The only poll that will matter

Virginia Republicans find themselves standing in almost the exact same spot the Democrats were a year ago — ahead in the polls, with a fired-up base of supporters and momentum on their side.

On Thursday, GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and attorney general candidate Ken Cuccinelli were in Danville along with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele for a rally with about 150 supporters at Republican headquarters.

The message was clear: Good polling numbers are fine, but what the party really needs is strong voter turnout on Tuesday.

It’s a testament to the McDonnell-Bolling-Cuccinelli campaigns that they enter the final weekend stomping through friendly territory drumming up voters. Rather than spreading out, the Republicans are able to work together for one final lap around the state.

To the chants of “Go, Bob, Go!” McDonnell arrived in Danville, a city he lost four years ago by 726 votes in one of the closest races in Virginia history.

“Unlike the other side, we’re full of hope and optimism about what Virginia can do,” McDonnell told the crowd. If elected, McDonnell pledged that either he or Bolling would return to the Dan River Region every 30 days to work on economic development issues.

None of that can happen without voter turnout, the last, final step of a campaign that has, for McDonnell, stretched over several years. Republicans came into this year unified. McDonnell, the 44th attorney general of Virginia, and Bolling, the incumbent lieutenant governor, agreed to run in the first and second places on the ticket. Only Cuccinelli faced a challenge this year.

Contrast that to the Democrats. Deeds had to win a tough, draining three-way primary just to face McDonnell. The Democrats in Virginia are being battered by voter frustration over the state of the economy, uncertainty over the future effects of health care legislation and concerns about what climate control legislation will do to the economy.

It’s been a bad year to be blue, but McDonnell and the rest of the Republicans know they can’t seal this deal without the voters. That’s what Thursday’s campaign appearance in Danville was all about. After all the negative ads, charges and countercharges and debates, it all comes down to us.