Candidates reach out to voters as campaigns wind down

With the clock ticking down to Tuesday’s 2nd Congressional District election, the three candidates were hustling hard for votes Sunday – each in his own way.

U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye visited 10 churches in five hours, bringing along U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and state Del. Kenny Alexander of Norfolk for support.

Starting at 7:30 a.m., they embarked on what has become a tradition for many Democratic office seekers in Hampton Roads: a pre-election barnstorming tour of predominantly black congregations where pastors urged their flocks to pray – and vote for – the candidates.

Republican candidate Scott Rigell said he was happy to be with his home congregation, Trinity Church, on Sunday morning for the first time in weeks. He had spent most weekends visiting other churches. Later in the afternoon, he shook hands and talked to visitors at a Halloween/fall festival then met with a group of supporters in a roundtable discussion.

Kenny Golden, the independent candidate, was stopping to talk with potential voters as he cruised shopping mall parking lots Sunday afternoon in a 70-foot recreational vehicle emblazoned with his name.

Meanwhile, anyone in the region watching television or listening to a radio will likely get a final dose of campaign ads today and Tuesday as the candidates try to sway undecided voters in the district, which includes Virginia Beach, the Eastern Shore and parts of Norfolk and Hampton.

Nye, who is seeking his second two-year term, told churchgoers at every stop Sunday that there are “angry voices” in this year’s election who are trying to undo the policies of President Barack Obama.

“People are attacking the president. I know because those same people are attacking me,” Nye said at Faith Deliverance Christian Center in Norfolk. “Please make sure those angry voices aren’t the only voices that are heard on Tuesday.”

His staff also distributed brochures with a photograph of him and Obama and pointed to his positive votes on programs to assist poor children, protect against predatory mortgage lenders and fund historically black colleges.

Nye, who had voted against the new health care law, one of Obama’s signature bills, said the president’s staff had talked early in the campaign about Obama visiting Hampton Roads this fall – a visit that never materialized.

Warner told church members that Democrats who helped Obama carry Virginia two years ago have to come out again Tuesday.

“It makes no sense to turn the keys over to the folks who drove us into the ditch in the first place,” Warner said.

Afterward , the senator acknowledged that the election will be close.

“I think it’s an election where people are angry and frustrated,” he said. “This economy has not come back as quickly as any of us would want.”

Hours later, Rigell, the owner of Freedom Automotive who is making his first bid for elected office, was meeting with a racially diverse group of potential voters during a roundtable conversation Sunday afternoon.

He urged them not to assume that his more conservative views mean he doesn’t have compassion for minorities or the poor.

“I do not concede to my friends who are Democrats that they care more about the minority communities than I do. That is a deeply held view,” Rigell said. “Don’t tell me that you care more. You may care as much, but you don’t care more.”

The Republican said there are education and economic inequities that must be addressed and he’s committed to a “discrimination-free environment.”

Rigell, who also opposed the health care bill, has said the key to reviving the nation’s economy is cutting federal spending and reducing taxes and regulations that he says are stifling job growth.

“My real passion is with young entrepreneurs,” he said. “We have to instill this sense of the American dream.”

Golden, a retired Navy officer and former Republican activist, said people he was meeting were “kind of apathetic” about Tuesday’s contest. “Some are very enthusiastic, and there are others who don’t even know who’s running.”

Golden, whose campaign budget is miniscule compared to Rigell’s and Nye’s multimillion-dollar campaigns, could only recently afford radio advertising. “We’ve got a chance, but we’re a long shot,” he said.

Nye said after speaking at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Virginia Beach that he needs the kind of large turnout that fueled his first election in 2008. He ended Sunday hosting a rally with U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News. However, the featured speaker, former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, now Democratic National Committee chairman, canceled at the last minute.

Rigell, who has been campaigning full time since July 2009 and has given or loaned his campaign almost $2 million, said he doesn’t know of anything more he could do. He ends his campaign tonight with a rally featuring Gov. Bob McDonnell, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

“It’s a really good feeling to know that at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night … it was all in. And if we prevail – awesome,” he said. “I can’t even process the alternative.”

Bill Bartel, (757) 446-2398,bill.bartel@pilotonline.com