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An Even Draw for McCain
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Saturday’s Regional Political News: An Even Draw for McCain
(photo: courtesy of Senator John McCain's office)
Two events occurred yesterday within 125 miles and 3 hours of each other that has been a microcosm of this election cycle. In Virginia, at the state Republican Party convention, former Governor James S. Gilmore III barely won the nomination to represent his party in the U.S. Senate race this fall. Any news of a fractured party is of concern to a presidential candidate, this year it is even more problematic because Senator John McCain needs to win Virginia to have any shot at winning the White House.
Gilmore’s slight win underscores a potential trend that conservatives are not willing to give up their dominance of the Republican Party. In Maryland’s 1st district, State Senator Andrew Harris defeated a moderate, incumbent Republican Wayne Gilchrest (for more information, go to Highlight – Maryland’s 1st Congressional District article). While this may be good news for conservatives in primary elections and their party conventions, it may be bad news for McCain and the national Republican Party in November.
The good news for McCain is that the Obama – Clinton spectacle will probably continue until the Democratic convention in Denver this summer. The decision of the DNC once again changed the rules of the game by giving Senator Clinton more time to wage an ill-fated and debt-filled campaign against Barack Obama. Obama now has to reach 2,118 delegates and that is the second change in the rules of the game, so far. The original number was 2,025, then 2,029, now it is 2,118. The good news for McCain is that he does not have to run a general election campaign until August. He will have three months to raise money, solidify his political base and make inroads to disaffected Democrats and Independents.
The Obama – Clinton primary battle has already been one for the record books. A match-up between James Gilmore and Mark Warner will be the equivalent of two heavyweight fighters going toe to toe. Yesterday’s decisions ensured that both of these competitions are far from over. The question is…was this good or bad news for John McCain?
More About:
2008 Election ·
Virginia Politics ·
McCain ·
Obama ·
Clinton ·
Andy Harris ·
Wayne Gilchrest ·
Democratic Convention ·
James Gilmore ·
Mark Warner
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