In a post on VB Dems, Dan Sullivan asks, “Where’s the Democratic Campaign?” This is a question that I’m sure many Democratic activists in Virginia have been asking themselves. No too long ago, Vivian Paige touched on this subject when she issued a “Wakeup call” to statewide Democrats.

The questions and warnings are valid, and need to be heeded if Democrats expect to keep the governor’s mansion or make any inroads in the House of Delegates in November.

Democrats experienced a hotly contested and oddly resolved gubernatorial primary where the winner wasn’t the candidate who campaigned the hardest or had the support of engaged activists. This combined with some post-2008 lethargy may be a recipe for major losses in November if the party doesn’t get into gear.

Let’s face it, Creigh Deeds doesn’t excite activists in quite the same way that Brian Moran, or even Terry McAuliffe, did. His primary campaign didn’t focus on building up grassroots support, but rather used the conflict between Moran and McAuliffe as an advantage and utilized dollars in positive, well produced, television ads. The Establishment Activists responded by staying out of the fray and voting for Deeds. After the election, the Engaged Activists, those who make phone calls, knock on doors, put up signs, and display bumper stickers were faced with having to take off their Moran or McAuliffe stickers and look to Creigh Deeds to use them to defeat Bob McDonnell. That’s the second hard truth of this election: even though Engaged Activists aren’t excited by Deeds, they do want to beat Bob McDonnell. Unfortunately, the Deeds campaign has failed to bring in these activists to stage a cohesive ground campaign. What’s dangerous is that this is a use them or lose them situation, and Deeds may be losing support fast.

Who knows that the Deeds strategy is? That’s the problem, no one seems to know; even those who are working everyday for his victory. It’s highly doubtful that his primary strategy will translate into a victory in the general election. Lack of a winning strategy could harm every candidate down ticket of Deeds. Every candidate and their constituencies have a stake in the success of Creigh Deeds, and right now I feel that we’re losing.

Related posts:

1. Creigh Deeds, his campaign, and the Washington Post
2. Why I’m Walking Away from the Deeds Campaign
3. Deeds can win by dropping out
4. The night may be long
5. It’s Creigh Deeds