Former Gov. Douglas Wilder (D-VA) will not endorse Democrat Creigh Deeds in this year’s gubernatorial race, despite a personal request from President Obama to do so.
In a column on the web site Virginia Tomorrow, Wilder wrote that Deeds’s stance on handguns and taxes are what led him to refrain from an endorsement.
Deeds opposes a law that allows residents to purchase only one handgun a month. He has also said he would raise taxes to fix Virginia’s transportation system.
Wilder said Obama asked him to endorse Deeds.
“I’m not thinking the president is going to be pleased,” he told CNN. He and the President “have a very good relationship,” he said.
Wilder’s refusal of Obama comes after reports that the President asked New York Gov. David Paterson to step aside in next year’s gubernatorial race. Paterson says he is still in the race.
