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Robert McCartney: Cuccinelli to the right even of McDonnell
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Opposition to illegal immigration, which has barely come up in the governor's contest, is important to Cuccinelli. Last year, he proposed to deny citizenship to children born in the United States if their parents weren't here legally.
His opponent, Shannon, is a centrist who has tried to paint Cuccinelli as an ideologue, but it doesn't seem to register.
Cuccinelli "benefits from the usual tendency in these state elections of voters to pay close attention to the top of the ticket, but barely giving a look to the other statewide contests," said Mark J. Rozell, professor of public policy at George Mason University. "As long as he can seem a reasonably safe choice for most voters, and he can keep his more strident views under the radar, he will likely ride to victory on the coattails of Bob McDonnell."
Many believe Cuccinelli's district has changed enough that he couldn't be reelected as state senator in 2011. By then, though, he might well be pushing his convictions from a more influential perch.
Translating Deeds
In the final governor's debate Tuesday, state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath) suggested that taxes could be raised for anything with a "nexus" to transportation. That means anything that directly involves road use. Senator Deeds, try saying "gasoline tax."
I'm using a new e-mail address. Please write to mccartneyr@washpost.com.
