In Virginia, McCain Struggles To Hold the South for GOP

[kpete]

Source: Wall Street Journal

In Virginia, McCain Struggles To Hold the South for GOP
By COREY DADE

Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin are scheduled to roll into Virginia on Monday in a bid to stop the Republican ticket's slide in the state and thwart what once was unthinkable: fractures in the "Solid South," the backbone of successful Republican presidential politics for four decades.

Not long ago, Virginia appeared solidly in the McCain camp. Republican strategists knew the race would be tighter there in 2008 than in past years, but were confident enough not to open a standalone state headquarters and spent sparingly on advertising while pouring resources into other states.

But in the past week, polls began showing Sen. McCain falling well behind Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama in the state. Two weeks ago, Sen. Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, held a rally in Prince William County, Va., long a conservative stronghold in a state that has voted for only one Democratic presidential nominee since 1948. The Democrats drew more than 20,000 people, many of whom waited an hour in a torrential downpour and lightning before the candidates arrived.

Fueled by demographic shifts, rising doubts about the direction of the country, perceived missteps by Sen. McCain and a voter-registration push by the Obama campaign that has helped add a net of 310,000 new, mostly younger voters, the Democratic ticket increasingly appears positioned to win Virginia and make critical inroads across the South. A CNN/Time Inc. poll released Wednesday shows Sen. Obama has opened a nine-point lead on Sen. McCain in Virginia.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122385515550927117.html

[elocs]

1. A brilliant strategic move by Obama in forcing McCain to defend previously safe red states.

[The Stranger]

13. Add that to having the convention in Colorado and returning to Iowa for key announcements.

Two states that Kerry and Gore forgot, that Obama will likely pick up.

[Dr Fate]

14. Yup- Howard Dean gets credit as well. n/t

n/t

[primavera]

15. Agreed

I think Howard Dean also deserves some credit for his advocacy on behalf of a 50 state campaign approach. Writing off half the country as irretrievable, even if statistically sound, has been a serious mistake, allowing primitive conservative ideas to go unchallenged and become entrenched.

[msongs]

2. doh when dems won the senate (webb) and governorship should tipped off the repubs lol nt

[VADem11]

3. We will win Virginia

I am pretty confident right now. Obama has an amazing ground game in this state and McCain has pulled most of his ads from the Northern Virginia market. I can sense victory right now.

[dgibby]

4. Waaaaaay too late! Big Dog was there today!

[torbird]

5. Yep. Way too late!

VA is gone. McCain should be worried about WVa. and NC at this point. Not that it matters, because if Obama wins VA and PA then he wins the election. But McCain can at least maybe stave-off the landslide!

[dgibby]

6. And both those states are looking promising, too!

[Claire Beth]

7. Way to go, Virginia!!!! n/t

[rpannier]

8. Since 1960 Virginia has only voted for one Dem for Prez...LBJ

In fairness to mcbush, the state has been trending Dem for a few years.
But, mcbush is helping to push it into the Dem column with lightning speed.

[yellowcanine]

9. And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for McGrumpy in Virginia......

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/12/AR2008101201956.html

The Virginia GOP head compares Obama to Osama bin Laden - and refuses to apologize - though he will likely be gone by the end of the day now that the WP has a big story on it.....

Virginia Republicans - the gift that keeps giving.

[underpants]

10. Real Clear Politics (yes even them) took Va. off the "Swing state" category

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7426111

Obama MADE Va. a contest. The "kids" staffing here are flat out busting ass. I am taking an inflatable mattress by one of the offices later today-they are hunkering down for the loooooong hours the next few weeks.

[demnan]

11. Prince William has never been a complete conservative

stronghold as suggested by this article. In 2004 the precinct numbers showed the Eastern part of this county as blue in the east and purple along and west of I-95. Only in the more rural western areas was this county solidly red. Yes they did buy into the immigrant prejudice (although we had a massive peaceful rally against the immigration laws). But this is still a highly diverse community with a large Hispanic community, a growing Muslim community, and a growing number of urban liberal whites and blacks.

In 2006 this county was instrumental in helping Jim Webb, a Democrat, get elected. We have a strong Democratic Party operation here.

Just wanted to clear up the facts. :)

[DeepModem Mom]

12. K&R