Obama, Biden Turn Attention To Outer Suburbs in Virginia

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Obama and Biden Continue on the Trail

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and running mate Joe Biden campaign cross-country, making several stops a day. The candidates have heavily addressed the economy in recent days, following a catastrophic week on Wall Street and a huge government bailout.

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In June, a few days after the Democratic primaries ended, Obama kicked off his general election campaign with a large rally at Nissan Pavilion in Prince William County. Since early September, Biden has made three visits to Loudoun or Prince William, including two in one week, plus yesterday's rally.

Quentin Kidd, a political science professor at Christopher Newport University, described Northern Virginia's exurbs as areas where voters are looking for government to offer key services -- well-maintained roads, safe neighborhoods and good schools -- as cheaply as possible. He said the voters are often independents.

Obama, he said, is trying to capitalize on a shift in the state toward Democrats and discontent with Republicans. "It shows someone has paid a lot of attention to Virginia,'' Kidd said of Obama's campaign.

Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large), chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, said McCain still has an advantage in the exurbs because voters there lean to the right.

But Stewart is nervous about the Obama campaign's repeated visits to the region.

McCain "should know that he can't take Prince William and Loudoun for granted," said Stewart, who added that he has been "begging" the Republican nominee to visit Prince William.

Gail Gitcho, a McCain spokeswoman in Virginia, declined to comment on the latest Obama-Biden visit or when McCain or his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, would be returning to Virginia