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Petersen rebukes allegations in Devolites Davis' TV ad
Chap Petersen, the Democratic candidate for state Senate, fired back this week at his opponent, incumbent Republican Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, for allegations made in a recent TV ad produced by the Devolites Davis camp.This latest television spot is one example of how the better-funded Republican has kept up the jabs at her rival, primarily through a number of campaign mailers, since she announced that she is running for re-election to the 34th District Senate seat earlier this year.
"She's going heavily negative. She started out negative early," said Michael McDonald, an associate professor of government and politics at George Mason University, about Devolites Davis.
McDonald, who is also a senior non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. and a former campaign/political consultant for Ron Christian (Devolites' opponent for state senate in 2003), said he has been following the race between Devolites Davis and Petersen, a former state delegate who ran for lieutenant governor in 2005.In the TV ad, the Devolites Davis campaign alleges that Petersen voted for concealed weapons on school property, that he supports a 38-cent gas tax increase and that he supports increasing the estate tax.
Petersen on Oct. 15 issued a press release condemning the allegations, saying that his opponent's campaign has "grown increasingly desperate."
On the estate tax, the Democrat stated that bills he co-sponsored while in the House of Delegates called for the elimination of the estate tax on farms and small businesses. He said he never voted to raise the tax, but did vote in 2003 against the proposed abolition of the estate tax.
On the gas tax, Petersen stated that the 38-cent increase allegation "is completely fabricated."
On guns on school property, Petersen stated he was in the majority within the General Assembly, which included several Northern Virginia Republicans, who voted for House Bill 2535, which became law in 2005. The bill gave a limited exception to parents with licensed concealed carry permits who pick up their children at school.
McDonald said he would not be surprised if the Petersen campaign started going more negative as the race gets closer to Election Day, Nov. 6.
"The campaigns are going to ratchet up their rhetoric," said McDonald, noting that going too negative can have the effect of energizing your opponent's supporters.
"It can actually work against your campaign," he said. "It's a fine line to walk."
McDonald also conjectured that Devolites Davis may be avoiding some previously scheduled appearances on the advice of campaign consultants, as she did on Oct. 8 in Fairfax City.
"Petersen will go anywhere and she's playing it safe," McDonald said. "She's definitely limiting her access."
"You have two qualified candidates," McDonald said. "I would not make a prediction. ... This one is going down to the wire."
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