|
The Roanoke Times
http://www.roanoke.com/politics/wb/138695
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
By Tim Thornton
Del. Anne Crockett-Stark is going back to Richmond.
Despite a late infusion of money into challenger Bill Thomas' campaign,
Crockett-Stark, R-Wytheville, handily defeated the Democrat and retired judge
from Pulaski.
Pulaski was the only section of the spread-out 6th District that
Crockett-Stark didn't win. It wasn't for lack of attention there, she said.
"I stood next to my opponent all day and worked his precinct,"
Crockett-Stark said. "We knew we would lose those precincts, but I chose
to go down there and stand my ground."
Crockett-Stark said she stayed in Pulaski from 6:30 a.m. until the polls
closed at 7 p.m. But that's nothing new.
"Since I was 6 years old I have not missed an election working the
polls," she said. "My daddy was clerk. My granddaddy was in the
House. It's part of our lives."
Thomas said he had no regrets about the campaign.
"You meet nice people you otherwise wouldn't meet, and you go to nice
places you otherwise wouldn't go to," he said. "I'll sleep well
tonight."
Thomas got $23,776 in large contributions in the campaign's last week.
Crockett-Stark got one large contribution during that time, $1,000 from the
Virginia Victory political action committee.
Despite its name, Virginia Victory PAC is a federal committee that has
supported Virginia Republican candidates and bankrolled GOP House and Senate
candidates from Rhode Island to Montana to Arizona.
Thomas' late money came from state Democratic sources and from his own
pocket.
Crockett-Stark overcame a staffer's Internet gaffe for the second
consecutive election cycle.
Two years ago, a staffer blogged about trolling for votes among
"rednecks" who resembled Bigfoot and freak-show tattooed men who
lived in places that looked like horror movie sets.
This year another staffer filed a Facebook entry that quoted Crockett-Stark
referring to campaign contributors with an off-color term. Crockett-Stark
denied the quote and the staffer left the campaign.
Crockett-Stark, a retired teacher and guidance counselor, had the
incumbent's traditional advantage, with significant support from political
action committees representing industries and professional associations.
Alpha Natural Resources, an Abingdon-based coal company, and the Virginia
Dental Association were her biggest contributors through the latest reporting
period, which ended Oct. 24. Each gave her $4,000. PACs representing bankers,
cable television companies, hospitals, real estate agents and wine wholesalers
are also among Crockett-Stark's top 10 supporters.
Thomas got no money from industry PACs, but spent at least $42,500 of his
own money on the campaign.
Crockett-Stark will head back to Richmond
after hearing constituents' concerns about gas prices.
She said voters thanked her during the campaign for being a conservative who
wants "progress but with common sense."
|
