Jenna Portnoy over at the Washington Post dives in to the recent scrum over Democratic challenger Gary McCollum’s misstatement of military service, despite Governor McAuliffe’s pledge to stand by his man:
Publicly, the governor’s support is unwavering. Asked if he was still behind McCollum, he said: “100 percent. You bet.” And this weekend he plans to make his third appearance in Hampton Roads for him.
But six weeks ahead of the election many voters are just beginning to pay attention, and McCollum’s military service error may be the thing that sticks.
“The perception would be by the time Joe Six Pack goes to vote, it’ll be, ‘Oh yeah, he’s the one who lied about his military service,’ and that’s a shame,” said Moody E. “Sonny” Stallings Jr., a former Democratic state senator from Virginia Beach. “He’ll never overcome that perception with a lot of voters.”
In the slightest of deviations from the narrative, but I am quickly becoming — nay, I’m bought and sold — on Portnoy’s writing style. For instance, this line:
The next day, seven miles east and near the waterfront, Wagner wooed friends of his own at Princess Anne Country Club. At the GOP women’s club luncheon forks clinked on china in a softly lit dining room with butter yellow walls. Golf carts were parked outside.
Tell me you’re not there?
Either way, things are looking pretty bleak for ol’ McCollum. Quentin Kidd pounds it home:
Quentin Kidd, a political scientist and pollster at Christopher Newport University, said in an off-year election that could come down to a point or two, the service flap could be the deciding factor. “I just think this was one of those races where everything had to go right for Democrats to win it,” he said.
This, following on the heels of Cox Cablevision’s clumsy attempt to push off against their former lobbyist, makes for a very awkward Democratic candidacy against Wagner.
Stick all the luncheon forks in this one, folks. McCollum is done.
