Hampton Dems look toward November

HAMPTON, Va. - In Hampton, Creigh Deeds was not the first choice at the Hampton Democratic Committee results party. Former Delegate Brian Moran was the crowd favorite, at least until the votes were counted.

As volunteers arrived at Twist, a restaurant on Wythe Creek Road, they dropped off Brian Moran signs at the door. Within an hour the decision became clear. "It seems we have our candidate, Creigh Deeds," Committee Chair Gaylene Kanoyton told everyone.

Then she asked the crowd, "Do we have any Creigh Deeds supporters in the audience, out here?" The response was virtually silent. A smiling April Rivera raised her hand in the back of the room. Rivera told WAVY.com she decided on the State Senator from Bath County, Virginia because she felt like she could relate to him. "It was a couple of weeks ago and it was a big rally for him and he spoke at the church and it meant a lot to me because I wanted to see him up close and personal," she said.

Regardless of who they supported in the primary, at the end of the night, there was a joint focus heading into November.

Former Virginia Delegate Mary Christian told the Democrats at the party, "We were all revved up, and certainly we wanted Brian to win. But Creigh Deeds was the next in line and Creigh Deeds is still a very good candidate."

Kanoyton urged them to "get ready to beat Bob McDonnell in November!" Then ended the evening with a rally cry, "We are all what? Deeds supporters, that's right, we are all Deeds supporters."