Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Post reporter Matt Mosk, who covers Maryland state government, was at the Bethesda fundraiser. In addition to contributing to The Post's story on the two money-raising events, Matt filed this report: Ehrlich tried to dial back from comments he made about Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D) a few days earlier. In trumpeting Maryland's billion dollar budget surplus on talk radio, Ehrlich had specifically noted that his economic plan was superior to Warner's, because it did not involve a tax increase. "They have a huge surplus because they passed taxes when they didn't need to, when some...
By Robert Thomson | July 22, 2005; 12:18 PM ET | Comments (5)
Anti-taxers and the GOP Mavs: Is there a Silver Lining?
Almost all of the "GOP mavericks" cleared their toughest hurdle yesterday and survived energetic, well-funded challenges to their 2004 tax-raising vote. The only exception was Del. Gary A. Reese of Fairfax County, who was bounced from office by the baby of the anti-tax bunch, 26-year-old Chris Craddock, a youth minister from Fairfax. He won with a convincing 66 percent of the vote. Lots of different spin today from lobbyists and activists about whether this is a blow to the anti-tax movement, which swore revenge against the delegates, or whether the process shows positive signs for those who want to see the House GOP Caucus remain all anti-tax, all the time. Let's start with those who see the silver lining. Anti-tax activist Jim Parmelee, president of Virginians United for Tax Relief, saw victory in the election results. How? He saw Craddock's win as proof that the anti-tax message is slowly making...
By Chris Jenkins | June 15, 2005; 03:55 PM ET | Comments (6)
The GOP is Ready to Rumble
And they're off. The battle for political supremacy between the R's and the D's has begun and the GOP got it started early this morning with a small rally in Richmond at state party headquarters. And who better to begin with a feisty opening shot across the bow for what will surely be a 150-day war of words than Kate Obenshain Griffin, the chairman of the Virginia GOP. This morning she presented to party loyalists the GOP's statewide victors--Jerry Kilgore, Sen. Bill Bolling and Del. Robert McDonnell, who stood shoulder to shoulder, wearing dark suits and broad smiles. Here was Griffin's first pitch, a nice fat fastball, nothing but high heat: "Virginians face more than just a choice between a Republican and a Democrat," she said with her characteristic sharp verbiage. "It's the difference between a principled conservative and a flip-flopping liberal extremist." "Whooo!" a voice piped up from the...
By Chris Jenkins | June 15, 2005; 12:23 PM ET | Comments (4)
It's Over! Now the fun begins.
For the bleary-eyed among you who stayed up till the bitter end, this will come as no surprise. But for the rest of you: The Virginia primary is over. Done. Kaput. Finito. All those Web sites for losing candidates like Sean Connaughton, Steve Baril, Chap Petersen and Viola Baskerville will fade into obscurity. You can remove them from your bookmark lists now. (Connaughton's already has been replaced with a message of support for the GOP ticket. Boy, that was fast!) But there's no rest for weary bloggers, so don't you dare delete the Race to Richmond from your lists. We're on to bigger and better things. Specifically the 2005 general election, which we now know will feature no end of fasicnating matchups. Of course, there's Kilgore v. Kaine v. Potts. Since we're now in the 24-hour-news cycle, stay tuned for a nearly non-stop torrent of sniping, accusations and multi-media bashing. Oh,...
By Michael Shear | June 15, 2005; 10:40 AM ET | Comments (1)
Help From the Likes of Schwarzenegger and McCain
Less than a week left in the Virgnia primary, and guess who's coming to the party? A group representing some of the nation's most prominent middle of the road Republicans, including Sen. John McCain and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Both men serve on a goup called the Republican Main Street Partnership, which on Friday will begin airing radio ads on behalf of Sean Connaughton, a GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, and Bobby Orrock, one of those maverick GOP delegates who questioned their party's orthodoxy on taxes in 2004. The national group has also contributed money and manpower to two other delgates: Gary Reese of Fairfax and Ed Scott of Madison County. The Connaughton ad is aimed squarely at his opponent, Sen. Bill Bolling, and accuses him of ignoring Northern Virginia's traffic woes. While horns honk and traffic reports blare in the background, an announcer says "Bill Bolling believes there is no transportation...
By Michael Shear | June 9, 2005; 03:19 PM ET | Comments (3)
GOP Geographical Dream Team?
Sean Connaughton, the chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors who finds himself in a bruising GOP primary battle for lieutenant governor, stopped in Richmond today to chat with reporters on his way to Williamsburg. Connaughton, who faces Sen. Bill Bolling (Hanover) in Tuesday's primary, addressed this question: Assuming former GOP attorney general Jerry Kilgore wins on Tuesday, which of these two giants would be better for the party's ticket in November? "It is critical to the Republican ticket to have a Northern Virginian on it," he said in an interview at the state Capitol. "When you look at the fact that Northern Virginia is now a third of the electorate for the general election ... the party has to make more inroads up there. We've got to make up ground that we've lost up there ... if we don't, it's going to have long term ramifications." Democratic...
By Chris Jenkins | June 8, 2005; 06:13 PM ET | Comments (4)
McDonnell's Secret Weapon
View Enlarged Photo and Caption Talk about bringing in your big guns! Joe Graziano lives in Fredericksburg, but finds himself in Iraq now, courtesy of the U.S. Army Reserves. But before the major left, he made sure to take all the essentials: toothbrush, toilet paper, fresh underwear and a Bob McDonnell for Attorney General campaign sign. Bob's campaign manager, Janet Polarek, says Joe is just a huge supporter and promised to do what he could, even as he got sent overseas. Today, he sent an e-mail back to the McDonnell campaign, which has a little over a week left in its bitter struggle with lawyer Steve Baril for the GOP nomination. The McDonnell Web site quotes Joe's e-mail this way: "I hope all is well with you and the campaign as primary day approaches." But Polarek says the Web site didn't quote the whole e-mail, which ended pretty much this way:...
By Michael Shear | June 6, 2005; 02:44 PM ET | Comments (3)
RNC Chairman Comes to Richmond
Ken Mehlman, the chairman of the Republican National Committee waaaay up in Washington made a stop today at the Marriott hotel in Richmond to have a lunchtime chat with Jerry Kilgore supporters. It wasn't a fundraiser per se -- these 80 or so folks had already given at least $500 to the campaign, Kilgore said afterward. It was more a "thank you for supporting me"--and the lunch with Mehlman was a party favor of sorts. It was the first time that anyone from the Republican national political power center had eased on down Interstate 95 and weighed in on Kilgore's behalf, said his spokesman, Tim Murtaugh. And boy, did Mehlman weigh in. "I'm here to announce officially that the party is unified and that the Republican National Committee will be helping and supporting and providing assistance in terms of financial assistance, in terms of staff, in terms of help with tactics,...
By Chris Jenkins | May 26, 2005; 04:26 PM ET | Comments (1)
Gilmore vs. His Team
Former governor Jim Gilmore's political machine is one of the most efficient -- and loyal -- in Virginia. If Gilmore makes a comeback (Senate in '08 or governor in '09), expect Gilmore's team to rally again. So it comes as something of a surprise that Gilmore on Monday broke ranks with some of his most loyal supporters and endorsed Del. Bob McDonnell of Virginia Beach for attorney general in the Republican primary. Ray Allen, Gilmore's long-time media consultant, and former congressman Tom Bliley, a longtime Gilmore supporter, both are backing lawyer Steve Baril for the AG spot. Nonetheless, with 22 days left until the primary on June 14, Gilmore stood in front of the Henrico County Courthouse to endorse McDonnell, calling him "an absolutely wonderful choice." Gilmore aides explain it this way: McDonnell and Gilmore are old pals, going back to the days they were both local prosecutors. In 1992, McDonnell...
By Michael Shear | May 23, 2005; 11:35 AM ET | Email a Comment
Is John Kerry Running for Governor?
Republicans have released the latest salvo in a week that one adviser to gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore has dubbed their first "shock and awe" campaign. And it's a virtual time warp. There, on the screen in the latest television ad for Jerry Kilgore, is none other than John Kerry, the current liberal-du-jour for Republicans. Kerry's image quickly gives way to an image of Kilgore's opponent, Democratic Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine. The ad, paid for by a new political action committee formed by the Republican Governors Association, takes aim at Kaine's record of taxes, contrasting the Democrat's claim to have lowered taxes with the amount that taxes increased on his own home. But the images are clearly intended to link Kaine with Kerry, who lost Virginia to President Bush by 10 points last November. At one point in the new ad, a filmstrip runs across the screen with the faces of Kaine...
By Michael Shear | May 20, 2005; 12:26 PM ET | Comments (9)
Mixing Bowl Politics
Photo Courtesy Connaughton for Governor campaign Sean Connaughton is thinking big. Really big. And he's made the connection between politics and traffic. So what better way for the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor to campaign than to hang a huge -- really huge -- banner on the side of a high-rise in the middle of the Springfield Mixing Bowl. The Connaughton For Lt. Gov. sign is 60 feet wide and 36 feet tall and hangs near the top of an office building where tens of thousands of commuters each day can't help but see it. Will it help Connaughton, who is locked in a battle with State Sen. Bill Bolling for the Republican nomination in the June 14 primary? Perhaps on June 15 we will know whether size really does matter....
By Michael Shear | May 18, 2005; 02:10 PM ET | Comments (5)
