The first radio ad of Virginia's 2005 gubernatorial campaign was not about taxes. It had nothing to do with the death penalty, abortion or gun control. The state's transportation crisis was not mentioned, and neither was the quality of its schools.
The ad was about religion.
"My family and Christian faith are the values that guide me," Democratic Lt. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine intones in an ad titled "Values." "As a young man, I served for a year as a Christian missionary. . . . The Bible teaches us that we can accomplish great things when we work together. These are my values, and that's what I believe in."
Kaine, an observant Roman Catholic, has apparently decided to compete directly for the religious vote with his likely opponent, former attorney general Jerry W. Kilgore (R). His advisers think the faith issue plays well in regions where Democrats traditionally do poorly -- the southwest and Hampton Roads. They also see Kaine's faith as a shield against his position on the death penalty, which he opposes but pledges to enforce.
The religion strategy should come as no surprise. Kaine has been telegraphing that part of his campaign at every opportunity.
He spoke early in the year at the annual meeting of the Family Foundation of Virginia, a group that advocates conservative social causes, and sounded practically like a preacher. In February, Kaine took his message to the Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.
"Sometimes our candidates have trashed the religious right, when what we meant to trash is a bad idea," he said, prompting more than a few hard-core Democrats to squirm in their seats. "We should never, never label people who are from the religious right."
That drew a little tepid applause from the crowd.
It might not be a winning line for his base. But Kaine is betting that he can pick up votes in rural areas by using words such as "Christian," "values" and "Bible" a lot.
The most striking part of Kaine's faith message is his story about spending a year during law school as a Christian missionary in Honduras. He says he taught English and the Bible to villagers.
The story has great potential, his advisers think.
In rural areas, where evangelical religions have more followers, potential voters might hear Kaine's story as a year-long effort to convert people to Christianity. In liberal Arlington County and Alexandria, a more secular crowd might hear the same story and think instead of a young man's efforts to bring social justice to the poor.
The same story, with two very different messages.
Some Democrats are skeptical about making faith a centerpiece of Kaine's campaign. Some see little hope of winning over the religious right from Republicans. Others recall the presidential campaign of 1960, when John F. Kennedy's Catholicism became an issue with some voters. (Kaine's ad does not mention that he is Catholic, although he is not shy about saying so.)
