The final GOP lieutenant governor candidate forum of the campaign took place on Tuesday night in Richmond, and, as a bonus, it featured our own Scott Lee as moderator. The RTD write-up informs us that Scott kept things running smoothly — which was quite an accomplishment with seven candidates, a time limit and no air conditioning. But from my perch in the cheap seats, here’s what struck me about the event…
1. All of the candidates are quite practiced at delivering compressed responses to questions. Only twice during the event did the buzzer — which is the same one used during Benedictine’s basketball games — sound. And it was LOUD. There’s nothing quite so entertaining as watching a group of candidates try to make their points while also keeping a nervous eye on the clock.
2. EW Jackson has the power to move crowds like no one else. You could feel the energy in the audience rise as he spoke. But what was he saying? Upon reflection, it was fairly hollow. Motivating, to be sure. But very thin on policy.
3. Jeannemarie Davis is quite polished. But let’s be honest: despite her contention that she “left office,” she did not do so voluntarily. She was defeated, soundly, in 2007.
4. In a discussion over energy policy, Scott Lee specifically mentioned the state’s inaction on uranium mining. Only Steve Martin addressed this issue directly, saying he would have voted to lift the moratorium. runner-up was Pete Snyder, who said he favors an all of the above and below energy policy. The rest dodged the uranium portion of the question.
5. One of the trickier questions of the night was what the candidates would do if Terry McAuliffe won the governorship while one of them won the lieutenant governorship. While they all bemoaned the possibility of a McAuliffe win, none of them took the opportunity to point out that the GOP has been there before, when Tim Kaine was governor and Bill Bolling was lieutenant governor (and some guy named Bob McDonnell was attorney general). What lessons did they learn from that experience? How would they apply those lessons in the future? The audience will never know, but the politically minded will recall that when he was lieutenant governor in a similar situation, Chuck Robb used the position to remake the Democratic party in his image — and helped it win three consecutive gubernatorial elections.
6. And wouldn’t you know it? AG candidate Rob Bell was on hand and campaigning away. Mark Obenshain’s campaign had a solid staff turnout, but Bell is fast becoming the John Hager of his generation: the ubiquitous presence at all things Republican.
And yes, Mr. Hager was there last night, too. He received the night’s loudest, and warmest, round of applause.
