Archive: Tim Kaine
Why Did it Happen?
What do the readers of Race to Richmond think? Why did Tim Kaine win? Was it his message? Were voters angry with Jerry Kilgore and his negative campaigning? Or did they want to send a message to George Bush? And what kind of governor will Kaine be? He's made a bunch of promises during the campaign -- what he would do and what he would not do. Will he keep those promises? And what do you think the 2006 General Assembly session will be like? Will there be a fight over transportation taxes? How will the Republican House and Senate treat Kaine? Also, what do you think about the other statewide races. Bill Bolling won a narrow victory over Leslie Byrne, and it looks like Bob McDonnell holds a tiny, tiny lead over Creigh Deeds. What were the voters saying with those choices? Here is your chance to weigh in....
By Michael Shear | November 9, 2005; 11:18 AM ET | Comments (22)
Dirty Tricks?
Pay no attention to the candidates you see stumping, on television and at rallies. The real campaign is there, on your kitchen counter (the telephone) and in your family room (the television) and in your car (the radio). With just about 48 hours before the polls close, Jerry Kilgore and Tim Kaine are intensifying their efforts to reach voters by any means necessary. Republicans are running a particularly interesting "robo-call" in Northern Virginia, using Tim Kaine's own voice from a radio ad he ran months ago. The telephone call, which is apparently going to Democratic voters in the suburbs, is Kaine's voice, talking about supporting restrictions on abortion: "I'm conservative on issues of personal responsibility. As a former Christian missionary, faith is central to my life. I oppose gay marriage. I support restrictions on abortion - no public funding and parental consent and I worked to pass a state law banning...
By Michael Shear | November 7, 2005; 02:29 PM ET | Comments (35)
The Final Days
Campaign 2005 is almost over. The candidates are out stumping across the state, looking for those last, few votes that could put them over the top in what has become an extraordinarily tight race. On Saturday, the state's leading Republican politicians joined Jerry Kilgore at a rally in Springfield, where Kilgore declared himself to be the "pro gun owner, anti-tax, limited government, anti illegal immigration, pro public safety, pro death penalty ..... trust the people conservative." Tim Kaine and Mark Warner attended rallies and potluck suppers in Southwest Virginia with Leslie Byrne and Criegh Deeds. At one stop, Kaine said "it's hard to remember one positive thing [Kilgore] has put out about himself or what he wants to do." The campaigning continues Sunday and climaxes Monday night with President Bush's visit to Richmond for a rally with Kilgore. In the meantime, both campaigns are on edge, worried that every little thing...
By Michael Shear | November 5, 2005; 03:13 PM ET | Comments (29)
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)
Michael Schiavo Endorses Kaine
Michael Schiavo, the Florida man who waged a battle to let his brain-injured wife die, put out a statement today endorsing Democrat Tim Kaine for governor over Republican Jerry Kilgore. "Even though I am not a Virginian, I care deeply about the outcome of this election because one of the candidates for Virginia Governor has said publicly that he would follow Jeb Bush's lead in similar cases," he said in a statement. Schiavo said his comments are not partisan and said he was a "lifelong" Republican before his battle with Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and other conservatives. "Having heard each of the candidates' thoughts on what happened to me and my family, Mr. Kilgore will not do that so I implore Virginia voters to elect Tim Kaine Governor." Schiavo was referring to the following exchange at the third debate, moderated by Larry Sabato: Larry Sabato: "Do you think a Governor should...
By Michael Shear | November 2, 2005; 12:50 PM ET | Comments (27)
Air Wars Continue
Both Jerry Kilgore and Tim Kaine are airing new and gritty attack ads today, and Kilgore is up with a new positive ad as well. Kaine is still running his positive ads featuring Gov. Mark Warner and his transportation plan. The ads will be linked here as soon as they are available online. Kaine's ad attacks Kilgore on abortion, saying that the Republican wants to ban abortions unless a woman reports a rape or incest within seven days of the assault. "Seven days," an announcer says while the screen shows a distraught woman sitting in a darkened kitchen. " Jerry Kilgore would outlaw abortion and victimize victims yet again." Kilgore has consistently said he does not want to criminalize women who have abortions. But he has refused to say whether he would sign a bill outlawing abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. And he has reaffirmed previous...
By Michael Shear | November 1, 2005; 10:31 AM ET | Comments (13)
The Return of Obama
The latest in a string of national Democrats arrived in Virginia today on behalf of Tim Kaine. This time, the visitor was rising star Barak Obama, the new senator from Illinois, who riveted Democrats with his speech at last year's national convention. Obama has already campaigned for Kaine once, back in July, as my colleague, Chris Jenkins reported: Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama rallied state party stalwarts behind Virginia gubernatorial candidate Timothy M. Kaine (D) last night at a packed event aimed at energizing core party supporters during a traditionally slow period in the campaign for governor. Obama, an Illinois senator considered a rising star in the national party, said in an interview that a victory for Kaine in Virginia's off-year election would be an important event for the national party and would "set a tone that Democrats can have a message of fiscal responsibility" but maintain funding for education. He...
By Michael Shear | October 30, 2005; 11:41 AM ET | Comments (10)
Kilgore, 44 - Kaine, 47
That's the bottom line result of the new Post poll, out today. You can click here to see today's story about the poll, and to download a summary of the results. Some other tidbits: * Kaine is leading in the outer suburbs of Northern Virginia, a surprising result * Voters say they believe Kilgore is running a more negative campaign * That's in large part because voters saw Kilgore's death penalty ad as unfair. The reaction to the poll from the Kilgore camp has been swift. To read it, click here. Kaine's campaign has not yet published a reaction on their Web site....
By Michael Shear | October 30, 2005; 11:22 AM ET | Comments (19)
Immigration Ad
With little more than a week left, Jerry Kilgore launched another television attack on Tim Kaine, this time on illegal immigrants. You can see the ad here. The ad starts by declaring illegal immigration "a growing crisis" and saying that Kilgore opposes "taxpayer funded job centers" and "in-state tuition discounts for illegal immigrants." The ad then goes on to criticize Kaine, while showing a scary picture of Tim Kaine nodding oddly. (It's a clip of Kaine that seems appropriate for Halloween) "And Tim Kaine?" the announcer asks. "Kaine favors taxpayer-funded job centers and supports in-state tuition discounts for illegals. Taxpayer benefits for illegal immigrants? What part of illegal does Tim Kaine not understand?" Kaine aides denounced the ad, in part for its overall message, but also for what they said was an outright lie: Kaine doesn't support in-state tuition for illegal aliens, they said. "Tim Kaine supported the bill that would...
By Michael Shear | October 29, 2005; 02:21 PM ET | Comments (7)
New Kaine Ads
Tim Kaine has two new ads, the latest in what is sure to be a barrage of last-minute political ads from both sides. The first, titled "Succeed" features -- who else? -- Gov. Mark Warner. You can see the ad here. "I'm Mark Warner. As governor, I've made some tough decisions and Tim Kaine had the guts to stand with me and put our financial house in order," Warner says to the camera. Kaine takes over then: "I'm Tim Kaine, I have a plan to create buying pools to help small business afford health insurance for their workers, to expand educational opportunities and create better jobs. And to keep Virginia the best managed state in America. As your next governor, I'll work to bring economic opportunity to all parts of Virginia. " The second ad, called "Wrong," is more sharp-edged. It uses the headlines and commentary from the state's newspapers (and...
By Michael Shear | October 24, 2005; 05:13 PM ET | Comments (3)
The (Democratic?) Club for Growth
The anti-tax mailer from the conservative Virginia Club for Growth looks just like any other anti-tax screed: Its message to Republican Jerry Kilgore: You're not conservative enough. Download kai0546_club4growth_1017.pdf The first page features a red, white and blue elephant with the words: "An Important Message for Virginia Republicans!" Turn to the next page and you see a picture of Jerry Kilgore with some very critical words from the Club For Growth. "Jerry Kilgore must spell out his true position on taxes," the piece says. The group's president, Phil Rodokanakis, is quoted as saying: "For months now, Jerry Kilgore has tried to have his cake and eat it too. By trying to play both sides of the issue, Kilgore has been telling fiscal conservatives that he's against taxes, while winking at the tax-and-spend interests in our Commonwealth, implying that he's also on their side." Not a good message for Kilgore, who needs...
By Michael Shear | October 23, 2005; 02:49 PM ET | Comments (14)
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)
Bill Arrives
What if Bill Clinton came to Virginia and nobody knew it. Would it make a difference? Ask the Tim Kaine campaign that question and the answer will be "yes!" Clinton held two very-high-dollar fundraisers for Kaine today, hosting small groups of rich people in Charlottesville and McLean. The dollar amounts are not known, but some of the guests paid as much as $50,000 for a private reception with the ex-president. Kaine officials said they raised $1.5 million from the pair of presidential fundraisers. And they said they would have had a public event with Clinton if the former president's schedule permitted. It did not, they said. Jerry Kilgore aides have scoffed at the Clinton visit. "Bill Clinton is a nationally recognized liberal figure. Tim Kaine is proud to stand next to him. We appreciate the help," Kilgore spokesman Tucker Martin said when Clinton's visit was announced....
By Michael Shear | October 21, 2005; 03:49 PM ET | Comments (9)
Kelly's Letter
Kelly Timbrook is not done with Tim Kaine, and neither is Jerry Kilgore. After being featured in one of the two ads attacking Tim Kaine on the death penalty, Timbrook has written a personal letter to Virginia's voters. The letter, which can be seen here, initially looks like a handwritten note on Timbrook's own personal stationery. But upon closer examination, it's actually a computer font that looks like handwriting, and it's got a disclaimer on the back: "Paid for and authorized by Virginians for Jerry Kilgore." The letter is as emotional as the TV ads. "I found out my husband was killed when I was seven months pregnant," Timbrook writes. "When they told me, I fell to my knees screaming, 'No!'" Most of the letter is about her, but she also criticizes Kaine: "The fact that one man has power to undo what our law states is the penalty for the...
By Michael Shear | October 21, 2005; 03:31 PM ET | Comments (16)
A Kinder, Gentler Death Penalty Ad
After a week of emotional ads on the death penalty, Jerry Kilgore has pulled back a bit. Today, he went up on the air with a much less striking ad. No more gunshots sounding in the background. Instead, the ad uses commentary in newspapers to question whether Democrat Tim Kaine would really enforce the death penalty. The ad should be on the Kilgore Web site later this afternoon. It shows Kaine asserting that he will enforce the death penalty. Then the annoucer says: "That's what Tim Kaine says now. But can we believe him?" On the screen, the ad shows a quote from a Marc Fisher column in the Washington Post: "Kaine is playing games." The announcer continues: "Twenty years as an activist against the death penalty." And then: "Thousands of hours trying to get the worst murderers off death row." And finally: "Three times he challenged the death penalty before...
By Michael Shear | October 20, 2005; 12:06 PM ET | Comments (14)
Board of Trade Takes a Pass
The Greater Washington Board of Trade has thought long and hard about which of the three candidates would be better to lead Virginia. The answer: none of the above. Four years after endorsing then-candidate Mark R. Warner, the Virginia Political Action Committee for Washington's premier business group will not endorse in the race between Republican Jerry Kilgore, Democrat Tim Kaine and independent Russ Potts. "On the issues of transportation, economic development, infrastructure investment, higher education, the Board of Trade's Virginia PAC was not satisfied that either candidate was speaking to our issues," said Nancy Reed, a spokeswoman for the group. That could be viewed as another blow to Kaine, who failed to get endorsements from the Northern Virginia Tech Council, the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and now the Board of Trade. But it's not high praise for Kilgore, either. Reed said neither candidate offered proposals that "matched up with the...
By Michael Shear | October 18, 2005; 04:43 PM ET | Comments (4)
A Kaine Surge?
Well, not quite a tidal wave. But Tim Kaine appears to be the beneficiary of some momentum, according to two polls published this week. SurveyUSA, which does polling for several television stations in Virginia and across the nation, released a poll Monday that showed Kaine leading Jerry Kilgore by 2 points, 47 to 45. The same group has polled four times before, and the trend is all Kaine. In March, it was 46-36 in favor of Kilgore. Last month, it was 46-43, with Kilgore still ahead. Today, Hotline released another poll, this one conducted late last week, after Kilgore's death penalty ads had been up for several days. The Hotline poll shows Kaine ahead by 2 points, 41 to 39. Now, two points is not much of a lead -- still within the margin of error. But the buzz among politicos in Virginia is that Kilgore's death penalty attacks may have...
By Michael Shear | October 18, 2005; 11:32 AM ET | Comments (5)
Cheney's Change
Vice President Cheney arrived this evening for a glitzy fundraiser on behalf of Republican Jerry Kilgore. The event, according to campaign officials, included about 200 people and will raise about $750,000 for Kilgore's campaign. Not exactly chump change. The vice president's visit follows one by first lady Laura Bush last week. And later this week, former President Bill Clinton will host two fundraisers for Democrat Tim Kaine. No word on how much the Clinton fundraisers will bring in. Meanwhile, Virginia also welcomes former presidential candidate and Sen. John F. Kerry tonight. The Massachusetts pol was invited by Del. Brian J. Moran, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, to boost the campaigns of the Democratic House members. "The nation's eyes are on Virginia!" the invitation says. "Democrats have a real opportunity to gain seats in the House of Delegates and keep the Governor's Mansion. Help Democrats keep Virginia on the right...
By Michael Shear | October 17, 2005; 05:34 PM ET | Comments (5)
Debate Video
The Sabato debate went off without a hitch. To see some video clips, click here and here. The Post coverage is here and here....
By Michael Shear | October 10, 2005; 08:24 AM ET | Comments (22)
Final Debate Tonight
For those campaign junkies out there, make sure you tune in to tonight's final debate between Jerry Kilgore and Tim Kaine. The debate kicks off at 7 p.m. and goes for an hour. It's available in most markets on a local channel, though in southwest and Northern Virginia the stations won't be showing it until late tonight. For those of you with cable, C-SPAN will be broadcasting live, so tune in there. The Post will have stories about the debate in tomorrow's paper, and more here on Race to Richmond....
By Michael Shear | October 9, 2005; 05:37 PM ET | Comments (11)
Just Plain Mean
For months, Jerry Kilgore and Tim Kaine have attacked each other hard, sometimes in nasty ways, but always with a shred of decency still intact. That may be over. Today, the Kaine campaign unveiled a new attack Web site, complete with new video sure to grace television screens soon. The site is called www.therealjerrykilgore.com. To see the video, click on the "Jail Break." The video hammers Kilgore mercilessly on prison breaks that occurred while Kilgore was secretary of public safety in the 1990s. He blamed one escape on the fog. He called another escape a hoax. But the most damning quote is one that Kilgore speaks himself: "Just yesterday, we went through the entire day without an escape. It was a positive day for the department of corrections." Still, Kaine's video merely follows a Kilgore attack ad already running on TVs across the state. It can be seen as the featured...
By Michael Shear | October 7, 2005; 04:47 PM ET | Comments (11)
The Hokies and the Wahoos
Okay. So you're a candidate for governor in Virginia. It's Saturday, Oct. 8. Where are you? If you're Tim Kaine or Jerry Kilgore, you're in Blacksburg at the Hokie homecoming parade and football game. Both men will be shaking hands and kissing babies at Virginia Tech tomorrow. (No, no slogans painted across bare chests, we don't think.) With a month to go, both candidates are doing the best they can to reach out to all parts of the state. For Kilgore, though, going to the Tech game could have other football ramifications, since he's a graduate of Tech rival U-Va - Wise. Kaine, of course, is more than happy to point this out. (Maybe to distract from comments he once made that his favorite team is the University of Kansas Jayhawks.) Check out this picture: (Kaine Campaign) Kilgore may also be popular among Hokies, though. He claims credit for helping lead...
By Michael Shear | October 7, 2005; 11:32 AM ET | Comments (6)
Gas, Gas and More Gas Tax
If there was any question about whether Virginia's candidates for governor are playing the gas tax card, today ended it. First, there was Jerry Kilgore pumpin' gas in Roanoke. You heard right, pumpin' gas. Dressed in a short-sleeved (orange, of course) knit shirt and khaki slacks, Kilgore dispensed gas as well as political advice, telling motorists that gas prices would be even higher if Tim Kaine had his way. (Kilgore had a staffer with a calculator standing by to calculate just how much more a motorist would have paid.) (Kilgore Campaign) Then, later in the day, it was Kaine's turn. Not at the gas station -- the TV station. Kaine released a new attack ad. In the ad, called "Misleading," Kaine vows that he has not supported raising the gas tax (he claims Kilgore made that up), and then he accuses Kilgore of trying to raise taxes on natural gas."Fact: Kilgore...
By Michael Shear | October 3, 2005; 05:55 PM ET | Comments (11)
Debating Debates -- Again
O.K. Virginia. There's one more debate left between Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Jerry Kilgore. Or is there? The Oct. 9 debate, to be moderated by U-Va. professor Larry Sabato, is set to be the last premier event of the 2005 governor's campaign. It's to be televised live across the state Sunday night, leading into some must-see-TV. But there's still a chance it won't happen. Apparently shaken by Kilgore's less-than-stellar performance in the Fairfax County debate last month, the Kilgore campaign is seeking to make sure that Kaine's team can't use video from the debate in campaign ads. They had just such an agreement for the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce debate and the Bar Association debate last July. This time, however, there is no such deal. An e-mail exchange between Kilgore Campaign Manager Ken Hutcheson and Kaine Communications Director Mo Elleithee gives a sense of the posturing: Hutcheson's e-mail: Sent: Friday,...
By Michael Shear | October 3, 2005; 11:28 AM ET | Comments (5)
A $500K dinner
I meant to write this a while ago, but here it is anyway: the menu from Tim Kaine's $500,000 fundraiser at the Omni Hotel. Why? Just because: * Mixed greens with rasberry vinaigrette. * Tournedos of beef, with mushroom, pepers and onion sauce * Garlic whipped mashed potatos. * Asparagus spears and carrots * Dessert: Chocolate ganache-dipped white chocolate swirl cheesecake on painted plate with whipped cream and red rasberry garnish See, who could pass up a post with a dessert like that? Anyway, that's what the crowd munched on before speeches by Kaine and Mark Warner....
By Michael Shear | September 30, 2005; 05:56 PM ET | Comments (7)
The Warner Wallop
It's finally here. The ad that everyone knew was coming. Mark Warner, looking directly into the camera, and urging people to vote for Tim Kaine. The ad can be viewed at Kaine's Web site, here. Called "Guts," it features Warner, talking about working to revamp the state's finances. "Tim Kaine had the guts to stand with me and put our financial house in order," Warner says. Warner, whose personal popularity hovers at around 75 percent in the polls, has been campaigning for Kaine and has appeared briefly in ads before. But this is the first time that he attempts to put his popularity to use in a TV spot. Kaine advisers say they expect it to be a big boost for Kaine. Kilgore advisers worry that they're right. Both sides have been on the attack for several weeks now. Kaine has an ad accusing Kilgore of wanting to cut education funding....
By Michael Shear | September 30, 2005; 12:20 PM ET | Comments (2)
Kaine GOPpers
You probably didn't get a letter from Jimmy Wheat unless: a) you're wealthy b) you're a Republican c) you might vote for Tim Kaine. Wheat is a longtime Republican donor in Richmond. (He gave five-figure checks to Jim Gilmore and Mark Earley, the last two Republicans to run for governor. He also served as former governor George Allen's campaign finance director in 1993. If you've lived in Virginia a while you might remember that Wheat was the one who made unwanted news by pointing out that Allen's opponent, Mary Sue Terry, hadn't raised a family like Allen had). Last week, though, he mailed a letter to some of his friends. It started this way: "I am writing to a few friends who, like me, traditionally support Republican candidates, to tell you why I am crossing party lines to support Tim Kaine for Governor, and to ask that you join me in...
By Michael Shear | September 28, 2005; 06:13 PM ET | Comments (9)
Got Gas?
You knew it would happen. With gas once again rising toward three bucks a gallon, the debate over gas taxes really reared its head this week. The guy that pushed the pedal to the metal was Jerry Kilgore, whose Republican base just loves it when he goes on the anti-tax offensive. His new ad is running statewide. See it here. It starts with close-up images of gas pumps, showing prices rolling up from $2.75 to $2.89 to $3.09 and beyond. The announcer says: "Think gas prices are too high? Tim Kaine doesn't think so." Ouch. In a news conference Tuesday morning, Kilgore reiterated his charge against Kaine: that he supported a proposal in 2004 by Sen. John Chichester, the legislature's top Republican, to impose higher gas taxes. "His natural inclination is to raise the gas tax and that is what he will do as governor." Is that true? Kaine says it's...
By Michael Shear | September 28, 2005; 09:58 AM ET | Comments (9)
Jumpin' the Gun
The Jerry Kilgore press operation jumped the gun today, launching a swift attack on Tim Kaine for saying he wanted to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in road funds and use it for transit instead. Except, that's not what Kaine said. The confusion began, frankly, with Kaine. At the debate, he made the following statement: "A couple of things on mass transit. I believe the state funding formulas are such that they should be adjusted so that public and mass transit options receive the same subsidy percentages as road projects. As planners deal with growth in their communities and they try to choose what is the best way to let people move around, right now we give a higher subsidy for road construction than we do for public transit. I want to even it out so that we're always making the best planning decision." Huh? Kilgore folks, egged on by...
By Michael Shear | September 15, 2005; 05:32 PM ET | Comments (34)
Governing Mag: "Knock it Off"
Jerry Kilgore loves to quote Governing Magazine, which he said gave Tim Kaine a C+ as Richmond's mayor. Tim Kaine loves even more to quote Governing Magazine, saying it called Virginia the Best Managed State in the Nation under the "Warner-Kaine administration." Now, Governing Magazine is saying: both of you, knock it off. In a post on the magazine's official blog, they call both men to task for essentially misrepresenting what the magazine reported. In Kilgore's case, they note that the C+ grade for Richmond in 2000 was for the city, not for Kaine, and though Kaine was the mayor, he operated officially under a "weak mayor" form of government. "It would be easy to argue that it's an unfair point," the magazine notes. "The grade was given to the overall city management, not Kaine." To Kaine's central argument, they are even harsher. "We did say that 'there is little that...
By Michael Shear | September 14, 2005; 11:07 PM ET | Comments (5)
The Ultimate Debate Spin
For those of you who haven't seen them yet, here are the e-mails that the Kilgore and Kaine campaigns sent out to their supporters, explaining who won the debate Tuesday. Needless to say, they disagree. Kaine's email is Download kaine.doc Kilgore's is Download kilgore.doc...
By Michael Shear | September 14, 2005; 11:01 PM ET | Comments (1)
Democratic Starpower
A few months ago, it was thought that national Republican figures would be streaming into Virginia to help Jerry Kilgore win this fall. Tim Kaine, it was thought, would stay as far away as possible from his own national party, especially the liberal ones like party chairman Howard Dean. But with Karl Rove under a cloud and President Bush sagging in popularity because of concerns about Iraq and Katrina, it's Kaine who has invited his party's luminaries to the state. A few weeks back, it was a fundraiser with Sen. Barack Obama. Then it was Sen. Joe Lieberman. And Friday, it was fomer senator John Edwards, whose is widely thought to be planning another White House bid in 2008. Kaine and Edwards visited a school in Charlottesville to promote Kaine's plan for universal preschool for 4-year-olds. It's unclear how much someone like Edwards can help Kaine. After all, the Kerry-Edwards ticket...
By Michael Shear | September 10, 2005; 07:41 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Ad War Begins (Softly)
The much-anticipated ad war has begun, though not yet with the venom that everyone expects. Jerry Kilgore, the Republican candidate for governor, has begun advertising on television. This week, he went up on the air with a biographical ad called "Experience" and a transportation ad aimed just at Northern Virginia. The transportation ad can be seen here. Tim Kaine, the Democratic candidate, is continuing to run his biographical and policy ads across the state. But today, there was a hint of the critical ads that are likely to emerge soon. Kaine launched a new radio ad in Southwest Virginia taking aim at Kilgore for opposing mandatory efforts to limit the sales of the ingredients needed to make methamphetamine, a dangerous drug. The ad attacks Kilgore for opposing mandatory efforts and quotes him as saying that "You never want to require that individuals participate in certain programs." It goes on to say...
By Michael Shear | September 6, 2005; 12:41 PM ET | Comments (5)
Quarter-Acre of Dems
Mark Warner joined the Tim Kaine party Sunday for the beginning of a two-month final sprint to Election Day. The pair traveled to Wytheville for the annual picnic called "Acres of Democrats." Turns out, it was more like a quarter-acre of Democrats. About 250 people gathered in a less-than-crowded park for an afternoon of barbecue and speeches. Rick Boucher, the congressman for the 9th District, was there, as were a bunch of Democratic House of Delegates candidates. Leslie Byrne, the party's nominee for lieutenant governor, gave a speech, as did Creigh Deeds, the Democratic attorney general nominee. But the big show -- if you could call it big -- was the Mark and Tim Show. For Kaine to win in Southwest Virginia, and to win the race overall, he's going to need Warner by his side for the next two months. Warner minced no words. "There is absolutely no doubt in...
By Michael Shear | September 4, 2005; 05:23 PM ET | Comments (12)
The Big Joe-Mentum
Tim Kaine may be keeping his distance from Howard Dean, but he's not staying away from all national Democrats. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman came to town today, spending almost the entire day with Kaine. Publicly, he toured a Richmond school with Kaine, but privately he helped the Democrat raise some money. The first fundraiser took place over lunch at the Jefferson Hotel. About 125 people crowded into the Empire Room to hear Lieberman extoll Kaine's virtues for at least $250 per plate. According to one participant, Lieberman called the Virginia race a "special" one that will have big implications for national politics. He said that with George Bush's popularity plummeting, both national parties are looking to what happens in Virginia as a test. And he said Kaine is a "special" kind of candidate who can have success in Virginia. Kaine spokeswoman Delacey Skinner said Lieberman was scheduled to do another fundraiser...
By Michael Shear | August 29, 2005; 02:35 PM ET | Comments (1)
Gun for Sale?
Democrat Tim Kaine believes Virginia should close the "gun show loophole," where guns can be sold, without background checks, at gun shows. So how to explain a Kaine volunteer sitting at Kaine's booth at a recent Richmond gun show, apparently trying to sell a gun with no background check necessary? Campaign operatives for Republican Jerry Kilgore took the following picture and sent it to reporters. Delacey Skinner, a Kaine spokeswoman, says the volunteer at the table did indeed try to sell a gun, but without authorization from or knowledge of the Kaine campaign. When the campaign found out, she said, they told him to remove the gun from the table, and he did. "It certainly was not authorized by the Kaine campaign in any way," she said. So does Kaine support gun rights, then? Skinner said Kaine supports closing the gun-show loophole, but she would not commit to the specifics of...
By Michael Shear | August 29, 2005; 01:33 PM ET | Comments (7)
The Hurricane Arrives
Here it comes. It's huge, swirling, and about to swallow Virginia. No. It's not Hurricane Katrina. It's the television ad campaign for the gubernatorial election. It's really going to start after Labor Day. But Tim Kaine's campaign begins their blitz Monday morning with two biographical ads that will run in Roanoke, Norfolk and Northern Virginia. The ads can be viewed here. Kaine makes the same claims that he's made before. Cut taxes, helped schools, worked as a missionary. Etcetera, etcetera. And the Kilgore campaign has the same response: Tax bills actually went up, Richmond schools were bad. Blah. Blah. Blah. The attacks are almost certainly going to get sharper as election day nears. But for now, the two campaigns are stuck using the same lingo they've been using for months....
By Michael Shear | August 28, 2005; 04:41 PM ET | Comments (5)
Jammin' in Southwest Va.
Clinton may have had his saxophone. But watch out Jerry Kilgore and Russ Potts, Tim Kaine has his harmonica. Kaine spent Saturday on a whirlwind trip around Southwest and Southside Virginia, looking for votes in Kilgore country. He ended the day at the Galax Fiddler's Convention, where he joined in an impromptu rendition of "Will the Circle be Unbroken" at Barr's Fiddle Shop. var movieSrc = "http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/player.swf?whichMode=normal&justify=left&playad=no&mediatype=stream&postdir=metro&postvideo=081505-4v&cuesfile=none&autoplay=no&starttime=0&endtime=0&largerver=none&image=none" ; //URL OF WHERE .SWF MOVIE IS PUBLISHED var movieWidth = "454" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC WIDTH var movieHeight = "275" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC HEIGHT var backupGraphic = "no" ; // If you have a backup graphic "yes" or "no" var graphicSrc = "" ; var graphicLink = "" ; //requiredVersion: Change this to 8 to test your alternate text. var requiredVersion = 7; // version the user needs to view site (max is 7, min is 2) var...
By Michael Shear | August 15, 2005; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (7)
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)
The Tim and Tucker Show
Tim Murtaugh and Tucker Martin of Republican Jerry Kilgore's communications staff took their show on the road Friday to offer their own two-man protest operation at Tim Kaine's latest town hall meeting. As about 150 people (mostly Democrats) streamed into a Chesterfield high school to listen to Democratic gubernatorial candidate talk about "budget reform," Tim and Tucker handed out gaudy plastic rings. "Congratulations on acquiring a genuine, top off the line Tim Kaine Decoder Ring," announced a little piece of blue paper attatched to the rings. "Tim Kaine has obviously put a lot of time and effort into coming up with code words meant to hide the obvious and confuse audiences. He has turned his work for the biggest tax increase in Virginia history into, in his words, 'budget reform' and "investment.' " "But Tim Kaine didn't plan on the Tim Kaine Decoder Ring. Now, when he tries to say 'budget...
By Michael Shear | August 7, 2005; 09:51 AM ET | Comments (15)
A Blogging Lovefest
Okay, bloggers can be brutal. Sitting in front of their computer screens, it's easy to hammer out tirades against one candidate or the other. Conservative bloggers launch screeds against Tim Kaine. Liberal ones bash Jerry Kilgore. But get the bloggers away from their electronic notepad, it seems, and they get a bit less aggressive. In what his campaign billed as perhaps the first-ever conference call just for bloggers in the nation, Kaine invited seven bloggers (including yours truly) to a Q-and-A session this morning. The participants included: Norman Leahy, One Man's TrashWaldo Jaquith, Waldo.Jaquith.OrgWill Vehrs, Bacon's RebellionChad Dotson, Commonwealth ConservativeKenton Ngo, 750 VoltsLowell Feld, Raising Kaine You might have expected, with that bunch of raconteurs, a lively, even combative exchange with Kaine, who, after all, is regularly skewered on some of those blogs and practically canonized on others. (Of course, the most vitriol is often reserved for other bloggers, or the...
By Michael Shear | July 27, 2005; 11:22 AM ET | Comments (29)
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 Meaning of "Pro-life"
The staff over at Jerry Kilgore for Governor has been apoplectic this week about a few words uttered by their candidate's Democratic opponent, Tim Kaine, at last Saturday's Virginia Bar Association debate: "I am pro-life," Kaine said when talking about his view on abortion. Kaine says that while he has a personal, religious opposition to abortion, he is supportive of a women's right to choose. And he explained that as part of his answer. But the Kilgore camp says that when Kaine says, "I am pro-life," he is being disingenuous. As the argument goes, the phrase "pro-life" has a specific meaning in the American consciousness, and is associated with the belief that abortion should be outlawed. "It is a classic example of Tim Kaine recognizing the audience and delivering the message that the audience wants to hear," said Tim Murtaugh, Kilgore's press secretary. "One the one hand he [runs] ......
By Chris Jenkins | July 22, 2005; 01:48 PM ET | Comments (5)
Bush/Kerry: Part Deaux?
Look who's coming across the Potomac -- well, at least via cyberspace -- to support Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine: None other than Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. And just in time for President Bush's arrival in McLean at a fundraiser for Kaine's Republican opponent, Jerry Kilgore. It's almost like old times. In an e-mail sent to Kaine supporters today, Kerry invoked Bush's name to help fire up state Dems: "Bush is coming to Virginia to stand with Jerry Kilgore to try to sell Kilgore's failed programs and irresponsible policies to your fellow Virginians. With his fiscal recklessness and mean-spirited, negative campaign tactics Jerry Kilgore is wrong for Virginia." And after he stirred the pot a bit, Kerry asked for a little cash on behalf of Kaine: "Bush will use his fundraising network to fill Kilgore's campaign coffers with checks from powerful special interest groups and hard-right ideologues. Let's use our...
By Chris Jenkins | July 21, 2005; 06:31 PM ET | Email a Comment
It's Time to Play the Endorsement Game
In any good campaign, first comes the obsessing about how much money each candidate has. Here in Virginia, political junkies and the media following the gubernatorial campaign, crossed that bridge a long time ago. Next comes the hand-wringing on which candidate is getting which endorsement. In that spirit, GOP candidate Jerry Kilgore today received a nod from the National Federation of Independent Business, an organization that represents about 9,000 small businesses in Virginia. At a mid-afternoon news conference in Richmond, the organization unveiled it's official endorsement of the Republican. And what would be an endorsement party be without a little side by side comparison of the candidates to help toss some red meat out there. Gordon Dixon, the NFIB/Virginia state director, did the honors this afternoon. "The differences between the two leading candidates - Jerry Kilgore and [Democrat] Tim Kaine - are striking," he said in a statement. "Jerry Kilgore...
By Chris Jenkins | July 20, 2005; 05:03 PM ET | Email a Comment
Sights and Sounds of Summertime Fundraising
Two slices of big-time D.C. politics are heading Northern Virginia's way this week on behalf of Virginia's gubernatorial campaign. The GOP camp is all abuzz about a Thursday evening fundraiser for Republican nominee Jerry Kilgore, featuring none other than El Presidente. That's right, President Bush will be making a 6 p.m. stop in McLean for the nominee at the private home of a big-time GOP donor, Dwight Schar. This is Kilgore's signature fundraising event (it would be pretty hard to top, wouldn't it?) and the candidate's braintrust hopes to top the $1 million that Gov. Mark Warner (D) raised for Democratic candidate Tim Kaine a few months back. Early returns suggest that the event will help the Republican completely even-up the fundraising race -- Kilgore trailed Kaine by only $200,000 as of July 1, which these days can be made up with a personal check from a rich friend. The...
By Chris Jenkins | July 19, 2005; 03:38 PM ET | Email a Comment
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)
Debate Access
If two candidates debate in a forest, but no one is there to see them, was there really a debate? Well, okay, it's a bit different when there's dozens of reporters to watch. But the question remains, from a couple of readers of our online chat earlier today, how "regular folk" can get access to Saturday's debate, which is not going to be televised. As promised during the Live Online discussion, here's what we know about that. Organizers of the debate say public radio will be at the debate, but will not be broadcasting live. Instead, radio folks said they may broadcast bits and pieces of it later. A transcript will be available on the Web site of the Virginia Bar Association, which is sponsoring the debate. But officials there say it's not likely to be available for a couple of days. Or, you can always drive four hours to beautiful...
By Michael Shear | July 14, 2005; 04:20 PM ET | Email a Comment
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
iBlog. iPod. iTim.
Call him the hippest candidate for governor in Virginia history. Tim Kaine entered the blogosphere months ago. Now, though, bloggers are no longer cutting edge. They are stuck in the black-and-white, typed-letter era that is sooooo 20th century. Why write out a journal when you can record an audio show that everyone can listen to on their iPods. So Tim Kaine, Democratic candidate for governor, is now officially the author of a Podcast. A what? If you don't know what a Podcast is, you're clearly stuck in the C-SPAN age. They are short, downloadable "radio shows" that anyone can record and distribute online. The idea is that owners of iPod music players (and other, less-hip brands) can play them just as they would the latest tune. Just think, the next time you're on the Metro or jogging on the treadmill, you don't have to listen to the Boss or the Dave...
By Michael Shear | July 5, 2005; 05:23 PM ET | Email a Comment
Shhhhhhhhhhh
It's waaaaay too quiet out there. It's nearly four o'clock in Virginia, and there's not a peep out of any of the candidates for governor. No nasty e-mail exchange. No new radio ad, accusing someone of lying or misrepresenting their record. No stump speech. No angry complaint about debates. Nothing. It's like they all disappeared. Well, okay, not all. Jerry Kilgore's flack, Tim Murtaugh, did put out an e-mail this morning, congratulating fellow Republicans for a huge turnout over the Fourth of July weekend. According to Murtaugh, Kilgore supporters attended 137 separate events. (By using Kilgore's twin brother, Terry, it's possible that Kilgore was seen at all of them.) Democrat Tim Kaine also crisscrossed Virginia. Nothing like a festival or parade to shake a few hands. But no pat-on-the-back e-mail from Delacey Skinner or the rest of the Kaine press staff. Maybe they're taking a day off. Or maybe they're just...
By Michael Shear | July 5, 2005; 03:43 PM ET | Comments (1)
Kilgore Unleashed
Republican Jerry Kilgore today launched a barrage of criticism at his Democratic opponent, Tim Kaine, accusing Kaine of personal attacks on Republican donors. In a conference call with reporters, Kilgore called Kaine "bitter" in tone and said he has become "unhinged from reality" and "disconnected from true facts." Later, he said the Kaine campaign has "once again cast reason and reality to the side, substituting ridiculous rhetoric instead." Kilgore criticized a Kaine spokeswoman for saying that Kaine was not aware of the Richmond schools' failure to meet disability standards while he was on the city council. Kilgore said Kaine was the chairman of a schools subcommittee at the time. And Kilgore also lashed out at Kaine for a recent mailing in which Kaine questions Kilgore's top donor, John Gregory, a former CEO of a drug company. Gregory's former firm, King Pharmaceuticals, is under a federal fraud investigation. Kilgore said the mail...
By Michael Shear | July 1, 2005; 02:12 PM ET | Comments (1)
Two Ads Target Black Voters
Blacks in Virginia sorting through their gubernatorial choices will have a pair of campaign pitches thrown their way this week by the major party candidates. Both the Democratic nominee, Tim Kaine, and Republican nominee, Jerry Kilgore, will be placing ads in black newspapers this Fourth of July weekend. Blacks, of course, are one of the most consistently Democratic constituencies in Virginia and the rest of the nation. In 2001, Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Earley received 11 percent of the black vote. With an endorsement from three of the leading black lawmakers in the state hovering at the top of the page, Kaine takes aim in his ad at what he calls the "failed leadership" of Kilgore regarding issues concerning blacks. For example, he points to Kilgore's opposition to the budget passed last year that included millions of dollars for Virginia's historically black colleges and universities. Kaine's ad also says that Kilgore...
By Chris Jenkins | June 30, 2005; 12:39 PM ET | Email a Comment
Disability Politics
Standing with a group of disabled supporters, Tim Kaine today accused his Republican opponent in the race for governor of being "insensitive" to disabled people in the state. His charge: That Kilgore, as attorney general, formally opposed a lawsuit that would have allowed people to sue states for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. At the time, Kilgore claimed he was protecting the state's right of "soveriegn immunity" against frivolous lawsuits. Gov. Mark Warner opposed Kilgore's intervention in the California case, saying the state had "nothing to fear" from the ADA. Apparently, though, Kaine thinks Kilgore might have something to fear. He told reporters today that "this was clearly a free-lance effort" by Kilgore to oppose the lawsuit. "It demonstrates a severe insensitivity to the equality principle." Kilgore press secretary Tim Murtaugh called the charge baloney. He said the former attorney general was moved by what he said were frivolous ADA...
By Michael Shear | June 28, 2005; 04:42 PM ET | Comments (7)
Allen Rides to the Rescue
Like the tall, mysterious cowboy in those old Western movies, the junior senator from Virginia, George Allen, rode in on his high horse today to defend Jerry Kilgore from the most recent attacks by Tim Kaine. (Remember, Allen is fond of wearing a bolo tie, cowboy hat and boots, so this image is not really far-fetched.) It all started this week, when Kilgore bragged about his record combating gangs, especially in Northern Virginia. He issued a plan of action that included a proposal to make accessories to capital murder eligible for the death penalty. Kaine pounced, claiming that Kilgore had done little to combat gangs, especially while he was Allen's secretary of public safety in the mid-1990s. That charge was like a slap on the rear to Allen's steed. So today, Allen issued a statement of his own, praising Kilgore for being "a proven, steady leader in fighting crime in our...
By Michael Shear | June 22, 2005; 02:13 PM ET | Comments (3)
Ganging up on Kaine
This time, it's gangs. But the story's the same: Tim and Jerry goin' at it. It started Monday, with Jerry Kilgore rolling out (again) his plans for dealing with Northern Virginia's growing gang problem. He wants to do a lot of stuff, but the major newsmaker was his idea to allow the death penalty for most accomplices to capital murder. Tim Kaine spokeswoman Delacey Skinner declined to say whether Kaine thinks that's a good idea. That prompted an e-mail from Skinner's alter ego in the Kilgore camp, Tim Murtaugh. The e-mail was titled "It's really Just a Yes or No Question," and offered a place for Kaine to check "Yes" or "No." (At the end, Murtaugh wrote, "Please check only one." Earlier, Skinner issued her own e-mail, saying that gang violence had increased a 220 percent during Kilgore's term as secretary of public safety. In the fine print, you see the...
By Michael Shear | June 21, 2005; 06:03 PM ET | Email a Comment
Warner and Kaine: Two Peas in the Death Penalty/2nd Amendment Pod?
GOP gubernatorial nominee Jerry Kilgore surprised some Virginia politicians a few months back when he said in a meeting with Post reporters and editors that he was more like Mark Warner than Tim Kaine will ever be. Well, now a group is trying to prove it. The Center for Individual Freedom, which bills itself as "a non-partisan, non-profit organization with the mission to protect and defend individual freedoms and individual rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution," is starting to run television ads it dubs "Mark and Tim," comparing the two Dems' views on the death penalty and the Second Amendment. For instance, the ads point out that Kaine said in 2001 that he supported a moratorium on the death penalty, although he has said he would uphold state law if elected governor. Warner is supportive of the death penalty, as is Kilgore. A press release announcing the ads says they...
By Chris Jenkins | June 20, 2005; 01:26 PM ET | Comments (4)
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)
Can Kaine Claim Project Exile?
If there's one thing that you don't hear often, it's the former president of the NRA, Charlton Heston, praising a Democrat. So Tim Kaine's radio ad, running in small, rural markets, got the attention of Jerry Kilgore's campaign aides. In the ad, Kaine brags about helping to cut the murder rate in half with Project Exile, a local-federal program aimed at getting tough on guns. "Charlton Heston of the NRA even said, not many felons carry firearms in Richmond anymore," the radio script says. The ad can be heard here. In fact, in 1998, the NRA's executive director praised Richmond's Project Exile, saying it "ought to be in every major city in the country where there's a major crime problem." How to respond? The Kilgore camp and the NRA put out a statement today saying Kaine's ad was a "brazen attempt to mislead Virginia voters [and misuse] comments made by former...
By Michael Shear | June 16, 2005; 04:23 PM ET | Comments (2)
Takin' It to the NRA
Tim Kaine is heading into the belly of the beast. Fresh from being hammered by Jerry Kilgore for what the Republican candidate said was Kaine's desire to sue gun manufacturers, the Democrat has decided to submit to an interview with NRA News Radio. Yes, that's NRA, as in National Rifle Association. The show is heard on Sirrius satellite radio. Kaine denies wanting to sue gun manufacturers. He says that as mayor of Richmond, he merely requested information from the city attorney about the legality of such an action. Kaine says he's a supporter of Second Amendment rights. In a new radio ad, which began running today in rural areas of the state, the sheriff of Montgomery County, Va., asserts that Kaine is a friend of gun owners. But more than that, the sheriff goes after Kilgore for "not telling the truth" about Kaine. The 60-second ad says Kilgore "fought against funding...
By Michael Shear | June 10, 2005; 01:05 PM ET | Email a Comment
Focusing on Family Farms
Tim Kaine today rolled out his plan to save Virginia's family farms, part of a month-long campaign focus on economic development in different regions of the state. Kaine slogged in wet weather around a family farm just west of Richmond, where a husband-and-wife team grow organic produce and generage organic beef, chicken and eggs for sale at restaurants, farmer's markets and upscale groceries. (His campaign staff said they pulled raw asparagus from the ground and munched on it). In a conference call with reporters afterward, Kaine said his campaign's agricultural strategy would focus on helping family-owned farms fight against the pressures of development, corporate farming, and taxes. His plan would include more technical support for small farmers, a mandate for state agencies to buy Virginia farm products if available, and tax breaks for small farmers. His proposal to allow a 20 percent "homestead exemption" for homeowners would also apply to family...
By Michael Shear | June 2, 2005; 02:50 PM ET | Email a Comment
Not about Watergate
Washington may be buzzing about Watergate (and rightly so) but in Richmond, the campaigns for governor roll merrily along, as do the back-and-forth e-mails by the two press secretaries, Kilgore's Tim Murtaugh and Kaine's Delacey Skinner. In person, the two are pleasantly cordial with each other. But in cyberspace, they take the gloves off. Today, Murtaugh punched first, sending out an email at 1:10 p.m. entitled "Kaine Takes Out A Pillar of His Own Real Estate Tax Plan." In the e-mail, he argues that Kaine has had a muddled message when it comes to how much he will spend on education and how that will benefit taxpayers. Skinner responded at 1:13, with her own e-mail: "Kilgore's Credibility Problem - A History Lesson." Referring to a comment Kilgore made on Wednesday, Skinner said "Jerry asked us to believe the most incredible assertion of all - that he will fully fund public education....
By Michael Shear | June 2, 2005; 02:38 PM ET | Email a Comment
Kaine Tries Family Ties
Tim Kaine is going after the rural vote, and he's enlisted his father-in-law to help. In a new radio ad, former governor Linwood Holton, from Big Stone Gap in southwest Virginia, says he's "a Republican who supports Mark Warner and Tim Kaine - and not just because Tim married my daughter." As a guitar strums in the background, Holton goes on to praise Kaine for understanding how to "bring all of Virginia together to solve problems." Kaine then comes on, invokes Warner's name again, and claims credit for luring $200 million in investments to the region. Kilgore spokesman Tim Murtaugh scoffed at the Holton ad, saying "Jerry Kilgore knows a far sight more about southwest Virginia than Tim Kaine does." Kilgore is from Gate City, Va., near the Tennessee border. Murtaugh added: "Calling yourself Mark Warner's little brother -- If you put that on your resume it won't fool too many...
By Michael Shear | June 2, 2005; 02:02 PM ET | Email a Comment
Memorial Weekend Campaigning
A three-day weekend: Time for relaxing at home, the beach or the swimming pool, right? Not for the men who would be governor of Virginia. Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Jerry Kilgore will be all over Virginia looking for votes this weekend. Kaine plans to spend most of the weekend in Southwest Virginia. There's a meet-n-greet at the Chicke-N Little restaurant in Abingdon and Ralph Stanley's Thirty-Fifth Annual Memorial Bluegrass Festival in Coeburn on Saturday. Sunday, he'll participate in a wreath laying ceremony in Bedford. And Monday, he'll make stops in Lexington, Roanoke and Salem. But don't worry if you live in the rest of the state. Kilgore's got you covered in Tidewater by attending the Pungo strawberry festival on Saturday. If you're in Northern Virginia, catch Kilgore at the Viva Vienna festival Monday morning and the Falls Church festival that afternoon. Kilgore will be at his kid's soccer games on...
By Michael Shear | May 27, 2005; 01:30 PM ET | Comments (1)
Kaine Gets Aggressive
It didn't take long. Democratic Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine today launched a rebuttal to last week's television ad campaign by the Republican Governors Association. The GOP ad had accused Kaine of presiding over homeowner tax increases while mayor of Richmond. The new Kaine ad, which is running in Northern Virginia, Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk and southwest Virginia, calls those charges "misleading." The ad says, "an outside political group is running misleading ads attacking Tim Kaine" and it reiterates Kaine's claim that he cut taxes. "Kaine cut property tax rates, cut utility taxes and cut small business taxes." Kaine has said from the beginning of his campaign that he will not make the mistake John Kerry did last year in not responding quickly and forcefully to ads run on behalf of George Bush. Campaign aides say this latest ad is a prime example. You can view the Kaine ad here. You can view...
By Michael Shear | May 23, 2005; 01:17 PM ET | Comments (10)
