VA-05

Tea Partier Staying Put In VA-05: Says Robert Hurt Engaging In 'Politics Of Personal Destruction'

Christina Bellantoni | September 7, 2010, 4:00PM

Jeff Clark, Independent Candidate for VA-05 District

Remember the Virginia tea partier who said he'd drop his bid if the person responsible for leaking unflattering documents about him to the press stepped forward? Shocker: No one did.

Jeffrey Clark, running as an independent hoping to peel off votes from state Sen. Robert Hurt as they challenge Rep. Tom Perriello this fall, isn't pleased. Clark thinks Hurt operative Chris LaCivita of Swiftboat fame gave the local newspapers papers showcasing his financial dirty laundry.

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VA-05

SurveyUSA Poll: Dem Perriello Getting Crushed In VA-05

Eric Kleefeld | September 2, 2010, 1:06PM

Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA)

A new SurveyUSA poll says that Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA), who was elected in a big upset in 2008 riding a Democratic wave, is doomed this year.

The numbers: Republican state Sen. Rob Hurt 61%, Perriello 35%, and independent Tea Partier Jeff Clark at only 2%. The survey of likely voters has a ±4% margin of error. In the previous SurveyUSA poll from mid-July, Hurt led by 58%-35%-4%.

Perriello was elected in 2008, in a stunning upset against Republican Rep. Virgil Goode, who had made a name for himself speaking vocally against Islam over the previous two years. Perriello won by 50.1%-49.9%. John McCain also carried the district by just 51%-48%, much narrower than its previous double-digit margins for George W. Bush.

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VA-05

Virginia Tea Partier Says GOPer With 'Swift Boat' Staffer Is Up To Dirty Tricks (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | September 1, 2010, 3:16PM

Jeff Clark, Independent Candidate for VA-05 District

State Sen. Robert Hurt's campaign against Rep. Tom Perriello (D) in Virginia's 5th Congressional district is hitting a new snag, with an independent tea party challenger accusing his team of foul play. Jeffrey Clark, who calls Hurt too moderate, is charging that a Hurt operative leaked some unflattering stories about Clark's finances to the local paper.

Clark, a tea party type running as a third-party candidate this fall, suggested in a television interview that Hurt's consultant Chris LaCivita is behind recent news stories about Clark's 1993 bankruptcy due to unpaid medical bills. He told supporters in an email that he was told the same packet of information would be leaked to the Daily Progress in Charlottesville if he didn't end his potentially spoiling bid. Clark is offering to drop his campaign now if the person who told the paper his financial details comes clean in the next day.

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