The Feb. 10 Virginia Democratic Presidential primary could be a higher priority to candidates due to the Iowa caucuses "upset" last Monday after John Kerry won in a come-from-behind victory.
"It revitalizes Kerry's camp in the state of Virginia and makes voters look forward to seeing how General Clark comes out of this as well," said Steven Pazmino, executive director of the Virginia Senate Democratic Caucuses. "The boost in Iowa obviously gives momentum to both Kerry and Edwards."
General Wesley Clark was the first to begin campaigning actively throughout Virginia, airing television commercials in Roanoke, Pazmino said.
"General Clark is positioning himself to make a big run at the state of Virginia," he said.
According to Robert Hinkle, communications director for General Clark's campaign in Virginia, the Iowa caucus results will not directly change the amount of campaigning Clark does in Virginia.
"I think Virginia is on the map anyway regardless of what happened in Iowa," Hinkle said. "What happens in New Hampshire will affect it more."
According to Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato, the amount of campaigning in Virginia will depend on the results of the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 27.
"Every primary and caucus builds on the previous one or set," he said. "Generally, it looks like this process will go on for at least a few weeks, which means there will still be a contest on Feb. 10."
According to Pazimo, the order of the primaries also may affect Virginia campaigning because of its proximity to North Carolina. The North Carolina primary will be held Feb. 3, a week before Virginia's.
"If Edwards continues to do well, he might make Virginia more of a focus because it is a state that borders North Carolina," said Pazimo.
According to Susan Swecker, Virginia campaign director for Kerry, Kerry's victory in the Iowa caucuses caused voters to become more interested in the Democratic Presidential primaries.
"Once the first votes were cast I think it made everyone pay more attention to what was happening," she said.
Swecker said she expects Kerry to devote a great deal of his campaign toward younger voters in Virginia.
"There is all this talk about young people coming on board in the Howard Dean office -- the majority of young people voted for John Kerry" in Iowa, she said. "He will be doing a lot of outreach with [younger voters] as well as [will] his daughters and stepson, Chris Heinz."
According to Swecker, five University of Virginia students will be in New Hampshire to support Kerry in next Tuesday's primary.
According to Pazmino, Kerry and Edwards both have accepted invitations to the Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner in Richmond Feb. 7.
The Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner is an annual fundraiser for the Democratic Party of Virginia and will be held at the Richmond Convention Center.
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