Anita Kumar in The Washington Post picks up on a little detail that tells us something about the attentiveness of the Bob McDonnell campaign.
She notes that as Doug Wilder prepared to leave the mayoralty yesterday in Richmond, McDonnell released a statement praising him for a life dedicated to public service and for his contribution to Virginia.
The key quote in Kumar’s piece is this: “None of the Democratic contenders for Governor put out a statement on Wilder.”
One statement isn’t a big deal. But this certainly indicates a level of attention to campaign details that is making a lot of Republicans believe that McDonnell can be very competitive in 2009.
Kumar describes Wilder’s endorsement record over the years, drawing attention to the non-endorsement of Don Beyer versus Jim Gilmore in 1997.
There is an additional detail not mentioned in the piece. In the 2005 Attorney General’s race, Wilder pointedly refused to back Creigh Deeds, largely because of his position on gun issues and the one-gun- a- month bill that had been a signature achievement of Wilder’s tenure as Governor. Wilder stayed neutral in the contest between McDonnell and Deeds. In a race decided by a couple hundred votes, there are many Democrats and Republicans who believe that this had an impact.
Bob McDonnell, for one, hasn’t forgotten it.
I happen to be a long-time friend and colleague of Doug Wilder and I’ve learned to try and not make predictions about what he will do. I was the last person to believe that he was actually going to run for Mayor in Richmond four years ago. So you should take what follows with a grain of salt.
I find it hard to believe that Wilder would actually endorse a Republican in a statewide race. And I would be surprised if he actively endorsed McDonnell.
But I think that McDonnell is sending a signal about the kind of campaign he will be running. He’ll be campaigning for everyone’s vote. And for everyone’s endorsement- regardless of party, background and ethnicity.
Seems like smart politics to me.
I agree. I think it’s very smart. And Bob McDonnell is going to reach out to everyone in this election, and I think that’s what we need. This election is not going to be about Democrat vs Republican (and hopefully so, for Bob) but about who best understands VA and who can lead it the best, I believe.