Virginia Primary...I voted for Webb with some reluctance...low turnout

[SaveElmer]

I finally decided on Webb with a good amount of trepidation....however if John Kerry vouches for him I think it will be ok. He definitely has the better shot against Allen...


I voted at 2 pm and was only the 20th person to vote. I live in a heavily populated suburb of Washington DC...

[Tiggeroshii]

1. Do you know how the polls have been for Webb and the other guy?

i'm rooting for Webb cause he has the best shot against Allen, but I wonder if the polls say Webb will win the primary?

[Virginia Dare]

2. I think Webb will be a good challenge for Allen....

it's troubling that the turnout is so low. I plan on voting after work, hopefully alot of other people do too.

[Trouser Trout]

3. I was # 22 voting for Webb in South-Central Va

It's gonna take a lot ( read helluva lot ) of money to unseat Allen.
Let's hope Webb can do it.

[ShortnFiery]

4. I did also ...

Irritates me that there was also a low turn-out at my locale. Save for the beautiful and squared-away Senior Citizen Volunteers manning the station, you could hear crickets chirping.

My 12 year old daughter came with me so it was not a wash. I informed her with cheering approval from the workers, "If you don't vote, you don't have a right to complain at who's selected for office."

Yes, turn-out was pathetically low. :(

[onenote]

5. I was number 45 at 8:40 am this morning

also in the DC suburbs.

Are you in Tom Davis' district? Maybe having that primary (Longmayer v. Hurst) helped bump up turnout where I am...

Also, there were news trucks all over my voting place; someone said it was because Webb was going to be voting at that polling place, which I found surprising since I never had heard he lived around where I live.

[SaveElmer]

10. In Wolf's district...unfortunately...

The Senate primary was the only thing on the ballot...

Plus I think I live in a fairly Republican area!

[wisteria]

6. was there any effort by our party to get out our vote? n/t

[ShortnFiery]

7. My local Dem Party was supporting Miller ...

IMO, *Only Webb* has a ghost of a chance of winning against Allen. :shrug:

It's a crazy mixed up world that we Democrats live in ... herding cats?

[Virginia Dare]

11. They've been calling me non-stop since last week...n/t

[Totally Committed]

8. Do you have any ideas about WHY the low turn-out???

Just wondering if people are so hopeless they aren't even bothering already, and what that could mean for November.

TC

[SaveElmer]

9. It's really the only thing on the ballot...

Neither candidate is well known statewide yet...

I think activists are probably turning out, but it really hasn't caught fire with the public yet

[Virginia Dare]

12. Primaries are always low...

it was even pretty low for the Presidential primary last year.

[onenote]

15. exactly right

In 2004, Moran faced a primary challenge and only around 40,000 turned out to vote for either candidated, while in the General Election, Moran picked up over 170,000 votes (out of more than 285,000 total votes cast. Simililarly, there were a couple of repub house primaries in 2000 -- again, each drew around 40K votes, far below the number of votes cast in the general election in the fall.

I suspect its not that much different in other jurisdictions if there isn't anything particularly "big" on the ballot.

[vademocrat]

13. Primaries always have a much lower turnout than general elections-

at least here in VA where I've voted for most of my life. Even as a child in the 60s/70s, I remember my parents complaining about low primary turnout - being involved in local democratic politics and election day workers, they saw it all...

[vademocrat]

14. #13 at 11:30 -VERY Rethuglican area of Richmond...

Tried to keep my eye on the prize (getting rid of Allen) and voted for Webb...

[Trouser Trout]

16. There you go, that's the spirit !

It's all about ousting Allen.

[spooky3]

17. I was #158 at my voting location. No one else was in line at 3:15.

[Va Lefty]

18. Voted for Webb; he's our best shot

George Allen must go!!

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

19. I was # 9 at our polls. The two poll workers

literally about jumped out of their chairs when I walked in they were so bored from sitting there since early this morning x(

I reluctantly voted for Webb - and I used some new-fangled electronic ballot reading machine (fill in football with #2 pencil and stick ballot in slot. No receipt. No printout. No indication it did anything...)

Edit: This was around noon in Rockville - heavilly repug area...

[Stinky The Clown]

20. Question for VA primary voters:

Was there any indication that repubs were turning out to vote for Miller?

That was the reported/rumored plan as late as yesterday.

[spooky3]

23. not from the size of the turnout figures reported here

and I didn't see any indication of it at my polling place--in a very blue suburb of DC

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

27. HA! In my precinct, I would not

be surprized if six of the nine who voted by the time I got there WERE republicans voting for Miller. Let's just say I feel a bit outnumbered...

[williesgirl]

37. None where I live - I was #9 in heavily repuke area at 2:00 pm

[lastknowngood]

21. So come November you can choose between two Repugs

good luck

[SaveElmer]

22. John Kerry, Bob Kerrey both endorsed him...and

He campaigned with John Kerry yesterday I believe. I trust John Kerry's judgement in this matter.

I live in Virginia, as much as I would like it, Virginia is not gonna elect a Ted Kennedy liberal.

I'll take what I can get, Webb is a damn sight better than Allen.

[TheVirginian]

26. They all endorsed Joe Lieberman, too.

And they probably endorsed Zell Miller.

[SaveElmer]

28. Lieberman and Zell are not equivelent...

As much as you would like it to be...

While I am unhappy over Liebermans boot licking of Republicans on the war issue, on many other issues he is progressive. Miller is a right wing conservative.

Assume Webb votes like Ben Nelson, which means he votes the Democratic line 55% of the time...it is still better than the 0% I am getting out of Allen now.

And he is a vote for Harry Reid for majority leader

[spooky3]

30. that's exactly the way I size it up also

[TheVirginian]

38. Then get back to me in two years when...

people lump Webb in with Cantwell, Lieberman, Nelson, Landrieu and company as weak-willed DINOs who are driving this country backwards, and remember that you had a choice in the primary.

[CityDem]

39. Webb = Conservative DINO

When are the party leaders going to support real democrats. Webb looks to the right of Ben Nelson.

[skipos]

32. Ah, the old "no difference between this dem and a republican" line

Webb is no Feingold, but he is 1000 times better than Allen.

[flpoljunkie]

24. Very worrisome that folks will not come out and vote. Why the hell not?

Any ideas why folks can't be bothered to vote? Perhaps they voted absentee. I doubt it!

[spooky3]

31. the news reported that fewer than 7% typically vote during primaries

so this is not unusual.

[flpoljunkie]

33. 7% is low for a primary anywhere, I would think. Is this figure for VA-or

a national average. If so, it is incredibly sad for the future of our democracy.

[spooky3]

36. VA--plus, remember that this is not a presidential primary

[BeliQueen]

25. That's the same thing everyone said...

...when they voted for Kerry during the presidential primary--he has a better chance against Bush.

The thing is that Webb used to be a Reaganite, and there's no getting around that.

Miller is a better candidate because he's more progressive and has been an activist for a long time.

When I voted there was a two person line and I was the head of it. I'm in the Jim Moran district of Arlington. The young man who handed me the ballot thanked me for coming out because it was dead. I tried to encourage him that it would pick up after work, and he laughed.

[spooky3]

29. welcome to DU, BeliQueen!

[magnolia]

34. Webb was a....

...Reagan DEMOCRAT. Miller is a former Lobbyist. Webb has a much better chance against Allen.

[skipos]

35. Before Iowa, Kerry supporters claimed that he was the best one to beat

Bush with no polls or statistics to back it up.
There are a few polls showing Webb doing better than Allen than Miller. There are NO polls showing Miller doing better than Webb against Allen. Big difference.

Plus, it doesn't take a genius to realize that an incumbent republican in a red state like Virginia would destroy Miller in the general election. I sure as hell don't Webb is going to have an easy time, but at least he has a chance.