Tuesday Must-Reads: Next Up Virginia

The Virginia gubernatorial primary is today, and Democrats will pick who will run against Bob McDonnell in an attempt to keep the governor’s mansion for a third straight term. So—after about another week of round-up stories—the political media will finally have to find something else to talk about. But for now there is plenty to discuss and plenty to watch for. Though state Sen. Creigh Deeds is now the clear leader (which may contradict the common wisdom that newspaper endorsements don’t matter), each candidate has a scenario in which he can win. For one-time front-runner Terry McAuliffe, his scenario largely depends on the black vote, and the race could test the so-called Martin Effect, where Obama’s absence depresses the black vote. So stay tuned tonight. That other primary, up in New Jersey, is now week over. But the winners are just starting to heat up for the general election. Incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine is making sure to clarify that Chris Christie is, indeed, a Republican. Yesterday I lead the Must-Reads with Sarah Palin’s on-again, off-again appearance at the NRCC’s fundraising dinner. When the dust settled, she did end up making an appearance, though she did not speak. A couple other news stories of relevance: first, the drama up in Albany, where a couple of Democratic state Senators voted to give Republicans control; and second, the latest iteration or the should-I-shouldn’t-I Twitter navel-gazing, inspired by Sen. Chuck Grassley notable Tweets. For the record, Cillizza thinks that, if you are a politician, you should not. Odds & Ends:

Bob Smith, once a U.S. senator representing New Hampshire, will run to represent his new home state of Florida. The 2008 election involved a whopping $1.8 billion in “financial activity.” College Republicans are mostly white and male.
Obama <3s Jesus, even more than George Bush.