News Leader
After months of inattention, Republican Ken Cuccinelli II and Democrat Terry McAuliffe have drawn the polarizing issue of guns into the spotlight of the Virginia governor’s race.
For once, a Democrat is talking tough about gun control, as if daring the National Rifle Association to take him on. And gun-rights advocates are all too happy to take him up on the challenge.
It began with the Oct. 24 candidate’s debate at Virginia Tech University, the site of the worst mass shooting by an individual in U.S. history. In response to a question, Cuccinelli boasted of his A rating from the NRA.
And then McAuliffe did something surprising: He said he didn’t give a fig about the powerful lobby’s rating. And, oh, by the way, he had earned an F.
Differences over gun control between Cuccinelli, the state’s attorney general, and McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, were not a secret before that debate. But Democrats rarely brag about their support for gun-control measures in statewide elections in pro-gun Virginia.
McAuliffe’s change in strategy suggested a play for his liberal base — but also hinted that he felt comfortable changing the playbook in the still-evolving swing state of Virginia.
