Candidates begin last campaign weekend

McDonnell Deeds

The Republican statewide ticket rolled into the GOP heartland yesterday exuding confidence but urging stepped-up get-out-the-vote efforts.

"Put up the last sign, talk to someone at the water cooler, send out another e-mail," gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell told about 75 Republicans crowded into the Homemades by Suzanne catering shop in Ashland.

The Democratic ticket spent most of the day in Northern Virginia, where Democratic Sens. Mark R. Warner and Jim Webb joined Deeds and his running mates. But Warner, feeling ill with the flu, left the tour after one stop.

The Ashland catering firm, which played host to GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin last year, provided elephant-shaped cookies with red, white and blue icing.

Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican candidate for attorney general, joked that "the Democrats are so desperate they're bringing Tim Kaine into Virginia to campaign."

Kaine, the governor of Virginia, is also chairman of the Democratic National Committee, a job that has taken him out of state many times. On Thursday Kaine was in New Jersey, where Gov. Jon S. Corzine is in a tough three-way re-election battle.

"Virginia matters, Virginia is important to the nation, change is on the way," said Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who lives in Hanover County and has his political roots there. He is running for re-election.

Kaine was to join the Democrats' tour late last night in Floyd County, southwest of Roanoke, for the Floyd Country Store's Friday night jamboree.

Like their Republican rivals, Democratic gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds, lieutenant governor candidate Jody Wagner and attorney general candidate Steve Shannon stressed the importance of getting out the vote on Tuesday, Election Day. They appeared at rallies in Woodbridge, Alexandria, Falls Church and Manassas.

Trailing in the polls and in fundraising, the Democrats are pinning their hopes on a late surge from among the more than 300,000 Virginians who voted for Barack Obama last year, helping to deliver Virginia for a Democratic presidential contender for the first time in 44 years.

"I wish Obama would come here one more time," said Del. Frank D. Hargrove Sr. of Hanover, reflecting Republican disdain for the campaign power of the new president.

The Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in Virginia politics, reported that McDonnell has a two-to-one edge over Deeds in last-minute large donations.

McDonnell took in $1.01 million in contributions of $5,000 or more between Oct. 21 and Wednesday, while Deeds took in $432,987, VPAP reported.

Deeds received $85,000 from the Democratic Party of Virginia while McDonnell took in $60,000 from four Virginia Beach-based real estate firms.

The national GOP chairman, Michael Steele, accompanied the ticket to the day's stops in Lynchburg, Waynesboro and Culpeper before the Ashland rally.

The Democrats usually spend the last Saturday of a statewide campaign hustling for votes in far Southwest Virginia. Deeds is doing the first four stops of this year's swing. Deeds' campaign manager, Joe Abbey, and Rep. Rick Boucher, D-9th, are doing the rest of the stumping in the coalfields.

The message of the Republicans centered on job creation.

That can be accomplished by keeping taxes low and regulations to a minimum, McDonnell said.

"We don't want big government, federal solutions," he said.

Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or .

Staff writer Olympia Meola contributed to this report.