GOP Delegates in Kaine's Bull's-Eye

GOP Delegates in Kaine's Bull's-Eye
Plan for Ads, Calls in Lawmakers' Districts Designed to Elicit Support for Transportation Funding

By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 5, 2006; Page C01

RICHMOND, March 4 -- Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) has prepared an election-style campaign to promote more money for transportation, targeting 26 Republican lawmakers with radio ads, a direct-mail campaign and phone calls in their home districts, according to several sources familiar with the effort.

The major pieces of the campaign, a closely guarded secret in the governor's office, have been designed and assembled but not yet produced. They include scripts for radio spots and automated "robocalls" intended to get constituents to insist that their lawmakers not return home without money for new roads, bridges and trains.

The strategy is a risky one that could undermine Kaine's developing relationship with Republicans, who control both chambers in the legislature. Like his predecessor, Mark R. Warner (D), Kaine campaigned by promising a bipartisan approach to government, aware that he must find Republicans to join with Democrats to achieve success.

The 26 GOP House delegates being targeted live in Northern Virginia and in the Hampton Roads area, where transportation problems are most critical, and in some other parts of the state, the sources said
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