There's a new poll. I'm not going to discuss it because the representative sample size was too small. 650 thousand people require a larger sample size than 700 registered voters. All that being said, the numbers add up to about what I have seen, although, nothing has been mentioned about momentum. And the momentum isn't with Sam to keep his numbers where they are.
Today information came out that said Sam would align himself with the Blue Dogs. The idea of being a [insert party name here] in name only has always struck me as an odd way to form a government. Let me put this in an analogy: You're on a plane. You get two choices, chicken or beef. And then you choose the chicken because it tastes a bit like beef. You could have just chosen the beef. The political theory is messed up for the sake of semantics and lying to voters. The elementary version of this is that there are two political ideologies, liberal and conservative; these aren't static—Republicans use to be in favor of minority rights, individual rights and so on. Now it's the Democrats who support Constitutional rights and individual freedoms. This is the ebb and flow of the two-party methodology. That's easy enough to understand but to move against the party platform without taking the party with you is absurd.
We now have in this district, effectively, three conservative candidates for Congress. That's not really choice. It's like what the candy companies are trying to sell us: 40%, 60%, or 80% cacao, your choice! It's not really a choice; it's still dark chocolate, just a different intensity.
Why vote for a Democrat who won't vote as a Democrat? Fiscal conservatism is great and all; I don't really get to spend more than I have either, but the Republicans have not acted, lately, as fiscal conservatives, so why align your voting record with them? It's a stupid comment to make in an already stupid contest between three not-ready-for-Congress players.
But there is a bigger reason why this idea won't work. Virginians don't like people who say they are one thing and then act as another. Tom Davis is considered a Republican in name only, as is his wife. Instead of choosing an opponent with similar viewpoints to Mark Warner to run against him for the soon-to-be-open Senate Seat, the Republicans at a Nominating Convention, instead of a (more friendly to the direct democracy crowd) primary chose Jim "No car tax, no terrorism" Gilmore.
So, Sam won't win because he won't stand by the convictions of the Party. At least Allen is honest when she says she'll do whatever people tell her to do. Goodlatte just does what the people who pay him the most will tell him to do. Sam's basis for his choice is because he went to business school. That somehow made him a fiscal conservative, but how have business interests ever coincided with that of the middle class or the worker? To not get too socialist, but the businessperson wants to make money, not provide for the people. If he can't separate the private sector from the business of government then the people of the Valley might as well just stick with the devil they know.
Since 41.14% of total contributions from inside Virginia were from one zip code (24064), I decided to investigate. $13,300 or 35.46% of all contributions came from people who's last names were Rasoul within this zip code. That is 65.25% of all the contributions from the 6th district.
None of the names on the Goodlatte list were the same as his, however that is not to say that his family did not donate to his campaign. The higher concentrations of donations were from 24014 in Roanoke at 11.84%, 24018 in Roanoke at 9.91% and 24503 in Lynchburg at 10.44%.