The Washington Post has an article up today about what it’s calling the surprising success of Delegate Bob Marshall’s Senate campaign:
Republicans across Virginia are rallying with surprising vigor behind the U.S. Senate campaign of state Del. Robert G. Marshall, a quirky Prince William County conservative who is challenging former governor James S. Gilmore III for the GOP nomination to replace retiring Sen. John W. Warner (R).
Marshall’s role as the lead challenger in the lawsuit that overturned several local taxes that were part of Virginia’s landmark transportation package Friday has propelled him into the spotlight. But even before then, the 63-year-old policy consultant was quietly amassing support, from county committee chairmen in rural parts of the state to Northern Virginia GOP insiders.
He has done it by endearing the party faithful with his record on abortion, same-sex marriage and taxes, and by sidling up to the state GOP’s anti-Gilmore crowd. Now Marshall has a fresh platform from which to reach those crowds, and he plans to take advantage of it, starting today with a fiery anti-tax speech he is scheduled to deliver on the floor of the House of Delegates.
“That money was illegally taken,” Marshall said of the regional taxes imposed since January by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority and thrown out Friday in a unanimous Supreme Court decision. “It’s unconstitutional. To say we don’t have to give it back is saying it’s okay to steal.”
The Post also repeats the old worries that Marshall may be too conservative for Virginia:
Gilmore’s allies say the former governor has the best chance of beating Warner in the fall (a third, lesser-known Republican, Robert D. Berry, 51, of Springfield also is seeking the GOP nomination). Conservative Republicans also dispute the notion that the party must change to win, saying adherence to the principles of small government, low taxes and social conservatism will bring out voters turned off by the moderation of some GOP politicians.
“This is a bad time for the Republican Party,” said state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II (R-Fairfax), who is supporting fellow conservative Marshall. “But you don’t put the brakes on something like that unless your team is all together.”
Gilmore declined to be interviewed. His spokeswoman, Ana Gamonal, said the former governor is focused on “defeating Mark Warner in the fall” and did not want to talk about whether he faces a serious challenge at the convention.
“We are preparing as if Governor Gilmore will be the nominee on May 31,” she said.
There’s an old saying — don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. Gilmore does look strong going into the convention but conventions are funny things and a candidate with a lot of grassroots support, like Marshall, could pull of a surprise, as Tom Davis notes:
“What Jim is finding out is that in the rural areas, where he was going to beat me, all of a sudden they’re turning on him,” Davis said. “He’s not conservative enough, and Bob Marshall’s hammering him on the issues. Plus he’s not popular with the party activists, which is what you get when you have an autocrat.”
No hard feelings huh Tom ?
I’ll admit to not having paid a lot of attention to the Senate race up until now. I preferred Gilmore over Davis but didn’t really know much about Marshall. His role in the dismantling of the NVTA, though, is worth noting and worth giving the candidate a good long look.
