With a little help from their friends

The governor's race officially pits Republican Robert F. McDonnell against Democrat R. Creigh Deeds. But, in the Prince William area, one might have found it to be L. Scott Lingamfelter versus Linda T. "Toddy" Puller sometimes this year. Or Rudolph W. Giuliani versus James H. Webb Jr.

Each gubernatorial candidate has stopped here several times over the past few months. For example, Deeds was in Woodbridge and in Manassas on Friday, and McDonnell is scheduled to be in Bristow on Monday.

But the campaigns also have counted on surrogates to get their message out. It's all part of trying to win a region that chose McDonnell over Deeds in the 2005 race for attorney general before giving Democrat Barack Obama the nod over Republican John McCain last year.

Lingamfelter rallies veterans

It was late August and McDonnell was leaving American Legion Post 364 in Woodbridge and heading to greet workers at the Prince William County Republican headquarters.

The Legion gathering was a breakfast, but McDonnell wasn't able to eat until he boarded a campaign recreational vehicle with Lingamfelter.

"You know what I found out?" McDonnell joked as he got into his bacon and eggs. "Cold food has the same number of calories as hot food."

That sent Lingamfelter, a Woodbridge lawmaker and fellow Army veteran, down memory lane.

"You and I remember standing in line to get cold food when the rain went down and dripped off your helmet into your eggs," he said, "and life was good."

"You're not kidding, man," McDonnell responded. "Heck, I remember C-rations … opening up that C-ration can with a P-38 when it was about 15 degrees outside, trying to get that sucker to move."

Lingamfelter, who's unopposed for re-election, has spent the past few months working to get other Republicans elected. As co-chairman of a McDonnell veterans coalition, he's hoping that those who know what a P-38 is (a small, military-issued can opener) will vote in droves Tuesday.

Puller stumps for Deeds

Not to be outdone, Puller, who represents parts of Prince William and Fairfax counties, talked up Deeds, beside whom she sits in the Senate chamber at the State Capitol.

Puller told potential voters Wednesday that Deeds has sponsored legislation including Megan's Law, which allows public access to the state sex offender registry, and a bill to create the Amber Alert program, which mandates public notification when a child goes missing.

"He's done a lot of things for a lot of people," Puller said at the River Run Senior Apartments in Woodbridge.

A transportation solution

The senator also said that McDonnell's proposal to privatize state-run Alcoholic Beverage Control stores to generate money for roads is a "gimmick." Similar legislation was sent to the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee, which Puller chairs, this year, and it was killed, 13-2, on a bipartisan vote.

She said the move wouldn't generate significant money for transportation but could take funds away from other areas of need, such as substance abuse and mental-health programs.

"It makes no economic sense to sell our liquor stores," Puller said.

Transportation is perhaps always the biggest issue for Prince William area voters, and Deeds has said he's open to a tax increase if that's what's necessary to get more money for roads. Job one, though, Deeds has said, would be to get Republicans and Democrats to agree on a plan that works for the state.

"In Prince William County, we have to figure out how to shorten the commute," the senator from Bath County said last month.

Even winking at a tax increase can give ammunition to Republicans, however, and a nationally prominent one hit Deeds on that point Wednesday.

National significance

Asked to sum up how Virginia's race -- one of only two in the country this year; the other's in New Jersey -- fits into the national picture, Giuliani said Deeds is for tax hikes while McDonnell supports tax cuts.

"Pretty simple: One is an advocate of big government, Deeds is," Giuliani said at a stop in Dumfries. "Bob McDonnell is an advocate of balanced government. So I think that's really what's going on, and those are the national implications."

Webb, Virginia's senior U.S. senator, said political observers around the world are watching the Virginia governor's race because the state, with its diverse regions, is "something of a microcosm of the country."

He said that, in state elections such as this one, some voters don't pay attention until 10 days before Election Day.

Though Deeds has trailed in most polls for weeks, Webb said his fellow Democrat has potential to win once disengaged voters "start taking a look at what his story is … who he is, what his journey has been."

"You know, I think he's really got a chance at surprising people," Webb said.

Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.