A clear choice
One of the things we've been looking forward to in this campaign is highlighting the qualities that make Mark Warner the best choice for the U.S. Senate. Now that we have an opponent, we think the choice is clear.
This weekend, the Washington Post gave us a few more reasons why. The editorial board called Jim Gilmore "one of the most confrontational and irresponsible governors in recent Virginia history."
In an article about the Warner-Gilmore matchup, they summarized it this way:
In 2005, Governing Magazine said Virginia was the best managed state in the nation, and Warner's popularity soared.
When he left office in 2006, Warner's approval rating stood at 80 percent, thought to be a record for a Virginia governor.
Meanwhile, Gilmore's standing has worsened as Democrats and some Republicans have stepped up attacks on his record.
In a Washington Post poll last month, 40 percent of residents had a favorable impression of Gilmore, a 20-percentage-point decline since 1997. The same poll found that Warner would beat Gilmore by 30 points in a general election.
With records like that, the choice is pretty clear. It's a difference between stubborn partisanship that leaves us lagging or cooperative results that leave us in better shape than we were.