InDepth | First draft of history: How Bob won, how Creigh lost

Chris Graham

This just in to the AFP newsroom – Bob McDonnell can now be projected the winner in the 2009 Virginia governor’s race. OK, most people still have yet to vote, but the writing is on the wall, clearly, with the Republican leading Democrat Creigh Deeds by at least 10 points in the pre-election polls. The…

Daily Rant | The Economy, Stupid

Chris Graham

That approach, inspired by Bill Clinton in the 1990s, served Virginia Democrats well most of the current decade (see Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Jim Webb). Then they decided to scrap the blueprint of success in favor of the rudderless mess that has marked the ’09 campaign. Live and learn, says AFP editor Chris Graham. AFP…

Chris Graham | Winners and Losers: Obama, Deeds, Zorn, World Series, McDonnell

Chris Graham

PUSH: Barack Obama campaigns for Creigh Deeds My inclination is to say that Obama ends up losing on this one. I’m surprised he even followed through, to be honest. Not only because Deeds distanced himself from the Obama campaign back in the summer, but because of the obvious – the stink of this campaign is…

VPT InDepth | Road worriers

Chris Graham

You’re Pierce Homer, the Secretary of Transportation in Virginia. For five years, you’ve been overseeing reforms at the Virginia Department of Transportation that have six in seven projects completed on time and on budget, nearly three times the rate of efficiency that we saw out of VDOT from the Allen and Gilmore administrations. You’ve seen…

Analyst: Fiscal outlook for localities not good

Chris Graham

Staunton City Council got a bit of a fiscal reality check on Thursday from James Reginbal from the Richmond consulting firm Fiscal Analytics. “Nobody in Virginia has really felt the effects of this recession yet. Localities are behind the state because the state has been able to shield localities from the worst effects so far,”…

The Pulse | Did you read that endorsement of Landes?

Chris Graham

It wasn’t the most ringing of endorsements, to say the least. “The preternaturally bland Steve Landes views his political career as that of a slogger trudging through legislative thickets whittling away tax and regulatory weeds. Accountants and morticians are peppier,” began the recommendation of the editorial board of the News Virginian in the 25th District…

AFP InDepth | A ‘strategic quiet’ on the LGBT front

Chris Graham

You don’t need to go as far as gay marriage. A candidate can win the support of the LGBT community by advocating legislation that would allow employees to include gay and lesbian partners in group life-insurance policies. Indeed, it doesn’t take much to break through what Jay Fisette, the Arlington County Board of Supervisors member…

Deeds gets endorsement of Washington Post

Chris Graham

A Washington Post endorsement reversed Creigh Deeds’ fortunes in the ’09 Democratic Party primary. Can Deeds get another boost from another Post endorsement? “If the current campaign for governor has clarified anything, it is that state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic nominee, has the good sense and political courage to maintain the forward-looking policies…