VA, Dems have deep bench, Republicans weak

The Democratic Party in Virginia enjoys a depth of talent and ability as evidenced by:

McAuliffe Takes Steps To Run for Va. Governor

By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 11, 2008; B01

RICHMOND, Nov. 10 -- Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, a wealthy businessman and Washington insider, filed paperwork Monday to launch a potential candidacy for Virginia governor.
Ending months of speculation, McAuliffe said he plans to spend the next two months traveling to "every corner of Virginia" to gauge interest in his possible run.
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Response from the Moran Campaign:

“We welcome Mr. McAuliffe to the race. We are confident that Delegate Moran’s 20 year record of fighting for Virginia, his partnership with Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, and his vision of Virginia, are what Virginians want in their next Governor.
Delegate Moran helped make Virginia the best managed state in the nation so he doesn’t need governing advice from Washington, DC political operatives.
Given Mr. McAuliffe’s previous ambitions to run for Governor of Florida, he needs to explain to the people of Virginia if he’s doing this for the right reasons.”

Response from the Deeds Campaign:

"Senator Deeds has always expected that other folks would
enter this race and he's looking forward to an
open and honest debate about how we keep Virginia
moving forward to rebuild our economy and capitalize
on the historic progress seen last Tuesday by the
victories in Virginia of Barack Obama and Mark Warner."

The Republican Party must place its entire hopes
upon Bob McDonnell who barely won over
Senator Creigh Deeds
in the race for Virginia Attorney General
in 2005 by some 330 votes statewide.

Many argue that if an actual recount of the
ballots were done in 2005, the outcome
could have been quite different.