Obama, McCain Bolster Their Presence in Va.
Presidential Candidates Pick Up Support

By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 1, 2008

RICHMOND, Jan. 31 -- Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) stepped up their efforts in Virginia on Thursday as the presidential candidates began devoting more resources to the region in preparation for the Feb. 12 primary.

At separate events at the state Capitol, the Obama and McCain campaigns each unveiled a string of endorsements. Obama also announced Thursday that he was becoming the first candidate from either party to launch ads on network television in the region.

The campaign, which reported Thursday that it raised $32 million in January, said it was buying time in the District, Maryland and Virginia to air three different ads.

"I think the senator is going to have a great chance on Feb. 12," Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), one of Obama's national co-chairmen, said in an interview Thursday.

The flurry of activity is the latest signal that Virginia, Maryland and the District, all of which hold primaries Feb. 12, could play a big role in this year's elections.

One of Obama's ads, which will be shown in the Washington market, features Caroline Kennedy, who endorsed Obama earlier this week. The other two ads that will run in Virginia and Maryland show snippets of Obama's recent stump speeches.

Obama advisers believe Virginia, Maryland and the District could be critical to his hopes of defeating Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) for the Democratic nomination. All three jurisdictions have sizeable African American populations as well as well-educated white voters, two groups that recent national polls show favor Obama over Clinton.

In Virginia, where residents don't register by party, Obama could also draw support from self-described independents, another group that has supported him over Clinton, according to exit polls in recent contests.

Obama picked up support Thursday from 17 members of the Virginia House of Delegates, including several from Fairfax County and Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry).

Armstrong had been a supporter of former senator John Edwards, who suspended his campaign Wednesday. But Armstrong, who represents parts of economically depressed southern Virginia, said he decided to back Obama because he represents "change for America."

"In my district, people of Southside and southwest Virginia have had a great opportunity participating in the American dream," Armstrong said. "If ever there was a region of the state that needed Barack Obama's vision of change, it is in my district."

The endorsements come as Obama is starting to send paid staff into Virginia. On Tuesday, several Obama staffers who helped him win the South Carolina primary relocated to Richmond, where Obama is opening up a state headquarters.

Stacey Brayboy, Obama's state director in South Carolina, will hold the same job in Virginia. Brayboy worked on Kaine's 2005 campaign for governor. Before joining the Obama campaign last year, Brayboy was a deputy agency head in Kaine's administration.

Mo Elleithee, a Clinton spokesman, said Clinton will be adding staff to her Virginia operation in the coming days. "We've got a great grass-roots organization in Virginia; it is a state we intend to compete hard in and do very well," said Elleithee, who was Kaine's communications director during his 2005 bid for governor.

McCain, who is competing against former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for the GOP nomination, doesn't yet have paid staff in Virginia. But Del. Christopher B. Saxman (R-Staunton), co-chairman of McCain's Virginia campaign, organized an event at the Capitol to introduce two dozen McCain supporters, including Dels. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax) and Terry G. Kilgore (R-Scott) and former Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger, who lives in Charlottesville.

"I worked closely with former presidents Reagan and Bush and I have great respect for both," Eagleburger said. "John McCain is the only one who has those same qualities and will not be afraid to tell it like he sees it."

Depending on the outcome of the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday contests, when voters in 22 states go to the polls, Virginia could become a battleground among McCain, Romney and Huckabee.

The state has large populations of veterans and social conservatives, some of whom have expressed reservations about McCain. But at a meeting with Washington Post editors and reporters Thursday, Virginia Republican Party Chairman John H. Hager said he thinks McCain has an early advantage in the state.

For more information on Virginia politics and a complete list of who endorsed McCain and Obama on Thursday, go tohttp://blog.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics.