Archive: Russ Potts
Potts Stays In
Russ Potts is not going anywhere. At a press conference this afternoon, Potts declared once again that he intends to be a candidate until the end. He said he "entered this race on principle and will stay in this race on principle." A Post poll taken last week showed that he would have received 4 percent of the vote. "Don't believe those polls. Don't believe them," Potts said. "We're going to do a whole lot better than people think." That said, he seemed resigned to the fact that he won't win, and he turned his famous rhetorical wit on Republican Jerry Kilgore, who he said had run a much more negative campaign than Democrat Tim Kaine. "Mr. Kilgore, in my opinion, has run a horrible campaign," Potts said. He hammered Kilgore again on his refusal to debate him during the campaign. And he said Kilgore's "no-show" at a recent visit by...
By Michael Shear | October 31, 2005; 02:55 PM ET | Comments (6)
The Latest Polls
The Washington Post doesn't subscribe to the Mason Dixon poll, but that shouldn't keep Race to Richmond readers in the dark. According to the Times Dispatch (which does use Mason Dixon for its polling, along with several other newspapers), Jerry Kilgore leads Tim Kaine by a tiny margin: 44 to 42. Russ Potts is getting about 5 percent of the vote, the poll shows. What does that mean? That the race, with about two weeks to go, is too close to call. Political operatives on both sides say this could be the closest race since 1989, when L. Douglas Wilder won by a tiny sliver of votes. The poll, conducted last week, has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. That means the Kilgore lead is statistically insignificant. That didn't stop Kilgore campaign manager Ken Hutcheson from touting the lead in an e-mail to supporters. "Jerry Kilgore has the momentum...
By Michael Shear | October 23, 2005; 02:42 PM ET | Comments (3)
Dropping out of the Race? "Never!" says Potts.
Just in case anyone's wondering: Independent candidate Russ Potts says he not going to quit his maverick campaign for governor before Election Day. And he's not going to throw his support to Democratic candidate Tim Kaine, as some observers have said he might as a way of undermining Republican candidate Jerry Kilgore's bid. Here's what Potts said about such a scenario this morning in response to a reporter's question on the subject. "I will never, never get out of this race," he said during an event designed to tout the support he received from the The Republican Majority for Choice, the country's largest abortion rights Republican organization. The candidate, who has never received more than 9 percent in any statewide poll, has been gradually slipping in more recent voter surveys. And since it's Potts answering questions, you know there was more to his response: "'Til the last dog dies, I will...
By Chris Jenkins | October 17, 2005; 01:16 PM ET | Comments (5)
A Date to Debate
The Tim Kaine and Jerry Kilgore camps have decided on a date for their third debate: Oct. 9 in Richmond. It will be the first -- and probably the only contest -- televised statewide. Independent Russ Potts will be there if he reaches 15 percent in two statewide polls. But gosh fellas, did it have to be so hard? As all things seem to be these days between the major party's gubernatorial camps, there was a bit of tension over when the debate should be held. Kilgore, the Republican, wanted Oct 9. And his campaign staff made it quite clear that that was the only date acceptable. Here's what Ken Hutcheson, Kilgore's campaign director, had to say to Mo Elleithee, Kaine's director of communications in an e-mail sent around by Elleithee: "Mo--thanks for your e-mail. We have accepted the invite to debate on October 9 issued by the Center for...
By Chris Jenkins | August 10, 2005; 03:02 PM ET | Comments (1)
Mason-Dixon Poll
Kaine 38 percent. Kilgore 37 percent. It's a statistically insignificant lead. But the Mason-Dixon poll that was released Sunday showed Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tim Kaine with a lead none-the-less over Republican Jerry Kilgore. Last fall the Republican had a five-point lead in a poll done by the firm. Other polls that have been taken this year have shown Kilgore up by as many as eight points. Washington, D.C.-based Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc., which has conducted polls in Virginia and other states for more than 20 years, last week interviewed 625 registered voters by phone who said they were likely to cast ballots on Nov. 8. The poll found that Kaine was riding the Gov. Mark Warner express, which is rolling along with what may be the highest approval ratings for a governor in a generation. All that Kaine campaign talk about the "Warner-Kaine administration" appears to be working, if...
By Chris Jenkins | July 25, 2005; 04:23 PM ET | Comments (3)
The Roe v. Wade Game
Democrat Tim Kaine's gubernatorial campaign is trying to push Jerry Kilgore, the GOP candidate, into saying whether he would sign a bill outlawing abortion in Virginia if a potentially reconfigured U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Roe v. Wade decision. It all stems from Kilgore's comments during and after Saturday's debate at The Greenbrier resort. Kilgore said he couldn't answer such a question because, well, no one really knew what the Supremes would do and there are no abortion cases "in the pipeline." It's "total speculation," he said to reporters after the debate. Not good enough, say Kaine supporters. This afternoon, they organized a conference call with three Democratic state lawmakers--Dels. Kristen J. Amundson and Vivian E. Watts, both from Fairfax County, and Sen. Louise L. Lucas (Portsmouth) who wagged their metaphorical fingers at the Republican, for not saying "yes" or "no." "The people of my district want to know ......
By Chris Jenkins | July 18, 2005; 04:46 PM ET | Email a Comment
Debate Watch - Literally
It's a day before the big event -- the first real debate of the governor's race. No. You can't watch it at home. It's not televised. But that's not keeping Democrat Tim Kaine from organizing "Debate Watch" parties across Virginia for Saturday morning. Huh? How do you watch a debate that's not televised? Kaine's operation says the debate will be "live-blogged" by their own campaign staff at www.tk4g.org. It's not clear what exactly that means, but for those of you hard-core political junkies, you can sign on to find out. Kaine is also trying to organize a canvass of the state during the debate. Apparently, he's trying to make the point that while the candidates may have to debate in West Virginia (that's where the sponsoring Virginia Bar Association holds its annual meeting), its better to focus on people who can actually vote in the Nov. 8 election. Democrats are also...
By Michael Shear | July 15, 2005; 12:05 PM ET | Comments (6)
We're in the Money...
"I've got more!" "No, me. I've got more." "Uh-uh. I do." That's the sophisticated message out of the Tim Kaine and Jerry Kilgore camps today, as both revealed their latest fundraising efforts for the month of June. Kilgore, who had been trailing in the money race for most of the summer, claimed victory in the latest money chase by raising $2.1 million during June, compared to just about $1 million for Kaine during the same period. The GOP crowd crowed about its success, calling the effort a stunning victory, even as the campaign acknowledged that a good chunk of the $2.1 million is advance contributions from people attending a swank fundraiser in McLean next week headlined by President Bush. Makes on wonder whether their July numbers will be quite low. Meanwhile, the down-on-their-luck Kaine fundraisers found a silver lining by noting that their overall donations -- just over $11 million --...
By Michael Shear | July 13, 2005; 04:09 PM ET | Email a Comment
Is Three a Crowd?
Russ Potts wants to come to the party. No, not the Republican or Democratic Party. The debate party being held next month by the Virginia Bar Association. It's usually the first major debate of the political season in Virginia. So far, the bar association has said "no" to the Republican state senator's request to be included in the gubernatorial debate with Jerry Kilgore and Tim Kaine. That was before he'd submitted more than 24,000 signatures and qualified for the ballot officially as an independent. So his senior adviser, Tom D'Amore sent a letter to the president of the association, asking for a do-over. "The previous decision should be reconsidered on the basis that Senator Potts is now officially a qualified candidate," D'Amore said in the letter. He went on: "I am cognizant of the Virginia Bar Association's long history of holding the first major debate in Virginia gubernatorial and U.S. Senate...
By Michael Shear | June 17, 2005; 04:54 PM ET | Comments (2)
Is that letter for me?
Del. Bob Marshall of Prince William has sent identical letters to the state's candidates, asking formally whether they would outlaw abortion completely if Roe v. Wade were overturned by the Supreme Court. Talk about a hot potato! And it's not such a bizarre question. In Washington, there's much speculation that President Bush will have the opportunity to nominate at least one Supreme Court justice. That could shift the court's position on abortion during the four-year term of the next Virginia governor. So what do the campaigns have to say? Not much. Both gubernatorial camps declined -- politely -- to engage in hypothetical "what-ifs" with Marshall. Kaine's communications director, Mo Elleithee, pointed the way to Kaine's official position on abortion, which you can find here. In short: He opposes abortion, but will uphold the law of the land. Hmmm. What if the law of the land changes, though? He doesn't exactly say....
By Michael Shear | June 16, 2005; 05:18 PM ET | Comments (2)
Potts Votes for Fitch?
H. Russell Potts, the maverick state senator and thorn in the side of the Virginia Republican Party, announced to a college class today that he has already voted absentee in the June 14 Republican primary. And for governor he voted for George Fitch, the Warrenton mayor and other GOP thorn. Both Fitch and Potts are challenging Republican Jerry Kilgore for governor (Fitch in the primary, Potts in the general election). Potts and Fitch don't agree on "a lot of things," Potts said. But his distate for front-runner Kilgore is palpable. "I voted for [Fitch] because he was at least honest," Potts told the Virginia Commonwealth University class. Potts said he also voted for Sean Connaughton, the Republican board chairman in Prince William, who is running for lieutenant governor. Potts excoriated Connaughton's challenger, Sen. Bill Bolling, as "representative of the most extreme, right-wing of Virignia's Republican Party." He added that Bolling's election...
By Michael Shear | June 3, 2005; 12:18 PM ET | Comments (2)
