As many people know by now, Creigh Deeds recently announced that he is running for governor. It seems as though his campaign has hit the ground running because even though the election is almost two years away, Sen. Deeds is already picking up some endorsements from local leaders such as Charlottesville Mayor David Brown. In an email statement sent out to potential supporters, Mayor Brown mentioned that Sen. Deeds shares similar values with people all across the Commonwealth and has the ability to win a statewide election.
Senator Deeds is the progressive leader who can win a statewide election for Governor. When Virginia needed a leader to clean up one of our most toxic landfills, Senator Deeds was there to take on the challenge. When our state troopers and deputy sheriffs weren’t getting the support they needed, he worked with Mark Warner to ensure they had the pay, the training and the tools to keep us safe. He knows what it takes to win a statewide campaign and once elected he’ll go to work for all of us.
He understands our values and shares our priorities. When he announced, Deeds spoke of making Virginia “the best place to live, work, and raise a family…the best place for all of us to call home.” Senator Deeds has spent his career fighting for good jobs and economic development, making our public schools, colleges and universities the best in the nation, increasing access to health care and making sure our seniors can live comfortably in retirement.
The email continued by mentioning that Creigh also has a record of bringing people together in order to produce legislation that’s in the best interests of Virginians. During Creigh’s announcement video, the Senator mentioned that the next Governor of Virginia must continue the Warner/Kaine style of leadership in order to keep improving the lives of Virginians. Based upon the fact that Mayor Brown also mentioned this in part of his endorsement statement, I think it’s safe to say that theme will be at least a small part of Deeds’ campaign.
I believe this endorsement was a nice way to keep Creigh’s candidacy in the mind of Democratic activists throughout this week. Plus it’s always nice for statewide candidates to pick up the endorsement of local leaders. That being said, I believe Creigh’s campaign will only get a big jump out of this endorsement if Mayor Brown is willing to go out and do some work to help get Deeds elected (note, this is the case with most endorsements, in my opinion.) Based upon the fact that Brown ends his email with a PS saying he’s “ready to go to work and, with your help, elect [Sen. Deeds] as our next Governor,” it appears as though Creigh might get that help from the mayor.
Filed under: Creigh Deeds, Gubernatorial Race, Politics, Virginia, Virginia Politics
If this was an endorsemnt from a major player in a larger locality in an area that is not in Deed’s Senate district, I might be impressed. But it’s not, it just an elected official in the Senate district who supports his Senator.
I’d equate this to Moran being endorsed by the Mayor of Alexandria. You expect it to happen, so it’s no big deal.
Is this endorsement to be expected? Yes, but I do think it would help Creigh’s candidacy even outside of his district if Mayor Brown were to make some phone calls, knock on doors, attend events, etc. for his candidacy. In other words, Creigh will benefit if the mayor does more than simply say “Hey, I support my local Senator.”