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Candidates struggle to get voters out to polls
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(Examiner photo)
Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, seen here in a family photo, believes grocery stores are a great way to meet voters in the run-up to the elections. The candidates in Tuesday’s General Assembly elections have spent millions of dollars on advertising and countless hours knocking on doors this year, but the most important work of the campaign comes this weekend. House and Senate candidates in Northern Virginia’s hottest races will focus on the nitty-gritty of campaign work, calling voters they think will support them Tuesday, leaving campaign literature on doorknobs and pressing the flesh in a variety of public places. The advertising and previous campaigning will not matter, candidates said, unless they ensure their supporters will go to the polls Tuesday. Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, R-Vienna, locked in a struggle with Democrat Chap Petersen, will have volunteers this weekend at every Giant Food store in the district as part of her campaign’s strategy for the 72 hours leading up to Election Day. “Grocery stores are a great way to meet people,” said Davis, who plans to join the volunteers outside the stores. Both campaigns will have volunteers blanketing the district, which includes Fairfax City and Vienna. Petersen estimates that by the time the polls open Tuesday, he and his campaign workers will have knocked on 100,000 doors. “We have identified thousands of likely Chap voters,” Petersen said. “We just need to remind them to come out.” Shoppers in the 34th House district, which includes McLean and Great Falls, also will be greeted by a politician. Republican Dave Hunt, who is battling Democrat Margi Vanderhye for the open seat, plans to be outside of food stores. “I think a lot of people have already made up their minds,” Hunt said. “We have to make sure the people that support us show up Tuesday.” Hunt and Vanderhye have combined to raise more than $1.1 million in the race for the only inside-the-Beltway seat Democrats do not hold. “It comes down to this weekend,” Vanderhye said. “The last weekend is a reminder of all the things you have said and all the connections that you’ve made. We’re going to be all over the place this weekend.” |