According to Ben Tribbett at Not Larry Sabato, Jim Webb has snagged another big endorsement. Last night it was Leslie Byrne, tonight it's Chap Petersen. According to Ben, "Chap will accompany Webb to Fridays's St. Patricks Day straw poll in Fairfax County. A Webb victory could knock Miller from the race, a strong Miller win could be a huge halt to Webb's recent momentum."Interesting analysis, although I personally doubt this straw poll will be definitive one way or the other. Of course, if Miller can't beat Webb by at least a 2:1 margin in a poll conducted right on his home turf of Fairfax, he's in deep, deep trouble. Already, the Byrne and Petersen endorsements show that Webb is strong in NOVA, so this just ups the ante big-time for Miller to perform well on Friday night. The questions Democratic voters should be asking themselves right now are these: "Why is it that both Leslie Byrne and Chap Peteresen - coming from liberal and moderate ideological perspectives, respectively - endorsed Democratic newcomer Jim Webb over "longtime Democatic activist" Harris Miller? What on earth is going on here?"
My guess? Both Byrne and Petersen know a winner when they see one. They both are politicians with future ambitions, and they've calculated that Senator Webb will help them far more than Senator Allen. They also know Virginia, and what type of candidate it takes to win here. And they've obviously concluded that candidate is Jim Webb, not Harris Miller.
Meanwhile, who does that leave among state-wide 2005 Democratic contenders? First, there's Phil Puckett, who would seem to be a strong bet to endorse Jim Webb for cultural and ideological reasons. I sure hope so; Puckett's a class act and deservedly popular in SWVA. Second, there's Viola Baskerville, who read Webb's speech at the state JJ Dinner back in February. An endorsement of Webb by Baskerville - a highly respected liberal, African American woman - would obviously be huge. Even behind-the-scenes support by Baskerville would be a big deal for Webb. We'll see what happens, but I'm personally putting my money on a clean sweep of 2005 Democratic Lt. Governor candidates for Jim Webb. And that's even before the big-time national endorsements start rolling in for Webb. Amazing, especially considering Webb's late start and Republican past. Obviously, Webb has "it," and just about everyone knows it.
Now, if Webb can just get one of my all-time favorite Virginia politicians, Attorney General nominee Creigh Deeds, to endorse him, I think this race will be all over. Frankly, it's almost all over now with the Byrne and Petersen endorsements of Webb. C'mon Creigh, jump in the Webb pool with us; the water's fine and we're all having a grand ol' time!