Coming soon: another McDonnell campaign commercial

Republican Bob McDonnell will fire the latest salvo in the 2009 governor's race air wars when his newest television spot goes into rotation in markets across the state later this week.

Details about  the theme of McDonnell's ad or the size of the buy are unclear. It will air in Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Bristol.

Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds' campaign doesn't plan to respond with its own TV ad at this stage, but his staff launched a preemptive strike by revealing Tuesday that the ad was coming before McDonnell's people could.

Alerting supporters about the spot in an e-mail, Deeds campaign manager Joe Abbey said it is a sign that McDonnell and national Republicans are concerned about the race.

Abbey then asked recipients to donate money to Deeds before the upcoming June 30 fundraising deadline, and took a few shots at what he called McDonnell's "extreme social and economic agenda."

In response, McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin chided the Deeds campaign for "going negative right at the start of this campaign. Virginians want new ideas, not baseless attacks."

Recent polling has shown a tight race between Deeds, a state Senator from Bath County, and McDonnell, a former attorney general and state legislator from Virginia Beach.

Deeds and McDonnell face each other in November for control of the Governor's Mansion in a rematch of the 2005 attorney general election which McDonnell narrowly won after a recount.

-- Julian Walker

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