Just as Virginia Democrats were rounding out their statewide ticket for the fall elections this week, their party standard-bearer, Terry McAuliffe, was objecting to a rule for the first scheduled gubernatorial debate that would allow the candidates to ask each other one question.
Democrats were poised to fill out their slate of statewide candidates in primary elections Tuesday ahead of a fall contest sure to draw heaps of national attention, outside money and national political tea-leaf reading.
Terry McAuliffe and Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II used a forum in Richmond on Thursday hosted by an open-government watchdog group to ding one another on, perhaps fittingly, on a purported lack of transparency thus far in the Virginia governor's race.
A new poll shows Democrat Terry McAuliffe leading Republican Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II by 5 percentage points in the Virginia governor's race, though both candidates are having a tough time winning the hearts of voters.
A senior Virginia state senator on Tuesday blasted a campaign ad from Democrat Terry McAuliffe as a misleading "example of self-puffery" — a development that comes as Mr. McAuliffe and Republican Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II try to soften their public images early in the high-stakes gubernatorial contest.
Virginia Republicans will put up an unquestionably conservative ticket in the fall elections, a prospect delighting the party's base and presenting a crystal-clear contrast with Democrats in what is likely to be the marquee election of 2013.
Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II will formally accept the Republican nomination for governor Saturday, but he'll stand alone at the top of the GOP with neither the man he hopes to succeed nor his onetime rival for the nomination in Richmond to help him unify the party.
When Virginia Republicans convene in Richmond on Friday to anoint their candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, there will be one conspicuous absence.
It will be a sad day for this state if we Virginians decide to put a carpetbagging, crony capitalist in the governor's mansion come November ("Cuccinelli camp says McAuliffe's job-creation record is 'biggest joke' for April Fools' Day," Web, April 1).
There aren't many winners in the current economic climate. Most companies are struggling against the burdens of higher taxes, red tape and uncertainty, and there's no opportunity to expand and prosper. Some companies, however, have found a shortcut through deep political connections to the Obama administration.
Virginia Democrats renewed their demands Monday that Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli resign after the Republican gubernatorial candidate belatedly disclosed about $13,000 worth of gifts on Friday that he claimed he forgot to note in four years' worth of economic disclosure reports.
If you're feeling that those who govern Virginia or aspire to govern in coming months are less than forthcoming, you're not alone. Candidates in both parties and the governor they hope to succeed have had accountability about their finances and business dealings forced upon them the past five months by journalists.
Happy Easter: Send money. It wasn't quite that blunt, but Democratic Party politicos were up early Sunday morning sending out Easter emails to constituents on behalf of President Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Virginia's governor hopeful, Terry McAuliffe, that focused more on money than on the spiritual.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's gubernatorial campaign said Monday that the "biggest joke" of this April Fools' Day is Democrat Terry McAuliffe's claim that he will put jobs first in The Old Dominion.
Sen. Mark R. Warner holds a sizable lead over Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell in a hypothetical two-man race for Mr. Warner's Senate seat in 2014, according to a poll released Monday.
"We agreed to the debate several months ago and format discussions are still in progress," McAuliffe campaign spokesman Josh Schwerin said in an email. "We hope Cuccinelli will agree to all five debates that Terry agreed to in early April."
Mr. McAuliffe said after the forum that he has agreed to five — in line with the traditional number for statewide campaigns — and that that's what he'll be sticking with.
