Before Chairman Terry McAuliffe made his announcement to officially seek the Democratic nomination for governor, former Del. Brian Moran, another candidate for the nomination, issued an appeal to his fellow candidates to not accept out-of-state campaign donations through June 9.
The election should not be about “who can raise more money from national donors,” Moran said. “Virginia Democrats should choose our nominee.”
This has prompted Norm Leahy to question how long Moran will actually stay in the race, Michael at “The Write Side” to call Moran “desperate“, and Greg at BVBL to call the whole nomination campaign a “circus“.
But is Moran deserving of all these arrows?
Generally, candidates have to point out their differences with challengers, and perhaps the biggest difference amongst two Northern Virginia liberals is their ability to be influenced from out-of-state sources. So, it appears that Moran is making a conscious effort to the electorate to paint McAuliffe as the outsider.
The real question is not whether Moran is going to drop-out or if this is a desperate move – it’s whether this is an effective tactic.
Or, is keeping your mouth shut a better one?
