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as anchored to the party’s right flank. This could be a highly advantageous position in general election campaigns, but in the Democrats’ nominating process, it could place the possibility of his winning the party’s nod in very real jeopardy.
Hence some decisive move was needed and needed quickly.
It would be overstating the case to describe the sudden alliance with Wilder as pushing the panic button, but it is not overstating it to say that it is just the type of dramatic stroke which Baliles’ strategists saw as essential, and which the Davis camp expected to be forthcoming.
Given the political realities involved, the use of a “Virginians for” group to surface the ticket was an astute tactic. This device, which has been used repeatedly in the past, serves to provide a certain amount of insulation between the candidate and the group’s activities. Thus Baliles has sent a message to those party components which support Wilder that he would welcome Wilder as a running mate, and yet, by not becoming personally involved, hopes that he has minimized any damage that message may have caused among his own conservative constituency.
For Wilder’s part, the alliance has undoubtedly strengthened his credentials among the party’s moderates and conservatives, yet he is similarly insulated, at least to a degree, from criticism from his own constituent groups. The formation of the committee also virtually assures him that he will be unopposed for the lieutenant governor’s nomination since it is from the party’s moderates or conservatives that a prospective opponent would presumably come. For this reason, Wilder may be the chief beneficiary of the committee’s formation.
95.6%