As National Party Chairman, Kaine's Attention Is Close to Home

RICHMOND

Moments after he was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) left no doubt that the 2009 Virginia governor's race would become his top political priority.

"The two big races in 2009 are the New Jersey governorship and the Virginia governorship," Kaine told a group of reporters at the DNC meeting. "So it just happens . . . one of the most important races is right here in Virginia."

Kaine is sending a strong signal that national Democrats and President Obama plan to fiercely compete to win the Virginia governor's race.

With Kaine at the helm of the DNC, millions of dollars and the full weight of the national party organization will flow into Virginia this year, setting up a nationally watched race. If Democrats can win a third consecutive governor's race, it will be hard to argue the state is anything but blue.

The stakes couldn't be higher for Kaine. A loss in the first major race of the Obama administration in Kaine's home state could be an embarrassing blow to the governor's credibility on the national stage.

Following in the footsteps of Howard Dean as chairman, Kaine is being closely watched by liberal activists who are skeptical he can live up to Dean's accomplishments.

"I don't think Obama could have picked a more boring, less exciting person than Tim Kaine," Marcos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos, an influential liberal blog, said in an interview last week. "But we have the White House. We have the Senate. We have the House. So no one really cares much about Kaine."

If Democrats lose in Virginia this year, activists could quickly turn on Kaine, which would make it harder for him to oversee the party heading into the 2010 midterm elections.

More importantly, Kaine's legacy as governor will probably rest on his ability to have a Democrat succeed him.

Going back to the 1970s, Virginia governors succeeded by a member of the same party have generally been viewed as successful in office. Those whose political opponents succeed them have had more difficulty in crafting a positive narrative about their legacies.

After James S. Gilmore III (R) left office in 2002, his successor, Democrat Mark R. Warner, spent four years blaming him for the state's budget woes.