Posted on 11/10/2005 4:02:20 AM PST by johnny7
RICHMOND -- President Bush's sinking popularity helped seal Democrat Timothy M. Kaine's victory in Virginia's gubernatorial election Tuesday, politicians and pollsters said yesterday. "We know that George Bush is just killing us," said Delegate David B. Albo, a Republican who narrowly defeated his Democratic challenger in Fairfax County. "His popularity just brought the ticket down. There's no other way to explain it."
Mr. Kaine, the current lieutenant governor, defeated Republican Jerry W. Kilgore by six percentage points in a contest that had been a statistical dead heat in the days before the election.
(Excerpt) Read more at insider.washingtontimes.com ...
Did Kilgore promise a tax cut? I don't recall a tax cut being offered since Gilmore, who won.
This administration never came back from the August vacation... they're fighting with their gloves down.
One other thing. In this great Democrat night in Va, they gained exactly one house seat total. What a wave!
The president is increasingly unpopular and it is entirely of his own making.
Anyone who uses Hitler in their ads, even a Republican, deserves to lose. Period.
As a loyal VA conservative Republican, I come neither to praise Bush nor to bury him. What I do know is that Kilgore (whom I like) ran an unfocused, uninspired and ambiguous campaign that did not excite voters. And "RINO's" s/b "RINOS", and is not synonomous with "Bush supporters."
Did the GOP lose seats in the legislature, gain seats in the legislature, or remain the same?
While GWB has done several good - very good - things, on balance, he's not the POTUS I wish he'd be: I was hoping for a Reagan-type and we got more of a Bush I type.
As to the VA governor's race, I didn't expect us to win that one anyway, Bush or no-Bush. As to gaining "one of the Big Three", big freaking deal. The Lt. Gov and the AG are not terribly important to the Nation-at-large.
LOL!
Conclusions? The candidate didn't attract votes and there is no strong link between not winning the governorship and the national political scene.
I'm a native of Virginia. My entire family still lives there. My husband still votes in the Commonwealth, since we only moved because he is in the military. I don't exactly see how that's any of your business, but you seem to require some sort of credential assuring you that one is sufficiently "Virginian" in order to state one's opinion.
The fact that the VA and national GOP have not been extraordinarily conservative of late does not erase the fact that Kilgore's campaign was abominable.
It's a bit early in the day to already be acting like a condescending fool. Eat some fiber and waste no more of my time.
"As to gaining "one of the Big Three", big freaking deal. The Lt. Gov and the AG are not terribly important to the Nation-at-large."
I think it is important to note because everyone wants to paint this as a huge D victory. It was not - status quo at the highest level at best. It was simply local politics, where a campaign had the upper hand and absolutely blew it.
I believe that the GOP won the Attorney General's race by less than 1/10 of one percentage point, and the Lieutenant General's race by just over one percentage point. Hardly a ringing endorsement of the GOP ticket, in a state that Bush carried in 2004 by a considerable margin.
Oh, I view this as a "status quo" kind of thing as well. Not a huge win/loss for either side.
My point is that no matter WHAT happens, there will be several FReepers rushing to GWB's defense, whether he needs them to or not. This local GOP critter blamed Bush - I didn't.
See some of the other replies to my post and you'll see what I mean.
A finer pile a bull has never made..
Shhh..... quiet. Your ruining peoples argument.
There were a lot of factors here including Warners popularity, bad news for REpublicans for the past few months etc. Bush's low approval definitely did not help any but also remember when Bush's approval was in the 80s the Dem won VA
We had a Republican candidate for governor who wasn't all that clearly "pro-life", didn't take a no-tax pledge, and was not fully forthcoming regarding the Second Amendment.
The so-called "religious right" has sufficient numbers to make the difference in any Virginia election. All they have to do is walk in the booth and fail to vote for any candidate who doesn't speak to them.
At the same time we picked up the Lt. Governor's position.
I'd suggest this Islamofascist Governor of ours'd best not visit his little friends in New Jersey or he won't have an office if he gets back.
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