GATE CITY, Va. -- The fact that Jerry W. Kilgore speaks with the distinctive Appalachian twang of his home town has been a part of his gubernatorial campaign from its very beginning, although then the issue seemed little more than an offhand expression of hill country pride.
Outside his campaign kickoff here last month, a big sign in the bed of a pickup truck read: "Welcome to Gate City (Pardon the Accent.)" The Republican candidate's opening speech at the high school gym, delivered in front of a similar sign, touted his twang as a measure of country authenticity.
"My accent may only be rivaled by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger," he joked to the audience in this town near the Tennessee border. "But I will tell you this: I would rather be a workhorse than a show horse."
The audience members, many of whom would pronounce his first name Jurry, were appreciative. But now that Kilgore is charging that Lt. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, the Democratic candidate, has mocked his accent and, by extension, all of southwest Virginia, people here are divided. Some believe Kilgore's suspicion stems from a justified fear that more than a few outsiders view locals as "hillbillies," but others say the allegations are simply a calculated move by Kilgore to vilify his opponent and win votes.
Virginia politics has long been riven by regional rivalries, and the various accents give them voice. In general terms, there are those from Northern Virginia, another set from Richmond and yet another from southwest Virginia.
"It's an obvious political stunt by Kilgore to divert attention from the real issues," said Rex McCarty, a businessman and owner of the Homeplace Museum here. "I don't think people are buying it."
Others disagreed. They noted that some people still associate their accents with the backwardness of characters in "The Beverly Hillbillies" or "Deliverance."
Kilgore "has been in Richmond long enough to realize that there is some prejudice," Lois Quillin, a retired teacher, said last week from the counter of her husband's hardware store. Some people feel "that you're not as educated or capable because of your accent."
In recent weeks, the Kilgore campaign has placed ads in local papers headlined "Liberal Tim Kaine Mocks Rural Virginia." A satirical memo from the Kilgore campaign worked a similar theme.
Given the attention devoted to regional identity in the area, such accusations can be politically explosive.
Nestled in the green hills of Appalachia, Scott County was the home of legendary country music pioneer A.P. Carter, and his homestead has been carefully restored. The Quillin hardware store is filled with historical artifacts: a wheat cradle, an ice saw and old milk jug. And although some may make fun, many delight in the fact that locals say "up 'ar" while others would fully pronounce "up there," or that they call bottled soft drinks "dopes," or that when they say "sit" the word sounds more like "seeit."
"Some people from other parts of the country just like to hear us talk," said Bill Smith, the barber at the East End Shop in Gate City. But "if anyone thinks they're being made fun of here, that would make a big difference in the election."
