We did a Food Chain! on the candidates for the Republican 5th District nomination ten weeks ago, so it’s time for an update. This time, we’ll promise to get all seven candidates in there the first time. 😉
Here’s the list of candidates after being randomized: Feda Morton, Ron Ferrin, Ken Boyd, Robert Hurt, Mike McPadden, Jim McKelvey and Laurence Verga. Don’t blame me if your candidate didn’t get top billing because I used Random.org’s List Randomizer again. :p Let’s get to the Chain!
Feda Morton: She’s um… there. Like I said before, she’s not as horrible of a candidate as others have said but she still hasn’t done anything to make her stand out and be noticed. After ten weeks, that’s just not good for her campaign. She’s the first one on the chain, so she sits alone for now.
Morton
Ron Ferrin: He’s likable and tries his best to inject humor into the campaign but he’s not going to win the primary. I still think he knows that but he keeps plugging along. He’s more “out there” than Morton, so he’ll go slightly ahead of her in the chain.
Ferrin > Morton
Ken Boyd: He’s from Albemarle County. He’s on the Board of Supervisors and he’s from Albemarle County. He still doesn’t have much name recognition in Southside and he’s from Albemarle County. He’s electable and he’s from Albemarle County. He’s got to get more name recognition to have a chance of winning. Boyd goes on the Food Chain! above both of the others.
Boyd > Ferrin > Morton
Robert Hurt: Hurt’s campaign is taking shots at Tom Perriello instead of the rest of his opponents. He’s playing the four-corners offense in this primary campaign and there’s no shot clock in sight. Hurt’s laying back and answering questions with safe answers is working for now, but other candidates are starting to make their moves. That being said, you have to believe that Hurt is holding his resources back and will unleash a marketing blitz that will obliterate his opponents as the primary date draws near. As for now, Robert Hurt goes to the top of the chain just because of his name recognition and “looks”.
Hurt > Boyd > Ferrin > Morton
Mike McPadden: As I’ve said multiple times, I continue to be highly impressed by McPadden. He’s got the correct strategy for heading to the top of this pack. His stands on the issues should and do ring true with the conservative fanbase that will be voting in this primary. The only thing that’s holding McPadden back is name recognition and campaign funding. He’s been working on his name recognition slowly, but his campaign has to get strong financial support to be viable. With Hurt’s campaign playing it safe right now, I’m going to shake things up in this Food Chain! and put McPadden at the top for now pending the eventual campaign blitz that Hurt will be unleashing.
McPadden > Hurt > Boyd > Ferrin > Morton
Jim McKelvey: He’s got the money to run a highly visible campaign, but he’s just to idealistic in his views on how things would work in Washington if he wins the general election. He’s passionate about his views, but I just don’t buy what he’s selling. McKelvey goes on the tail end of the chain.
McPadden > Hurt > Boyd > Ferrin > Morton > McKelvey
Laurence Verga: I’ve really tried to like Laurence Verga’s campaign but I’ve been turned off by his incessant attempts at trying to label Robert Hurt as a “tax-raiser”. His performance at the Danville debate made it look like he was trying too hard to relate to the people and it just didn’t work. He looked aloof and also appeared disinterested until it was his turn to talk. He’s not reaching the voter base that he needs to and to have any chance in this primary, he’s got to figure out a new strategy fast. Verga goes on the chain barely ahead of Ferrin.
McPadden > Hurt > Boyd > Verga > Ferrin > Morton > McKelvey
RECAP!
- Mike McPadden
- Robert Hurt
- Ken Boyd
- Laurence Verga
- Ron Ferrin
- Feda Morton
- Jim McKelvey
Yep, you see it. I’ve actually got McPadden on top of the Food Chain! over Robert Hurt right now based on what I saw at Saturday’s debate. As I said earlier, I am expecting a large Robert Hurt power play starting in a few weeks and I believe that it will overwhelm the candidates that have limited financial support. But for now, take a look at that Food Chain! and realize “That’s a REAL Man’s Board”! 😉
I agree, Hurt is waiting to unleash his big guns. I also like Ferrin and McPadden except Mcpadden is in a union. I mean deep in a union.
If McPadden is in a union…ok, Donna, what union & where & when.
it is Obama & Rahm & the Dems & the unions that are driving the whole country in a ditch.
He is in the Airline Union. I saw him speak here at Westlake. He said he was in the Union but they didn’t like him. What ever that means. That is when I wrote him off. You can’t have your cake and eat it to.
Mike McPadden is in a union the company that he works for makes it very hard to work there if you don’t.Im sure there are alot of unemployed people that hate unions that would join one if they could get a job.Robert Hurt voted for the largest tax increase in Va history that bothers me more than Mike McPadden being a union member does.
there are people i would expect to be supporters of one candidate or another. but they have all told me that they will support Hurt because they think he can beat Perriello.
and after these past few months in Washington, this will be a growing trend.
still, you find many people bashing Hurt like he was the real target. Perriello is the target.
Kelley
I agree. Hurt is the only one that can beat Perriello. We need to stand behind whomever is elected in the primary. I hope that person is Hurt. Some running have stated that they will only support certain candidates. That was Feda and McKelvey. Feda wants to bring back the draft so she is now off my list and McKelvey well I don’t know what he stands for.
Mike McPadden is in a union because he HAD to join. It was not an option. That’s a difficult concept for us as Virginians, because we are protected from this type of tyranny by our “right to work” laws. For him, it was a “job or no job” choice — and I would have done the very same thing if I’d been in his shoes.
What’s more important to me is that so many folks are basing their choice in this race based on who can beat Perriello. Let’s be real: ANYONE can beat him this year. He’s not Superman and the voters in the Fifth deserve better.
I’d choose my candidate based on who I think will go to Washington and fight for what I believe in. For me, that candidate is Mike McPadden.
when the PPP poll was released, all candidates, even Cong Goode, were polling within margin of error or less Perriello. and that is after P’s vote FOR cap ‘n trade, GIVE act, & healthcare House version. the Perriello people felt good about that, considering the anti-incumbent/anti-Dem mood of the electorate.
Perriello has all the resources of the Soros/Pelosi/Obama group. He already has $1 million in the bank. He has been promised Organizing for America help (SEIU/unemployed Dems).
i do not underestimate Perriello. Do all of the Republican candidates have an equal or better chance of beating Perriello? no, they do not.
Donna and Kelly can say only Hurt can win but they have ZERO proof to back them up. Up in the northern part of the distinct no one knows who Hurt is. He’s had fundraiser that are barley attended. Up there Ken Boyd is lowering tax bills and fighting evil democrats in the city of Charlottesville. Who can win is still very much a question yet to be settled.
The 5th district, the RNCC, and republicans around the country will get behind the winner of the primary- to say otherwise is to say that Hurt supporters won’t be good republicans and want to win back the 5th. Hurt biggest problem isn’t his 2004 tax vote but the fact that he looks like the hand picked candidate from Washington (which he is). If the Tea party has a large turnout, they can change the math and help pick the nominee. The vote that occurred last night may only make the tea party more resolute and that may be Hurt’s undoing.
Donna and Kelley,
Why don’t you guys have a date for tea so you can continue to agree with each other without using facts or logic, and the rest of us won’t be subject to it. To say that you aren’t supporting someone because you don’t “know where they stand”, defeats the purpose of having a democratic system. McPadden was hired by an airline based out of Minnesota, which isn’t a “right-to-work” state, so he was forced to join a union.
Everyone in this race has less money then Perriello, McKelvey who has the most money, is still half a million short. Have you been to these debates? Have you ever seen Hurt speak and answer questions? Perriello is far and away a better politician than Rob Hurt. Watching a race between hurt and perriello from june to november would be a painful show with a perriello ending. The democrats will hold no punches.
We need someone who can not only stand on a stage with perriello but can beat him intellectually, using logic and an actual understanding of the issues. Not someone who obviously is memorizing the party stances on the campaign bus on the way to the debate. It is absolutely never an option for a conservative politician to vote to raise taxes. Anyone who has (Robert Hurt) is not a conservative.
Finally… “it is Obama & Rahm & the Dems & the unions that are driving the whole country in a ditch.” Kelley, don’t forget that it takes the cooperation of our moderate republican friends like robert hurt to keep that train chugging along.
People are sick of the country club politics that have caused us to lose elections. We must work hard to elect truely conservative candidate to office if we don’t it will come back to bite us in the ass. Indys that are upset with Perriello now will be just as angry with Hurt if he goes to office and votes for another tax increase. I have talked to several candidates and i like most of them the one thing they all have in common is they make sure to let everyone know they don’t like Robert Hurt.
So it’s who you like the best, not who’s actually ahead/going to be ahead? Because simply based on strength, the order is wrong. It should be:
Hurt > Boyd > McPadden > Verga > Morton > McKelvey > Ferrin
“look at the facts”: what pro-union position has Robert Hurt taken?. none.
also, Robert Hurt voted against this year’s budget because of tax-by-fee. and because it borrowed from the VRS. he was one of 6 SEnators to do so.
and I don’t want to tout another blog here (sorry Bruce), but does anyone know what the Reverend is talking about on va5thdistrict.com?
and Bruce, thanks for taking the time to go to the debate & opening the discussion here.
Kelley look at Hurt’s voting record Tom Perriello will tear him apart on it. Also Hurt doesn’t excite anyone in the tea party group this will hurt him in November.
Will,
Learn the district. He has a lot of tea party support on the south side. Charlottesville/Lynchburg tea parties are not the only ones that matter.
duh, the last thing Perriello wants to mention is “voting record”. what? he is going to say Hurt voted to raise taxes under the Warner administration? he can’t open that door.
Aaron i know quite a few people in the tea party crowd that live in the 5th that will never support Robert Hurt you can thank Tucker Watkins for this.
What did Tucker do?
I have supported Mike McPadden from the beginning of this race. I feel that he is the perfect candidate to run against, and beat Periello. The mud slinger’s of the 5th district have the right to say whatever they want. However, one of the main reasons I respect McPadden as a candidate and a person, is that he chooses to run a completely clean campaign. Joshua’s lies, shown through lack of accreditation in his statement, continue to show me what he showed me throughout his time spent on McPadden’s campaign. As time progressed while Joshua was on the campaign he began to show his true colors through slanderous comments about others in the race and their families. Not to mention his amnesia when it came to his fellow human beings. I believe the pastor forgot that we are all children of God. McPadden’s campaign progressed when they let Joshua loose.
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