Va. Gov. Campaign, Among Other Things, A Test Of Faith

Last night, Democrat Tim Kaine was elected Governor of Virginia in a win over Jerry Kilgore.

Much of Kaine's campaign was centered around the coattails of term-limited current Gov. Mark Warner, also a centrist Democrat - one with presidential ambitions for 2008. However, the Washington Post noted today (along with our own John Simpkins last week) that more than just Warner's coattails, Kaine effectively made his faith an issue in the campaign:

Kaine defended himself against Kilgore's attack on the subject by saying that it is his beliefs as a deeply religious Catholic that lead him to oppose the death penalty and abortion. But he also said he would follow the law on capital punishment and advocate laws that protect the right to abortion.

"The elite never really got that argument," said David Eichenbaum, one of Kaine's media advisers, referring to columnists and others who wondered how Kaine could be, in his words, "morally" opposed and yet pledge not to try to change the law. "But people who heard him got it."

In this instance, the key is an ability to separate one's religious beliefs from one's public duty. Moving forward, this can become a hallmark for progressives of faith as they campaign for office in the face of attacks from the radical right. Indeed, Kaine's faith helped him completely neutralize one of the most negative ads in recent memory in which Kilgore said he wouldn't have executed Hitler.

The Post story continues, quoting a George Mason University professor:

"I think this is an interesting test case for Democrats to see if you can run a faith-based campaign focused on values and do so as a progressive candidate in a Southern state," Rozell said.

It worked, Rozell said, because of Kaine's frequent reference to his service as a missionary in Honduras while in law school and his familiarity with the language of religion. "It did not come off as calculated," he said.

The point is made most clearly by Kaine in his acceptance speech:

In his victory speech last night, Kaine told the crowd, "We proved that faith in God is a value we all can share regardless of party."

Indeed.