Kilgore Was Here

Most Americans think that 2005 is not an election year, and in general, they're right. But not here in Virginia, where, in a Republican-dominated state, the off-year race for governor is surprisingly close. This is due, as is often the case these days, because a renegade Republican is also in the race as a "third party" type of candidate, eroding Jerry Kilgore's expected large lead over liberal Dem Tim Kaine. The Dems are whooping it up and already whipping up the punch for their victory celebration, which may be a bit premature. They are aided and abetted by the Washington Post and other hard-left media shills, which generally make it tough for any Republican running for office. But Power Line takes a broader view:

The race will be closely watched because there aren't many other ones to watch this year. Kilgore has consistently held a "lead" but it pretty consistently has been within the margin of error.

If Kaine wins, the Democrats will make much of it -- heck, they were overjoyed when they came close to winning a special congressional election in Ohio earlier this year. Any state-wide victory by a Democrat in the south is noteworthy. But remember that Kaine is the beneficiary of a break-away Republican third candidate. Moreover, this would not be pick-up for the Dems -- the current governor is a moderate Democrat. Kaine is making a race of it by presenting himself as a moderate in the same mold. So a Kaine victory would be good news for the Dems nationally only to the extent they are prepared to nominate candidates who can plausbily claim not be liberal.

Dem thought processes have atrophied over the years, however, because they prefer to denounce and smear rather than engage their competition. So this lesson would no doubt be lost upon them. BTW, Mark Warner, the current governor, indeed a "moderate" Democrat and a former high tech businessman, has lots of bucks and cuts a good figure. Since the Virginia governorship is limited to a single term, Warner could be a plausible non-Hillary presidential candidate in 2008 if the Dems decide to get smart and break with Soros-fueled smear-meisters like moveon.org. We won't hold our collective breath here at HazZzmat.