October 28, 2006, Democratic senatorial candidate Jim Webb with congressional candidates Judy Feder, Andrew Hurst and Jim Morgan, joined by former Governor Mark Warner and Governor Tim Kaine launched a "Get out the Vote" kickoff rally at Poe Middle School in Annandale, Northern Virginia.
Over 200 people from various communities came to support them. As the Election Day November 7th approaches, candidates from both parties are making their final rounds to pick up votes from mostly the undecided.
In a traditionally red state, Democrats base of support lies in the more liberal Northern Virginia, while most of the rest of Virginia remains red. Tim Kaine said at the rally that Northern Virginians were "very, very good to me last year." The lead Kaine had in Northern Virginia enabled him to tip the balance and eventually win the Governor's election last year.
"The tide has moved in our direction," former Governor Mark Warner said. "We are ready to take back our country right here in the Commonwealth of Virginia."
Is Ex-Governor Warner right? Will Northern Virginia deliver for Webb?
Webb wins by a landslide, according to polls in Northern Virginia. But polls in the rest of Virginia indicate the reverse situation. In a close election where 200 or 300 ballots could decide the winner, every vote counts.
At the rally, there was a lot of emotion. Webb said in Annandale, "Don't question my faith, and don't question my character!" Webb emphasized "truth" and "morals" when speaking about his novels, which he felt were smeared by Senator George Allen. As more and more conservatives become independent, Democrats are playing the value card as well.
Minorities Sought Out By the Democratic Party
The Democratic Party's strategy of outreaching to minorities seems to be effective—at least in Northern Virginia. At an African American Young Professional Network event in Old Town Alexandria Thursday night, Allen sent a representative to speak for him, while Webb made the effort to attend, although both were traveling in Southern Virginia during the day. The audience made several rounds of enthusiastic applause for Webb during his speech.
Not just African Americans, but research shows that Asian Americans (except for Vietnamese Americans) favored Kerry over Bush in the 2004 Election. Many Asian Americans tend to vote for Democrats. At today's rally, Korean Americans and Chinese Americans held signs such as, "Korean Americans for Webb" and "Chinese Americans for Webb" to show their support.
According to the Democratic National spokesman Luis Miranda, the Democratic Party strategy of outreaching to Asian Americans started from the beginning of this electoral season, early 2005. In several rounds between summer and now, the Democrat Party distributed millions of bilingual campaign materials in Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese.
The Democratic Party has also encouraged more Asian members to run for office this season. The majority of Asian American candidates are Democrats. Between the 2000 and 2004 elections, the number of registered Asian American voters increased by one million nationwide. The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee have personally reached out to Asian Americans in Nevada and Ohio. These locations are not generally known for their Asian American populations compared to California and New York.
This weekend, Senator George Allen stays outside of the Northern Virginia and works hard on his base. Former Secretary of Navy and candidate Webb contemplates the difficulty for Democrats to win over married White Americans, considered the group hardest to attract for Democrats.
How the votes ultimately sum up for the various constituencies—White, minority, Northern Virginia, and the rest of Virginia, will be decided on Tuesday, November 7th.
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