And then there were three... Edmonson leaves LG race

cross-posted: Star City Harbinger

Breaking on the blue blogs earlier today:

The the cold reality of the last day to complete candidate filings for the upcoming State Primary on June 9th, apparently created some soul-searching for Pat Edmonson's campaign for the Democratic nomination for the Lt. Governor race.

On Friday, April 10th, Edmonson announced she was withdrawing from the LG race, endorsing Mike Signer and intending to run for the House Delegates in the 82nd district, or ... maybe not. The latest post over at Blue Commonwealth seems to indicate that she is unlikely to be running for the HoD seat. I'll leave others to sort out the intrigue, suffice to say the Blue Blogs of VA were a bit buzzed today on this subject.




So moving on, this leaves three strong competitors for the Democratic nod for the LG slot on the November ticket. The front-runner remains Jody Wagner, with Mike Signer gaining major momentum this week and Southwest Virginia's native son Jon Bowerbank also solidly in contention.

This will make for an interesting three-way run to the finish line on June 9th. The Dems seem especially energized by the chance to take on incumbent Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling. They are all knocking on his door, scrapping for a fight. The race for LG is usually a yawner. Not so in 2009.

Mudcat Likes Big Mike

cross-posted at Star City Harbinger, Blue Commonwealth

The Big Mo for Mike Signer gathered a major head of steam at the State Young Dems convo in Charlottesville on March 29th, and after making major fund raising gains by through the end of the first quarter of 2009, now comes the news that Southwest VA’s very own Dave "Mudcat" Saunders, a nationally regarded, “say-it-like-is” political strategist, is supporting Mike Signer’s run for Lt. Governor. The Roanoke Times breaks the news of Mudcat’s endorsement of Signer, during a campaign stop in Roanoke on this past Wednesday.

Signer filmed a video spot with Saunders for his Web site in which Saunders explains to Henry Tieleman of Riner why he’s voting for Signer in the Democratic primary: “What I like about him is the boy’s got spunk.”

Signer, an Arlington lawyer who's worked for Warner, Virginia Sen. Creigh Deeds and freshman U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, touted his "New Jobs for a New Dominion" economic growth plan. He said he's ready to face Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who is running for re-election. "I know how to defeat do-nothing incumbents," Signer said.

Signer has been on a major statewide campaign tour this week. He made another 6th CD barn storming tour stop in Harrisonburg on Wednesday evening, hosted by local Democratic leaders and College Democrats from James Madison University. Highlight video from WHSV/TV3 Harrisonburg:

Full disclosure: This author supports Mike Signer and Creigh Deeds in the June 9th Democratic Primary.

Signer ramps up donor base , 75% online

With about two months to go, Mike Signer's LG campaign has raised $250,000 from over 800 donors, even more significant is that over 600 folks donated online, more than any other candidate in the four-way race for the Lieutenant Governor slot on the Democratic ticket.

Mike is fired up and ready to roll out his game plan to perform a take-down of the Republicans' nearly invisible incumbent LG, Bill Bolling. The potential synergy of Signer's fast-break, progressive game, with Creigh Deeds strong appeal with moderates and independents could make a powerful combination, that would overwhelm a Republican ticket that is measurably out-of-sync with mainstream voters in Virginia.

With the candidate filing process behind them, the Signer team is hitting the road for a state-wide Barn Storming tour. Locally, Mike will be in Harrisonburg on Wednesday April 8th:

**********************

JMU Meet and Greet: Mike will meet with the Mayor of Harrisonburg, Kai Degner, local community members and the JMU Young Democrats to discuss his campaign for Lieutenant Governor.

When: 6:00 PM

Where: Old Dominion Coffee Co. 2 N. Main St Harrisonburg, VA

***********************

Full Barn Storming Itinerary

April 7

Franklin, VA

Petersburg, VA

Richmond, VA

April 8

Bristol, VA

Wise, VA

Roanoke, VA

Harrisonburg, VA

April 9

Covington

Martinsville, VA

Fredericksburg, VA

April 10

Newport News, VA

South Boston, VA

April 11

Rustburg, VA

Lynchburg, VA