Campaign Notebook: Drake’s Web site takes shot at Nye

Click on U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake’s campaign Web site – www.thelmadrake.com – and a new message attacking her opponent, Glenn Nye, is hard to miss.

Headlined “Nye Caught Lying About Drake’s Vote on G.I. Bill,” the article says Drake, contrary to Nye’s claims, voted for the GI Bill. It includes a link to the June roll call showing her “yes” vote.

Drake’s Web site does not mention that she voted against the first version of the bill a month earlier. Nye has criticized her during the campaign for that vote.

“It is indisputable that she voted against it before she voted for it,” Nye spokesman Will Jenkins said in an e-mail. “She took a lot of criticism at the time for voting against our veterans, and now she is trying to hide from the truth.”

Drake initially said she voted against the first bill because the president threatened to veto it. Later, she said she voted against it because it didn’t include a provision to allow veterans to transfer benefits.

– Aaron Applegate

U.S. SENATE RACE

Gilmore speaks to municipal league

U.S. Senate candidate Jim Gilmore is set to address the Virginia Municipal League’s annual conference at 9 a.m. today at the Waterside Convention Center, 235 E. Main St., Norfolk.

Gilmore, Virginia’s governor from 1998 to 2002, is the Republican seeking the seat of retiring Sen. John Warner, a member of the GOP.

His opponent is Democrat Mark Warner, another former governor.

Veterans groups back Gilmore

Republican Jim Gilmore has won the endorsement of two veterans groups in his race for the U.S. Senate: Vets for Freedom, with about 600 members in Virginia, and the Iraqi Freedom Veterans Project, with about 250 members in Virginia.

Spokesmen for each group said they were impressed by Gilmore’s service in the Army and his experience leading an anti-terrorism commission. Gilmore also was lauded for supporting the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that allows homosexuals to serve if they are discreet.

Rusty McGuire, a member of the Iraqi Freedom Veterans Project, complained that Mark Warner, the Democratic nominee for Senate, has not taken a clear position on “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Warner earlier this month introduced a coalition of veterans from around the state backing his candidacy.

– Warren Fiske

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Obama schedules stop in Richmond

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will hold a rally in Richmond on Wednesday.

Obama, an Illinois senator, has made multiple stops in Virginia this election season – most recently, Roanoke on Friday – hoping to nab the state’s 13 electoral votes.

That outcome would be considered a significant feat; Virginia last awarded its electoral votes to a Democratic presidential nominee in 1964.

Despite that history, polls and pundits characterize Virginia as a battleground state that remains in play for both Obama and Republican nominee John McCain, whose Virginia campaign has intensified in recent weeks.

Wednesday ’s rally is to be at the Richmond Coliseum; doors open at 10 a.m. It is open to the public, and attendees are encouraged to register at http://my.barackobama.com.

Obama will move on to Leesburg for a 5:30 p.m. rally at Festival Field. Gates will open at 3 p.m.

GOP EVENT

Political spouses take center stage

The political spouses were out in full force at a Women for McCain rally outside the Republican Party headquarters in Chesapeake on Monday afternoon.

Former Virginia first lady Susan Allen, wife of former Gov. George Allen; Shirley Forbes, wife of U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes; Maureen McDonnell, wife of state Attorney General Bob McDonnell; and Margie Blevins, wife of state Sen. Harry Blevins, all showed up, along with the wives of local officials, and some local officials themselves – many of them women.

The speakers, who included Allen and Forbes, urged supporters to keep working until Nov. 4, putting up signs, talking to family and friends, and serving as “happy ambassadors.”

“You need to talk to anybody and everybody you possibly can,” Allen told the audience of about 65 people. “Eat your Wheaties. You’ve got work to do.”

Women are natural networkers, which makes them good campaigners, Allen said after the event.

“We really want to get women talking to other women,” she said.

– Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer

Poll roundup

The Poll: A SurveyUSA poll on the presidential race in Virginia

- Barack Obama, 51 percent; John McCain, 45 percent.

- Poll conducted Oct. 18-19. It included interviews with 652 likely voters. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll two weeks ago, McCain has gained 2 points and Obama has lost 2 points. McCain gained ground among men, moderates, and those who have not graduated from college, as well as in the Shenandoah Valley and central Virginia. The sampling error was plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.