McDonnell says a vote for Goode would be “wasted”
Bob McDonnell
Virgil Goode
Now that Republicans have failed to keep Constitution Party presidential candidate Virgil Goode off Virginia’s ballot, they want to persuade conservatives that a vote for Goode amounts to a vote for President Barack Obama in a key battleground state.
Gov. Bob McDonnell said this morning that conservatives would be throwing away their votes if they cast their ballots for Goode, the former congressman from Rocky Mount. Goode cemented his spot on Virginia’s ballot last week when Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said he found no reason to disqualify the former GOP congressman. The state Republican Party had sought to have Goode disqualified, citing alleged irregularities in petitions he submitted to get on the Nov. 6 ballot. The state board of elections referred the matter to Cuccinelli’s office.
McDonnell, a top national surrogate for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, predicted Goode won’t be a factor in a swing state that is critical to Romney’s election hopes.
“Virgil is a good man,” McDonnell said during the “Ask the Governor” program on WTOP radio in Washington. “I served with him in the Virginia Senate (McDonnell was in the House of Delegates at the time). He is one of those bold guys who went from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party because he felt like they’d left him, and that’s right. But, at the end of the day, he’s just not going to be a factor.”
McDonnell said Goode barely registers in the polls because “people realize this is a two-person race.”
“It’s between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney,” McDonnell said. “And for a conservative, voting for Virgil Goode is a vote for Barack Obama. Virgil’s not going to win. He’s a good guy and he speaks strongly about the constitution, but this is between two people and if people want to see Barack Obama replaced, they need to vote for Mitt Romney or they’re really wasting their vote.”
Goode has said he believes he can draw support from conservatives and from voters who supported Obama in 2008 but have soured on the president.
When asked about Goode cutting even 1 percent from Romney’s support in Virginia, McDonnell said: “I think, by the end of the day, when that voter goes into the booth and says, ‘OK, do I want to just throw this protest vote away, or do I want to have a change in America? There’s really only one way to do that, and that’s a vote for Mitt Romney.”
McDonnell said Republicans are better organized, better funded and more enthusiastic than four years ago, when Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate in 44 years to carry Virginia.
“I think that’s going to affect those people now that are thinking about maybe a protest vote for Virgil Goode,” McDonnell said. “They realize that’s essentially a wasted vote.”
Dwayne Yancey has analyzed the impact a Goode candidacy could have in Virginia. You can find that here.
– Michael Sluss
September 24, 2012 - 5:24 PM
I’m looking forward to hearing all the stammering defenses of this sort of behavior.
Goode voters, are you going to let the Republican establishment tell you whom to vote for? Heck no! You go vote your principles and your candidate!
We’ve thrown too many votes away on big government Republicans and Democrats. Hopefully third parties can gain some traction in the Commonwealth; to correct this bureaucratic mess the two party system has created.
This smacks so clearly of electioneering! Conduct unbecoming a governor.
Hey McDonnell, why not just go ahead and tell the poor people not to vote. Heck, their votes don’t count anyway.
3 – Yet I’m sure you were just fine with Tim Kaine serving as DNC chairman and shilling for Obama during his gubernatorial term. Give me a break.
This is not about serving the campaign while governor, this is about denigrating the votes of the people in your state. If Kaine did that in 2008 it was also wrong. Over 32 thousand Virginia voters cast a ballot for “other” in 2008 and that is their right. McDonnell crossed the line here.
I cannot find any reference to Tim Kaine doing that in 2008. “Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, a Democrat who supports Obama, said on “Fox News Sunday” that he doesn’t think Nader’s candidacy will affect the presidential race.”
http://rfkin2008.wordpress.com/2008/02/26/is-nader-nuts-or-the-bravest-man-in-america/
I am not saying that plenty of people, myself included did not think or say that a vote for Nader was “wasted”. Or that plenty of people, myself included do not think or say that a vote for Goode will be wasted, that is not the point. I am saying that is very different from your governor saying it. I am not surprised you cannot see the difference.
McDonnell, representing the party that tried to keep a legitimate presidential candidate off the ballot in Virginia. What are they afraid of?
Goode will have zero impact on the presidential race. Its a non issue.
Exactly Jack McGuire, so why the need for the big dog to bite? McD should have admitted what you just did and moved on. There was no need to insult Virginians willing to vote for the candidate they prefer regardless of potential to win. That is their right and he has no business denigrating it. Leave that to us!
True, Jack. Rmoney’s losing already here without Goode.
#8 Yeah, Jack, that’s why Republicans spent so much time, money, and effort trying to keep him off the ballot. They figure he’ll have no effect on the race.
Contact me, I have some swampland for sale.