Tim Craig on the governor’s race.
In a two-way race against McAuliffe or Deeds, Moran very well might have been unstoppable. [...] But then McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, burst onto the Virginia political scene in late summer and began scoping out his own bid for governor. If McAuliffe jumps in, there will suddenly be paths for all three candidates to get the 33.4 percent of the vote needed to win the nomination.
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Since McAuliffe first signaled at the Democratic National Convention in Denver that he was considering entering the race, Moran and his campaign team have appeared as though they were working their way through the seven stages of grief.
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But there is still plenty of time for Moran to right his campaign. That’s assuming Moran has finally reached the last stage of grief: acceptance that he’s going to be in a tough three-way race for the nomination.
Tim Craig mentions something else important, too: the increasingly-common sense that Moran’s staff members are simply writing off anybody who doesn’t support their guy. That’s something I’ve heard a lot of over the past year, but didn’t know if it was just overly-sensitive people. (I have zero tolerance for people who demand to be petted and loved by candidates, and support whichever one sucks up the most. Know what I loved about Webb’s candidacy? The dude didn’t know me from Adam, and didn’t care. Harris Miller contacted me to get together and talk for an hour or so. It was nice of him but, really, me? I can name, seriously, a hundred better Charlottesvillians to spend an hour talking to.) The practice of shunning supporters of the opposition might have been a reasonable tactic six months ago, but it’s one that Team Moran may come to regret.
Do yourself a favor and read Craig’s article in its entirety. He really does a good job of summing up the state of the race.
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