Schapiro: Moran on fringe of Dems race

And then there were two?

Three names for governor appear on the Democratic primary ballot: Creigh Deeds, Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran.

Beyond the curiosity of polls that show Deeds gaining on early front-runner McAuliffe, why does it seem, with nine days to go, that only they stand out?

This is not to suggest that Moran is dead in the water. Nothing would please him more than serving doubters steaming helpings of crow.

State primaries are notoriously fickle: thinly attended, potentially divisive, emotional, expensive -- logic-defying.

In the Democrats' last gubernatorial primary, in 1977, Andy Miller was flying high in the stretch. The moderate had money and, if you believed the polls, momentum.

But populist Henry Howell narrowly won, making up with ideas what he lacked in cash.

Howell may have been helped by a few Republicans who voted in the primary believing he'd be an easier target in the general election for John Dalton.

And Howell was.

But enough with ancient history.

For Moran, what seemed a plus now is a problem: geography. Northern Virginia was Moran's for the asking -- until the former delegate from Alexandria had to compete there with another local: McAuliffe of McLean.

Adding insult to injury: Moran's de facto hometown newspaper, The Washington Post, gave its editorial endorsement to Deeds, a state senator from rural Bath County. The Post's backing legitimized Deeds in The Land of Many Democrats as electable and solutions-oriented.

NoVa was supposed to be Moran's strength. Instead, it's proved his weakness.

Perhaps because he believes the primary will be dominated by Democrats like himself, Moran has run statewide as if he were running for his old House seat -- to the left.

Or far left, possibly stranding himself for the fall finale.

Consider some of Moran's positions: opposing a coal-burning electric plant to accommodate greens, and in a gesture to gays, vowing to overturn the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Attacking his rivals -- McAuliffe as latter-day robber baron, Deeds as a gun nut -- gets Moran only so far. Voters want to know what he's for, not just what he's against.

It's a leap from delegate in a district drawn to accommodate a relatively liberal Democrat to the governorship of a state with a centrist bent. Never mind that a Republican nearly won the off-, off-season special election to pick Moran's successor.

It requires skills.

Deeds developed them running in a competitive House district, then for a Senate seat with 2½ times as many voters, then as nominee for attorney general.

Having lost for AG to GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell by 360 votes, Deeds, hungry for revenge, can appreciate better than most turning out the vote. Doing so is another matter.

McAuliffe learned the game before becoming chairman of the Democratic National Committee or heading Hillary Clinton's presidential bid.

And McAuliffe -- because of timing, the crummy economy and uncertainty about Deeds and Moran -- has managed, for now, to turn negatives into positives: the Clintons, the hazy business deals, even his noisy style.

As for Moran, face it: The guy has a great head of hair.

Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 6496814 or . Watch his video column Thursdays on TimesDispatch.com. Listen to his analysis Fridays at 8:33 a.m. on WCVE (88.9 FM).