Staff in the Field
Our staff has been out campaigning for our local candidates since Saturday. We've all had a lot of fun, getting-out-the-vote in some of our most crucial districts. Throughout the day, we'll be adding staff reports from the field.
* Our deputy finance director, Andrew Garrahan, has been out for Margi Vanderhye, who's running for Delegate int he 34th District, up in Fairfax:
I've been out making calls and knocking doors for Margi Vanderhye for the past few days and things are feeling good. Margi seems to have met an extraordinary number of her constituents. The response of people at the doors I have knocked has uniformly been "I met her and I liked her." No crazy stories from the road to report, which is mostly a good thing. Making calls has been more fun than I thought - I get to wear a headset which makes me feel like an American Idol contestant. Looking forward to the close of the polls and seeing the results.
* Craig Kirby, our deputy manager for outreach, helped out Delegate Chuck Caputo
I and my new friend Elaine canvassed about 5 neighborhoods. We dropped literature to about 85 percent of the houses in these neighborhoods.
After the Lit Drop, it was back to the office for lunch and sitting with volunteers to get the the next day's lit drop ready. The best part for me was being with the volunteers of all ages and seeing how they genuinely cared for both Chuck and his wife Barbara.
The team that Joe (campaign manager) put together is a well oiled machine—that is truly going to push out the vote today. Looking forward to being with them later this afternoon—for any last minute activities.
* Clark Mercer, from our research team:
I started out election day in my hometown of Alexandria, heading to the polls in support of David Englin for the House of Delegates and Patsy Ticer for the Virginia Senate. After passing out some literature and greeting fellow Democrats, I headed out to Prince William County to knock on doors and get out the vote for Senator Chuck Colgan, Bill Day for Delegate, Sharon Pandak for Chairman, and Bill Ryland for Clerk of the Court. Fellow Warner staffers Meg, Mark, and Adrian are also here at headquarters working hard, making calls, and going door to door to support our Democratic candidates.
* Mark Giangreco, from our correspondence team:
The Democrats are back in Virginia, there's no question about it. We're organized, focused, and ready to give Governor Kaine the legislature he needs to continue the progress made under the Warner and Kaine administrations. Campaign headquarters is a hive of activity, and we've had some great get out the vote support from local high school students. Chris Brown, our House of Delegates candidate in the 52nd district, just jumped onto a call to answer a voter's question--he was on the line for several minutes before hanging up and reporting that we had earned another vote. It is dedicated candidates like Chris that will keep Virginia moving forward.
* Adrian Baker, from our finance team:
Check back for more dispatches!I'm fired up. We got here at 6:30 am and Democratic Headquarters in Prince William County was already in high gear. After spending the early morning at the polls, we came back to Headquarters to take kids out to canvass. Volunteers were pouring in all morning, eager to get out the vote and to help Democrats take back the state legislature. Clark, Mark, and I are canvassing local neighborhoods until the polls close.