I have often used the saying that “it takes a special kind of candidate to run for Congress” when talking with fellow political activists and friends.  In this day and age that is very true.  I believe that this year in VA9, Morgan Griffith is that special kind of candidate and Republicans should nominate him at the Convention on Saturday.

Let’s face it.  Running for Congress is the big leagues in politics.  In the case of VA9, the race will be the equivalent of running a statewide race in a state such as New Jersey.  The 9th District is very large in size and will only get bigger in next year’s redistricting process.  Not just any person can run a successful campaign for Congress.  It takes much experience and political skill.  Running for Congress is not like running for Board of Supervisors or even Sheriff in local government.  Running for Congress is a mega campaign.

Running for Congress in this modern era, like it or not, requires lots of money to get your message out and to be competitive.  Boucher purportedly already has $2 Million at his disposal and can easily raise much more if need be by using his advantage as an incumbent.  Only a special kind of candidate can raise that kind of money to compete and Morgan Griffith has already demonstrated he is on the path by raising in excess of $100,000 for this race so far.  He is well on his way at raising the cash needed.  Winning in the 9th will require expending between $1 Million to $3 Million.  Griffith also has good name recognition and is in a key position as the Majority Leader in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Much has been made about the fact that Griffith doesn’t live in the district and that will continue to be a topic of debate if he is the GOP nominee.  Under the Constitution of the United States, federal, and Virginia law, residency in a Congressional District is not required to be a candidate.  The Supreme Court of the United States has also addressed this issue in the past by saying states could not impose more restrictions than those spelled out in the Constitution to be a member of Congress.  Griffith has stated at our Smyth County Republican meetings that he sleeps 30 feet from the district line.  When redistricting happens next year, I am sure his property will be well within the confines of the 9th District.  Some have also labeled him as an “outsider.”  This is hard argument to make.  Griffith attended Emory & Henry College in Washington County.  As Majority Leader, he must frequently work with our legislative delegation in SWVA on key issues.  Living 30 feet from the district line is not really that much of being an outsider when you have to do much of your business and shopping in the 9th as Griffith does.

I also am tempted to say that it is probably a very common occurrence today for candidates to live outside the Congressional districts they seek to represent or do represent in their states.  I tried to find some statistics on the matter, but could not easily find them.

Also, here is another interesting point to ponder about residency.  Hypothetically, if Griffith wanted to run for Congress, and did so in the 6th District where he technically lives, he would be redistricted out of his district more than likely next year if he did win.  It makes no sense to run in a district that would be potentially leaving you behind the following year.

Some of the other candidates have said “nominate me and the money will come.”  That is in large part wishful thinking.  The national campaign committees look at each race just like you would in making a business investment.  Those committees are not going to drop money on a district where a candidate does not have a high likelihood of winning.  So far, Morgan Griffith has stayed on target and met the goals of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).  He is the only candidate of the 6 Republicans in VA9 to be considered.  The other 5 candidates are seriously missing out on money that could be raised under Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules pre-convention.  Griffith has been capitalizing upon this and has of course raised over $100,000.  In fact, recently Griffith has being filing “large contribution” filings with the FEC which are required within 48 hours of larger contributions being made.

I have nothing against the other 5 candidates for the nomination.  All are nice people.  I would suggest that they consider seeking local or state office and perfect their political skills there before considering a run for Congress again.  I hope that all the unsuccessful candidates for the nomination stay active in GOP politics.  Many of them have great ideas and are true assets to the Republican Party.

A final word.  Unity is important.  After the Convention on Saturday, I hope that all Republicans, regardless of whom they supported for the nomination, work together to defeat Rick Boucher.  Defeating an entrenched incumbent will be very, very difficult.  But, this is the most opportune year to do it.   I have had countless Boucher supporters state to me that they never will vote for him again.  Some of these supporters have said they have voted for Boucher everytime since his first election.  With Congress being the only election on the ballot in November in most places, turnout will be key to unseating Boucher.

Morgan Griffith is the only GOP candidate who can run a serious race against Boucher.

Let’s defeat Rick Boucher!!!

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 20th, 2010 at 3:33 am and is filed under Southwest Virginia, U.S./World, Virginia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.