Moran Concludes “Virginia Values Tour”

Expect Terry McAuliffe‘s tour of Virginia to  get quite a bit of publicity this week. Who he is and the way he jumped into the race makes for incredible political fodder. McAuliffe is expected to visit 7 different locations over the next two days. (He will be in Richmond this morning at 11:30 at the Science Museum, I’ll be there and have coverage later on Decision Virgina and will provide updates on my twitter page.)

But while much will be made of McAuliffe’s “official entry”, it is worth noting that Brian Moran has just finished a similar tour of Virginia. A tour where he picked up several key endorsements from the party faithful and secured plenty of good will in his effort to carry on the mantle of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

Click here, for a recap of Moran’s tour complete with the important officials who gave him their endorsement. The names may not immediately strike a chord, but they could turn out to be vital players in what promises to be an extremely competitive primary.

Moran Concludes Virginia Values Tour
~ Announces key supporters in most Democratic county~

ARLINGTON – Brian Moran concluded his Virginia Values Tour today with the overwhelming majority of Arlington County elected officials endorsing his campaign for Governor. The Virginia Values Tour began on November 13 in bellwether Loudoun County and concludes today in heavily Democratic Arlington. The tour ends where Moran’s career in public service began as a prosecutor two decades ago.

The tour positioned Moran as the candidate with the strongest Virginia record and demonstrated an unprecedented level of support this early in a contested primary.

Moran received six major endorsements that demonstrate leadership within the Democratic party, his statewide electability, understanding of rural issues, ability to continue the work of Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and confirmation of his ability to be Virginia’s chief executive.

• Democratic Party of Virginia Executive Committee. The majority of the party leaders on the Democratic party’s Steering Committee came out for Brian because of his two-decade record as a fighter for Virginia Democrats.

• Bellwether Loudoun. The overwhelming majority of Democratic elected officials in Loudoun County backed Brian Moran, demonstrating that he can win this bellwether county.

• Rural Martinsville. Local elected officials and Democratic leaders in Southside announced support for Moran because he understands the challenges facing every region of Virginia.

• L. F. Payne. The former Congressman from the 5th district and former chairman of Mark Warner’s campaign for Governor endorsed Moran as the best successor to Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

• Hampton Roads. In an unprecedented statement, the mayors of Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach united to back Brian Moran as the next chief executive of Virginia.

• Arlington. Nearly every elected official and Democratic leader in the most Democratic county of Virginia backed Brian Moran because of his proven record of progressive leadership. The endorsers included the Chairs of the Board of Supervisors, the School Board and the Democratic Committee.

“Brian has statewide support because he has a record of statewide leadership,” Mame Reiley, Director of Virginians for Brian Moran, said. “He is humbled that this many prominent Virginia Democrats have stepped forward early in this contested primary.”

Moran recently resigned his seat in the House of Delegates to campaign full time for Governor.