Obama to make a campaign stop in Virginia
President Obama has added another stop to his closing campaign tour, with an appearance now planned in Charlottesville, Va., Friday to support freshman Rep. Tom Perriello.
President Obama has added another stop to his closing campaign tour, with an appearance now planned in Charlottesville, Va., Friday to support freshman Rep. Tom Perriello.
Perriello won his seat in a closely watched contest in 2008, when Obama also became the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry the commonwealth in 40 years.
Despite his district’s Republican bent – it supported John McCain in 2008 – Perriello has been a reliable vote for the Democratic majority on key issues including the stimulus bill and healthcare reform.
During a recent town hall meeting in Washington, Obama singled Perriello out as someone “willing to stand up,” even if doing so was a political risk.
“His is not a traditionally Democratic district. But he’s just done what’s right,” Obama said. “There have been times where he disagreed with me, and he criticized me, but he always did so from a place of principle.”
The rally will be near the campus of the University of Virginia; a high turnout of young voters could boost the Democrat. Obama’s recent campaign stops included colleges in Wisconsin, California, Washington and Ohio. His interview Wednesday with Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart is also aimed at reaching the demographic, which has traditionally skipped midterm elections.
The campaign of his GOP challenger, state Sen. Robert Hurt, already had targeted Perriello over Obama’s recent praise in a new TV ad. Now it is seizing on the coming visual of the two Democrats arm-in-arm.
“His visit will further solidify the idea in the minds of voters that Congressman Perriello has been nothing more than a lap dog for the job-killing Obama-Pelosi agenda, representing their interests, not the interests of Central and Southside Virginians,” a spokesman said.
Recent polling has shown Hurt with a lead ranging from 1 to 11 points.
On Saturday, Obama is making stops in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Illinois. His final campaign stop is a rally with Vice President Joe Biden in Ohio.
Biden, campaigning in New York on Tuesday, said the coming election is “more important than the one that got Barack and me elected.”
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