One year after Barack Obama was elected to the presidency, the nation’s eyes were on Virginia. Politicians, journalists and arm-chair political junkies were fascinated by our statewide elections, hoping to gauge the lingering potency of “hope and change”.
While this November’s elections will lack the drama of 2009, they will once again attract national political watchers as the GOP hopes to solidify its position in the Commonwealth by reclaiming the majority it lost in the state Senate just four years ago. One group, however, is willing to do more than watch; it hopes to have an impact on the outcome of some of the Commonwealth’s most critical races.
The Presidential Coalition, an affiliate of Citizens United, the Washington-based, conservative non-profit made famous by its recent victory for political speech in the landmark Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, has announced that it will invest $ 47,500 in General Assembly races across Virginia this year.
“President Obama’s reelection campaign will be looking at what happens in the important 2011 Virginia elections for 2012 guidance,” said David N. Bossie, President of Citizens United. “If Virginia continues to trend red, President Obama’s reelection campaign will have a tough road to climb on election night. By focusing on Virginia, the Presidential Coalition will help shape the battlefield for 2012.
“The Presidential Coalition is focusing on two important Virginia races in the 2011 cycle. District 9 Delegate Charles Poindexter against Democrat Minority Leader Ward Armstrong will be an important race that arose from redistricting, and will have great implications for 2012. The other race is District 34 Delegate Barbara Comstock’s reelection campaign. This inside-the-beltway District will be a bellwether for 2012. Delegate Comstock has represented her constituents well in Richmond, and if she is able to win reelection that will send a signal to Chicago that Virginia’s vote for President Obama in 2008 was an anomaly.”
Other candidates receiving support from the Presidential Coalition are Senate candidates Adam Light (38th), Caren Merrick (31st), Bryce Reeves (17th), Bill Stanley (20th) and John Stirrup (13th), as well as Loudon County Board of Supervisors candidate Suzanne Volpe and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
With today’s announcement, the Presidential Coalition has donated more than $62,000 to Virginia candidates for the 2011 election cycle–a move described as an “initial investment.” With the reporting period ending next week, this infusion of cash will almost certainly benefit these campaigns. Additional donations farther down the stretch could ensure that Republican candidates have the resources they will need to remain viable and run strong campaigns right up to election day.
On its website, Citizens United describes itself as:
“…an organization dedicated to restoring our government to citizens’ control. Through a combination of education, advocacy, and grass roots organization, Citizens United seeks to reassert the traditional American values of limited government, freedom of enterprise, strong families, and national sovereignty and security. Citizens United’s goal is to restore the founding fathers’ vision of a free nation, guided by the honesty, common sense, and good will of its citizens.”
By the investment of its affiliate in Virginia’s General Assembly races, Citizens United seems to believe that candidates like Comstock, Light, Merrick, Poindexter, Reeves, Stanley, Stirrup and Volpe represent the honesty, commonsense and goodwill valued by our Founders and that are critical to our efforts to keep the Commonwealth on the right-track.
