Cuccinelli: an “odd” choice for Patrick Murray
on July 28th, 2010 at 9:25 AMWell, the commentary is in and it doesn’t look good for Patrick Murray. Many have been questioning the reasoning for bringing Ken Cuccinelli to the 8th District, especially after looking at these numbers-
| DISTRICT | CANDIDATE | VOTE | VOTE% | STATISTICS | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional 08
Last Reported: Nov 6 2009 3:37PM EST |
Ken T. Cuccinelli II | 61,722 | 36.38% | Precincts Reporting:
156 of 156 (100%) Voter Turnout: 169,620 of 401,931 active voters (42.20%) 169,620 of 442,719 total voters (38.31%) |
Votes by County/City in this district |
| Stephen C. Shannon | 107,683 | 63.48% | |||
| Write In | 215 | 0.12% |
While it should be noted that Bob McDonnell also lost the 8th Congressional District, he did slightly better (38.70% – which also may be classic drop off behavior, so bear with me)
Now, one might think that Cuccinelli would be good for Patrick. He could excite a bored Republican base, bring people back to Murray. However, that didn’t happen on Monday night. The popular website ARLnow, broke the story, and man, you need to see some of the comments that people are leaving:
looks like Murray has come to terms with reality and given up any chance of winning if he thinks teaming up with Cuccinelli will win him votes in alexandria/arlington/falls church. The cooch is a nutcase.
And that was just one comment! (and one of the more nicer ones, too.)
Here’s what the Post said,
The controversial and conservative attorney general could be considered an odd choice for a Republican candidate running against a 10-term incumbent in what is widely considered Virginia’s most liberal district.
Also, apparently the amount of people in attendance was in question. This is from the same Washington Post article,
Murray spokesman Michael Lane said 150 people have said they will attend the reception, which will be held at a private home in Alexandria and is expected to raise about $15,000 for Murray’s campaign.
Yet I found this comment on the Arlnow blog,
Did aliens abduct half of the 150 attendees promised by the Murray campaign spokesman?http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2010/07/virginia_attorney_general_ken_2.html
In addition to all of these negative reviews, a new anti-Patrick Murray blog was launched. The url is: http://notpatrickmurray.blogspot.com/ The blog’s author has already left a few negative comments on Arl now about the Murray campaign.
With less than 100 days until the election, its very obvious that many Republican activists still just aren’t that excited about Patrick Murray. In order for him to do well (or break 40%) he absolutely NEEDS those voters. It’s sad that Mike Lane is alienating the Republican electorate in the 8th.
If I wind up interviewing Patrick Murray again, I’ll ask him what he thinks about this. But more importantly, what do you think? Vote in Red NoVA’s new poll – Will you be supporting Patrick Murray this Fall?
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Truly a bizarre decision. However, while Cuccinelli is obviously a bad choice for the district, who would be a good person to bring in? I believe Viki Vasquez did better than anyone else in the 8th last year and that was just over 39%.
I see someone has started a “Not Patrick Murray” blog: http://notpatrickmurray.blogspot.com/
Never a good sign.
“Progressive Republicans” are an “odd” choice at all times. If you have a problem with that, maybe it’s time for you to start being honest with yourself.
Swing districts in this election will not be driven by what is acceptable to the insider old-school crowd.
The horse race psychology being swept aside by the people who are standing up for what is right instead of having political experts and pundits control their lives.
Where seat control is shifted it will be outside the mainstream, independent minded elements, like tea partiers, at work. Having gotten a dose of centralized, commmand and control collectivism in the era of Obama, Reid and Pelosi, the populous is learning, to their chagrin, that Democrat light Republicanism is bad for the country.
Go Cooch, Go!!
I would hardly call the 8th district a “swing” district, given the fact that Bob McDonnell got 38% of the vote, and based on the fact that Cook PVI gives the district a “D + 16″ partisan rating.
It takes a different type of campaign..Tea Parties won’t do much in the 8th district..
Good to see Republicans finally admitting that the Cooch is a liability.
short of the old “dead girl, live boy” scenario, Jim Moran is going to get reelected. Its just the way things have been gerrymandered. The point of running candidates in these districts is to give voters a choice and to keep incumbents honest. I think its hilarious that some claim Cuccinelli is a “liability” for Republicans in the 8th when there isn’t a single state elected official that is a Republican in the entire 8th district (I think).
I live in the 8th and still think Matt Berry would have made a better candidate but ah well.
Chris-
I agree with you. H/e – slight correction -
Frank Fannon was elected and is still serving on the Alexandria County Board
Barbara Comstock has one precinct in the 8th district
I think those are the only 2 current serving elected Republicans in the 8th..
You mean Chris, it’s not natural to link Reston with Arlington and Alexandria, skipping over most everything else in between? My that’s shocking. To me, all the more reason to go with a candidate that stands for something and hope for the best. The Post piece on Cooch today (not the headline) actually does a pretty good and fair job of scoping him out, so I don’t think he is the liability that folks are making him out to be.
Ya, I voted for Berry too because I thought he would have a better chance to win, but the reality is that he wouldn’t have run better because instead of running a campaign he ran on his resume. Murray did a great job of reaching out to ordinary folks (my household was contacted three times by the Murray crew in the few days before the primary election with legit messaging, getting my wife’s vote). I think Murray is wiser than folks are giving him credit for and will do decently, particularly if Republicans, and folks who anonymously pose as Replublicans on the Internet, stop taking him down.
On multiple grounds we are going to see credibility/confidence/competence campaigns in the Fall, from local races (Kelly is gearing up for Zimmerman) all the way to major Senate races (keying off failures and the double speak of the Obama adminstration and ethical lapses, like Rangel, and voting against public will). This is a circumstance that will allow all Republican candidates to do better than they’ve done at any time since 1994. The starry-eyed young Obama supporters will stay home on voting day, unemployed in their parents basements.
Josh, I was not aware Barbara Comstock had a precinct in the 8th. Which one is it and is she competitive?
Either one or two…and I think its these 2 precincts (Both are in Fairfax) –
Magarity
Tysons
Here were the results. She lost both but one of them was competitive –
MAGARITY
Barbara J. Comstock 477 (41.80%)
Margaret G. Vanderhye 663 (58.10%)
Write In 1 (0.08%)
TYSONS
Barbara J. Comstock 341 (45.04%)
Margaret G. Vanderhye 415 (54.82%)
Write In 1 0.13%
Murray’s campaign is a joke. According to his latest FEC report, the campaign has raised $9,206 from the district. Everything else is in kind or from his friends and family…extremely unimpressive.
@Let’sBeFree:
I am a Republican. I am not “posing as one.”
I saw several debates with Berry and Murray (so, I’m not uninformed and tearing Murray down willy-nilly).
Murray is an embarrassment. The GOP (from the rank-and-file to the larger organizations) is embarrassed (how else to explain the finance reports? Nobody contributes money to him!).
Murray is a fraud. He does not obey his own hackneyed “Code of Ethics” (treat others according to the Golden Rule… back up all assertions about the opposition with thorough documentation… etc.).
I am a Christian. Christ taught me to “forgive” Patrick. I do. However, Christ said nothing about “forgetting.”
I will be voting for the Libertarian (Matt Mosley).
Hey Folks: Give Patrick Murray a chance- look deeper than partisan politics and see a man who really stands for something and has done genuine public service his whole life. He left a certain high profile leadership position to serve behind the scenes as a workhorse early on in his military career yet still made Colonel. Less than 20 percent of Army officers get that far. I think the only thing he does not have going from his campaign is an overblown ego. He’s real. Our country needs MORE leaders with military and political experience. He did not do 24 hours on the ground visits to foreign countries. He’s really lived and seen the world as a American Patriot.
Who ARE you, “Not Jim Moran”?
Josh St. Louis.
Who ARE you, “Maid Marion”?
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