Kilgore's Bid to Be Governor: Will Being There Be Enough?

(Jerry W. Kilgore , Left, And Tiimothy M. Kaine/photos Steve Hel)

Gilmore's pitch plays well to GOP loyalists, which leaves Kilgore fumbling for a no-risk space of his own -- an effort that has made his position on taxes and state spending uneven to the point of incoherence.

A year ago, for example, Kilgore proposed a billion-dollar bond issue for education. Then, he dropped the subject, remaining quiet during the rambunctious 2004 legislative session while Warner worked the divisions in the Republican ranks. When the governor's efforts proved fruitful, Kilgore abruptly called for an unprecedented referendum on the state budget.

That was too much populist nonsense for conservative Virginia, and Kilgore was left sputtering about the horrors of what Warner had wrought. That, however, did not keep him from traveling to his home base in far southwest Virginia to celebrate the new spending for education in the budget.

In short, Kilgore exercised little or no influence during one of the most important political debates in recent Virginia history and enters the governor's race with, at best, contradictory positions on the state budget.

Kilgore's position on transportation?

He's against raising the state gasoline tax and would consider eliminating the existing 17.5 percent levy, one of the lowest in the nation.

So why is Kilgore the odds-on Republican candidate for governor?

Because, as one observer noted, "He's in position."

"We figure we're running against a guy who's been a weak leader," said Kaine's campaign manager, Mike Henry. "I think they worry whether their guy is ready for prime time."

Maybe Kilgore is, and maybe he isn't. But Kilgore still has to win nomination in a June 14 GOP primary, and if things don't get interesting before that, they certainly will afterward.

gcmorse@cox.net