Look no further than central Virginia to see a microcosm of the battle royale for control of Congress. Freshman Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) is defending himself in a reddish district for supporting President Obama’s domestic agenda, earning himself a spot on the list of the nation’s most vulnerable incumbents. Attempting to unseat Perriello is state Sen. Robert Hurt, who got a cash boost from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Hurt hasn’t yet released his second quarter fundraising totals, but Perriello raised $660,000. He had $1.7 million cash on hand as of the June 30 filing closing date. The campaign says 97 percent of Perriello’s donations are below $200, and note he doesn’t take money from federally registered lobbyists or corporate political action committees.
Democrats are pleased that Palin chose Hurt as one of the candidates benefiting from her $87,500 in donations this quarter because they believe she fires up their own base. Now they can goad Hurt into saying whether Palin will come campaign for him in the 5th District.
It’s not the first political celebrity to get involved in the race. Both Laura Ingraham and Joe The Plumber backed Laurence Verga, an early conservative favorite who flamed out before the primary.
Palin gave $3,500 to Hurt, who easily captured the party nomination last month despite conservatives attempting to brand him as a Republican in name only. But Hurt isn’t in the clear yet. A tea party candidate, Jeff Clark, is running on the fall ballot as an independent and has promised to keep challenging Hurt for voting for a $1.4 billion tax increase in 2004.
Newspaper editorial boards have criticized Hurt for wanting to keep Clark out of the debates.
