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Tuesday at 7:00 PM the polls closed in Virginia for the 2009 Democratic Primary. Within minutes the results started showing something no one anticipated, a 2-1 lead by Creigh Deeds over both Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe for the Democratic nomination for governor. The candidate with the least money, and least time campaigning this year, dramatically won the nomination.

First, I want to congratulate Creigh Deeds on his victory last night. His campaign was able to catch the attention and hearts of voters around the commonwealth of Virginia. He and his campaign should be commended for unwavering in their path to victory.

That path to victory was not blazed singularly by the Deeds campaign. The two people who made last night’s win possible for Deeds were Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe. If McAuliffe had not entered the primary race, and Brian Moran not focused his resources in slowing down McAuliffe’s multi-million dollar campaign, we might have seen very different results.

Yes, Democrats are going to be unified in the gubernatorial race heading into the November election; perhaps more so with Deeds as the nominee than if Moran and McAuliffe had won. This is certainly the upside of Deeds winning the nomination. However, Democrats can’t rest on the perceived success of Tuesdays results. The overwhelming support of Deeds wasn’t necessarily about Deeds’ record or proposed policies. Watching the polls, we saw voters running to Deeds to get away from McAuliffe and Moran. In a head to head match between Creigh Deeds and Bob McDonnell, there are many areas where the lines of blurred where I can see the vote split in the conservative to moderate part of the spectrum. I’m also somewhat concerned that progressives are less enthusiastic about supporting Deeds, who doesn’t exactly have progressive credentials.

It comes down to three words: Beat Bob McDonnell. Regardless of who we supported prior to Tuesday night, those three words should be the sole motivation of Democrats throughout the commonwealth. From this point to November, we have to frame the discussion in terms of why Virginians need Creigh Deeds and would hurt under Bob McDonnell. This race has got to be about kitchen table issues.

Let’s start now in supporting Creigh Deeds, the Democratic unity. Join me and others from around the commonwealth at the Unity Rally of the Democratic Party of Virginia in Williamsburg this Saturday. Let’s get  fired up and ready to help Creigh Deeds become the next Governor of Virginia.

Related posts:

1. Obama Campaigns for Creigh Deeds
2. Washington Post: Endorsement of Creigh Deeds comes down to transportation, again
3. The night may be long