Last week, Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Creigh Deeds, and his Republican counterpart, Bob McDonnell, found themselves in uncharted territory. Less than a day after the Washington Post published an expose´ about McDonnell’s views on working women and abortion restrictions, found in his 20-year-old law school thesis, Deeds was sailing off to fire-ravaged California to raise funds for his campaign.
Were they steering away from Virginia politics or engaging in 21st century business as usual?
“That’s the way new politics is in Virginia now,” says Bob Gibson, executive director of UVA’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. “Twenty years ago this would be a big deal in Virginia, but today it’s much more common.”
Gibson says that both campaigns are not “making a big deal” about raising money out of state. “As only two states are having gubernatorial elections this year, Virginia and New Jersey, a lot of out-of-state money is pouring into both [campaigns],” he says.
Jared Leopold, Deeds’ campaign spokesperson, says that the senator had pre-arranged plans to go to the sunny state to raise money. “We have been raising money all over Virginia, and talking about the issues that matter here in Virginia,” says Leopold.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, by June 30, Deeds had raised $1,902,958 out of state, compared to $2,759,972 in in-state money. McDonnell raised $4,624,813 out of state and $2,919,801 in Virginia.
While Deeds was campaigning, McDonnell found himself forced to step back from some of the positions he took in his 1989 law school thesis. According to the Washington Post article, McDonnell wrote that working women and feminists were “detrimental” to the family unit. Other views on gay marriage and abortion restrictions were also mentioned. Soon after the story ran, McDonnell said some of his ideas had changed in the intervening 20 years. Yet, it is uncertain how much this 93-page document will impact his campaign.
“It depends on how he handles the fall-out and how the Deeds campaign handles the fall-out of the story,” says Gibson.
In a statement, Crystal Cameron, press secretary for the McDonnell campaign, said that instead of looking back, McDonnell will continue to move forward, addressing challenges facing citizens of the Commonwealth.
“He answered questions until there were no more on the line. While our opponent may want to focus this race on decade’s-old academic papers, and engage in backwards looking divisive wedge politics, Bob McDonnell will continue looking forward and rolling out bold policies to bring Virginians together to create the new jobs and more opportunities we need.”
In a lengthy e-mail, Cameron highlighted some of McDonnell’s records on hiring women and his own wife and daughter’s working credentials. According to Cameron, McDonnell appointed five women (out of 10 positions) to senior staff at the Office of the Attorney General; he has increased the percentage of female attorneys at the Office of the Attorney General from 38.5 percent in 2005 to 45.5 percent by 2009.
Yet, in Thursday’s Washington Post, Deeds weighed in. “The thesis explains the social agenda that has apparently driven his legislative agenda during the years,” he told the paper. Deeds’ campaign also launched an online campaign directed at correcting “the misrepresentations coming from the McDonnell campaign.” The website, www.BobMcDonnellBlueprint.com, highlights some of the most controversial statements McDonnell made in his thesis.
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