As I predicted, the Virginian-Pilot has endorsed incumbent Republican Congresswoman Thelma Drake in the 2nd Congressional District race over Democratic challenger Phil Kellam. Essentially, this endorsement reflects what I said yesterday: Kellam has not answered the question of why voters should hire him.
Kellam has just not made a compelling case to replace Drake.
I had expected the Pilot to use as a part of its reason for endorsing Drake her status as the incumbent. Interestingly enough, they perceive this to be a potential liability and is the only reason given for voting for Kellam:
There is an excellent chance that Republicans will lose control of the House of Representatives on Nov. 7. If Drake were to win re-election, it could leave the 2nd District without a voice in the majority party. In fact, given Drake’s positions – she is among the most reliably conservative members of Congress – she would likely be relegated to the farthest reaches of the back benches, her voice unable to carry any influence.
With less than two weeks to go, Kellam has his work cut out for him. He has to lay out his case, clearly and concisely, on what he stands for and why he should be elected. It is not enough to just be “not Drake.”
Others weighing in on today’s endorsement: Jim Hoeft, Squeaky Wheel, and Insider. UPDATE: Also, David Campbell
Technorati Tags: Thelma Drake, Phil Kellam
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Ms. Paige-Have any stock tips today?-you called this one. It does seem the Pilot didn’t consider many issues that Kellam does differ with Drake on-Off-shore drilling , Fed. funded stem cell research, food safety etc.
Viv, I owe you lunch! I wagered lunch on this over at VBDems and you won. Hate being wrong, but hey, you win 🙂
Other thoughts:
Look, whether you are for or against Kellam for Congress, this is PR 101. I mean how bad they (Kellam’s Camp) have botched this. Truth be told, such an incompetent campaign SHOULD result in a run-away race for Drake, but it’s not. That is not lost on me.
The Pilot is teasing heir newest Drake-Kellam poll in Thursday’s edition. THIS should be interesting. Was the polling done before or after canceling the debates? I suspect before.
I think we can all come together and agree the Pilot feels like they HAVE to endorse SOMEONE to remain relevant. They failed the process and helped no one today. They simply demonstrated why all of us blog and see THEM as a joke.
VA Breeze: buy low, sell high 🙂
SW: Can’t wait for that lunch 😆 As for that poll, I was polled by M-D Monday night on this race. So I expect that will be the poll we see Thursday.
Personally, I think the Pilot should get out of the endorsement business. This one was given almost by default and the Webb endorsement will be by default. It seems that the campaigns are making the editorial boards irrelevant. Was a single vote changed by what the Pilot wrote today? I think not.
As for the Drake campaign versus the Kellam campaign: running for office – especially at this level – is harder than it looks. Talk to Drake and ask her how hard it was last time. It is a tremendous leap from local office to national. I don’t think anyone can be prepared for the rigorous nature of any campaign, much less one at this level. Running for office is not for the faint of heart. It takes more out of the candidate than anyone who hasn’t been there can imagine.
Viv,
Where are we eating?
As for being hard to campaign, sure I get that but any idiot knows you don’t hide from the public, bail out of debates (Especially when it will be attended by the Editorial writers) and then waffle on issues.
I ran for Student Senate in college once (And won) and I think that makes me more qualified for running his campaign than the guys that are.
Jim and I have been saying for MONTHS what they are doing wrong. That is why we have the running joke that we should charge them a consulting fee 🙂
Viv,
When asked by the polster who you would vote for, Thelma Drake or Phil Kellam, what did you say?
Viv,
WHen asked by the pollster who you would vote for, Thelma Drake or Phil Kellam, What did you say?
SW – not sure. Where’s the most expensive place in town? 😆
anon – your comments got caught in my spam filter. Sorry for the delay in catching them.
As to what I said, well, there is a reason we have a secret ballot 😉
I have a restaurant recommendation. I’m not sure how far Newport News is from you, but there is a fabulous restaurant there. It’s as good as anything in the DC area. It’s “99 Main”, that’s both the name and the address. It’s in the historical part of Newport News, Hilton Village. And it is a bit on the pricey side, which should work for Vivian. 🙂
I am surprised that M-D is polling again in Virginia since they just released a poll this week. Perhaps it’s just for VA2?
Webb has the same problem that Killam has. Webb has not given voters a reason to vote for him. He has given reasons to vote against Allen, but not FOR him. He’s against the war, but hasn’t said he’d do anything different there either. It’s always better to have supporters voting FOR YOU, rather than against the other guy. The later voters are not as likely to turnout to vote. If it rains that day, Webb is toast.