Roanoke Blogs

• Bob McDonnell - Longest Coattails In Virginia History?

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  A lot of bandwith has already been expended dissecting the McDonnell win and the implosion of the Democratic House of Delegates caucus. It has long been thought that Gubernatorial winners in Virginia had very short coattails, if any. This year was clearly the exception.
  
  As everyone knows by now, [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 3:08pm EST
  

• Sarah Palin Coming To Roanoke (11/22/09)

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  As almost everyone has heard by now, Sarah Palin will be in Roanoke this weekend. Specifically, she'll be doing a book signing Sunday morning at the Barnes & Noble at Valley View Mall. They're anticipating such huge crowds that they've moved the start time up to 10:00 a.m. They'll begin [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 8:54am EST
  

• Roanoke City Democratic Chair Not Running For Re-Election

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  According to Hank over at Star City Harbinger, Tony Reed, Roanoke City Democratic Chair, has decided not to run for re-election when the Committee reorganizes. Read the story here. While this doesn't directly impact me, I thought I'd throw my thoughts out there.
  
  While I don't know Tony' [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 8:25am EST
  

• U.S. Military Is A Bunch Of Cowards Who Kill Innocent People

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  So says liberal Roanoke blogger Dan Smith. Folks, I was stunned when I read his post from yesterday.
  End Veteran's Day.Knock over War Memorials.Desecrate battlefields.War is easy and takes no sense or courage.U.S. military has killed "hundreds of thousands of people--most of them innocents."Read the post. That's [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 10:19am EST
  

• Kaine turns his back on Virginians

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  I was listening to the news this morning on 960AM and they said that Gov. Kaine was out of the state attending Democrat Fundraisers in TN and LA yesterday while people here at home we struggling with rising waters from the rain. Luckily he is going to come to VA [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 8:18am EST
  

• Roanoke City Council Candidates

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  We are about 6 months away from Roanoke City Council elections. First I would like to offer some speculation on who may be running as an I or D.
  
  Incumbents:
  Dave Trinkle
  Gwen Mason
  Rupert Cutler
  
  Newcomers:
  Mike Hamler- his name keeps coming up. I actually know him [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 3:22pm EST
  

• 2009 Election - Roanoke Valley Numbers

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  For those of you who don't like numbers, I apologize in advance. As for me, I'm fascinated by political numbers. Polling numbers, fundraising numbers, voting numbers, etc.
  
  To put a final ribbon on Election 2009, I thought I'd look at the total numbers for the Roanoke Valley (Roanoke County,' [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 12:48pm EST
  

• Congressman Bob Goodlatte On Healthcare

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Below are some thoughts Goodlatte posted about health care prior to Saturday's debate. On a side note, is there another Virginia Congressman that is more blog/new media friendly?
  
  ' [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 10:15am EST
  

• 8th HOD Postmortem - Dispelling Some Myths

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Well folks, the elections are over, life is returning to normal and it's time to do one last post on the 8th HOD race. We broke this race down in multiple posts pre-election and discussed yesterday why Morgan Griffith was a huge winner and Carter Turner was the loser. Frankly,' [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 8:19am EST
  

• Local Winners And Losers From The 2009 Elections

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  As I did last year, I'm going to post the "winners" and "losers" from this year's election. Couple points. First, this focuses locally on the Roanoke Valley (so don't complaint that Christie isn't listed). Second, I attempted to do this objectively (to the extent I can). The winners are [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 10:45am EST
  

• I Love Strawberries!

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  We've been so busy for the last week or so with the elections that I completely forgot to thank our friends over at Bearing Drift for hosting the "Berry Awards." I won't "out" our reader who nominated us but don't worry buddy, you'll get yours. Anyway, through a miscount [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 8:48am EST
  

• Election Night Predictions - How Did I Do?

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Wow, what a day/night for Republicans, especially in the Roanoke Valley. I'm sure we'll have a lot more analysis as we go forward but I don't have the brain power this morning for that type of post. Instead, I thought I'd take a look at my predictions and compare them [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 9:07am EST
  

• Big Night for The GOP

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  I just got in from the GOP Victory parties tonight and WOW what a difference a year makes.
  
  The state wide sweep coupled with a Gov win in NJ mean the National Dems will be rethinking their positions tomorrow morning. The voters have been heard. Congratulations to Bob [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 11:11pm EST
  

• Election Day Updates

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  I'm all over Roanoke County and Salem today. Things are looking great for Rs, especially Morgan Griffith. For more updates, click the link to the right or below to follow my Twitter feed.
  
  www.twitter.com/salemrepublican' [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 9:20am EST
  

• Election Prediction Summary

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Over the last couple weeks I've posted my predictions in several posts. Here they are consolidated into one post.
  
  Governor - McDonnell 56 - Deeds 44.
  
  LG - Bolling 54.5 - 45.5.
  
  AG - Cuccinelli 55 - 45.
  
  At this point, if' [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 7:15pm EST
  

• No Wonder National Liberal Groups Are So Supportive Of Carter Turner

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  As I said below, national liberal groups (labor, abortion, etc.) are big fans of Carter Turner. Now we know why.
  He opposes Virginia's parental notification for minor abortions law.He wants to increase government spending.He wants to increase taxes, fees and raid the rainy day fund to expand the size' [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 11:53am EST
  

• Some Day Before The Election Thoughts

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  I originally started typing this as a letter to the editor but it ended up being way too long. Instead, I thought I'd make my summary thoughts on this election a blog post.
  
  
  The choice for Salem voters on November 3rd could not be more clear. The Republican' [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 9:19pm EST
  

• Carter Turner Finally Finds Supporters - National Labor Unions And Pro-Abortion Groups

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Anyone following the race in the 8th HOD District knows that Carter Turner has essentially zero local support. Well, now we know who is supporting him.
  
  We previously reported that, while he says he won't take support from local businesses that drive our economy, he's been more than willing [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 9:04pm EST
  

• Hell Apparently Has Frozen Over

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Folks, I never would have imagined that the McDonnell-Deeds race would turn into such a blowout that you'd have Republicans running for HOD in NOVA jumping on the McDonnell bandwagon and specifically linking their opponents with Creigh Deeds. This has to be a new low for a statewide Democratic candidate' [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 1:48pm EDT
  

• It's Getting Lonely For Deeds On The Campaign Trail

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Both Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds stopped in Roanoke this week and the contrast couldn't be more glaring. Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, Ken Cuccinelli and Mitt Romney were greeted by over 200 enthusiastic and fired up supporters. Creigh Deeds was greeted by about 70 people, half of whom were HS' [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 10:16am EDT
  

• Which Of Our Intoxicated Readers Nominated Us?

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Our buddies over at Bearing Drift (one of the best political blogs in Virginia) have taken nominations for the "2009 Bearing Drift Web 2.0 Awards - The Berrys." Somehow I completely missed this.
  
  Anyway, someone who was clearly intoxicated at the time, nominated this blog for "[...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 5:36pm EDT
  

• House Of Delegates Preview - 8th District (Part 3) - Prediction Time

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Alright, I've wasted enough time and brain cells discussing the makeup and history of the 8th District. If you're a numbers geek like me, click here for Part 1 of my 8th District preview and here for Part 2 of the preview.
  
  Let me start with a [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 1:58pm EDT
  

• Carter Turner And Gwen Mason Go Negative And Try To Hide It

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Gwen Mason is now on the air with a negative TV commercial and Carter Turner is on the radio with a negative piece. The fact that they'd go negative is not surprising or overly problematic. They're both losing by between 20 and 30 points so this is pretty much campaign [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 2:06pm EDT
  

• Historial Statewide Winner Numbers

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Most people I talk to don't seem to realize how rare a statewide blowout is in Virginia. I've gone back and looked at the numbers and it really is amazing how close Virginia statewide election usually are. Below are the names of the statewide winners and their percentage of the [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 1:04pm EDT
  

• People Who Talk About Politics Should Learn To Read Polls Accurately

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  One of my pet peeves is people who quote polls but don't understand what the data actually means. Here's my biggest pet peeve.
  
  A poll shows Candidate A with 53% and Candidate B with 47%. The margin of error is +/- 4%. Because Candidate A is up by 6, [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 10:13am EDT
  

• House Of Delegates Preview - 8th District (Part 2)

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  I'm sure no one out there is interested in my multiple posts breaking down the 8th HOD District but it's my District, my blog and I feel like doing one more breakdown post before I post a number. Part 1 was a general background of the District. Part 2 [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 9:41am EDT
  

• Election Night - Let's Party!

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Local Republicans will be holding a joint victory party Election Night (11/3/09). The fun will kick off right after the polls close at 7 pm and will continue well into the night (maybe morning if things go as predicted). It'll be at the Holiday Inn-Tanglewood and everyone is invited.' [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2009, 4:56pm EDT
  

• 2009 Election Predictions - Take 2

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Two weeks ago I posted my "2009 Election Predictions (Subject To Change)" which, at the time, I called "premature." Well, I was right, they were premature and I'm about to exercise my right to change option.
  
  Since I posted two weeks ago, we've seen surging R poll [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2009, 2:17pm EDT
  

• Morgan Griffith Fundraiser - THIS THURSDAY

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  As we've discussed several times on this blog (here, here, here and here) Morgan has received incredible support from citizens, associations and companies. His opponent, in a desperate attempt to be relevant, has tried to make Morgan's support a negative. On a side note, notwithstanding his' [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2009, 9:43am EDT
  

• Is Gwen Mason Lying To Her Donors?

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  I spoke to a few folks that have given to Gwen Mason recently and, therefore, show up on her financial report available today. These people gave to her after 10/1 and after her most recent internal poll showing her getting blown out by 20+ points.
  
  I asked them why [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 8:29pm EDT
  

• New Bolling Commercial - "Steward"

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Win or lose on 11/3 (and we all know it'll be win) it has been incredibly uplifting to have McDonnell, Bolling and Cuccinelli representing us on the ticket. This commercial, when compared to the garbage from Jody Wagner, is just another example of why there is going to be a' [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 3:36pm EDT
  

• House Of Delegates Preview - 8th District (Part 1)

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  I intended to post a preview of the 8th HOD race last week at the same time I did the 11th and 17th. However, several factors have caused the delay, most significant of which has been the incredible movement of the statewide polling numbers in the Republicans' favor.[...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 12:20pm EDT
  

• Quote of The Weekend

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Fralin, who has represented the district since 2004, has a less partisan take: "I think the 17th District appreciates a workhorse, not a show horse." The Roanoke Times
  
  Delegate Fralin has endorsed Bill Cleaveland [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 8:09am EDT
  

• I figured it Out

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  After reading today's Roanoke Times endorsements of the Democrats I realized I was wrong. The common thread is not that the candidates are Dems it is that they are all willing to raise taxes. If a candidate wants the Times endorsement go in to meet with the editorial board and [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 10:51am EDT
  

• Happy Birthday Gwen

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  Today is Gwen Mason's 50th birthday, we here at Roanoke Valley Republicans would like to wish her a happy birthday. I hope she will take the day and spend it with her family and friends, maybe go out of town for the weekend and leave the cell phone behind.[...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 10:37am EDT
  

• Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, Ken Cuccinelli And Mitt Romney In Roanoke

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  As the momentum builds towards a Republican sweep of all 3 statewide offices as well as pickups in the House of Delegates, our team is redoubling its efforts and taking nothing for granted. Our entire team has remained disciplined and issues-focused while the Democrats are in disarray and beginning the [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 9:27am EDT
  

• The Roanoke Times Stuns The World...

  —Roanoke Valley Republicans

  ...and endorses 3 more Democrats for HOD. As we predicted yesterday, the Roanoke Times finished its HOD endorsements today. In total, the Times endorsed in 6 races. Bet you can't guess how many Dems they endorsed. Okay, I'll tell you. They endorsed in 6 races and endorsed 6 Dems.
  [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 7:16am EDT