Not that Republicans ever had much of a chance to defeat Jim Moran in the 8th CD (Arlington and Alexandria), but stuff like this takes their chances closer to absolute impossibility.
Speaking at a recent Arlington County Republican Committee meeting, Berry – whose narrow loss to retired Army colonel Patrick Murray surprised some local political watchers – said it’s “very important” for the party to unite with the goal of retaking control of congress. But while he said that Murray “deserves our respect,” Berry stopped short of endorsing Murray or pledging to help his campaign.
So, we’ve got lack of unity. We’ve also got a candidate with almost no money:
He had $14,816 in the bank as of May 19. His campaign has raised another $10,975 online since the election, a fraction of Moran’s war chest.
And, best of all, Murray plans to campaign in Arlington and Alexandria with the ever-popular figures (locally) of George Allen (30% of the vote in 2006), Ken Cuccinelli (32% in Arlington, 35% in Alexandria in 2009), Bill Bolling (33% in Arlington, 35% in Alexandria) and Bob McDonnell (34% of the vote in Arlington, 37% in Alexandria).
In short, when Patrick Murray says that “all bets are off” this year in the 8th CD, what he really means is that “the odds are half decent” that he can reach the upper 30s or 40% of the vote — and lose by 20-25 points to Jim Moran. As Jim Webb once said, in a very different context – but one involving Murray’s friend, George Allen – “I’ll take those odds!” 🙂
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