Griffith hits Boucher over Ad by Independent Group

Virginia's 9th Congressional District is one of those districts that feature two candidates with very good voting records on the Second Amendment. So the race is going to decided on other issues and guns . In the 9th, that issue would be Cap and Trade, a bill that Congressman Rick Boucher voted for and Republican House of Delegates Majority Leader Morgan Griffith says would kill jobs in the hard hit 9th District.

Enter the Natural Resources Defense Council's Action Fund and the Blue Green Alliance which ran a full page ad in the Roanoke Times August 30 charging that Griffith's opposition to Cap and Trade would result in jobs being sent to China. But the Roanoke Times is wondering if the independent expenditure might not back fire and hurt the candidate NRDC and BGA supports?

The issue of cap-and-trade has been one of Griffith's biggest talking points, and the ad may help bring it back to the forefront after it appeared to have all but died in Congress.

Griffith for his part, in a tactic that is standard fare for campaigns has called on Boucher to not only disclaim the ad, but the groups that purchased it. By law, candidates cannot coordinate with outside groups.

The groups have said they ran the same ad, which does not mention Boucher by name, in 19 districts where the issue is being used against supporters of Cap and Trade.

It does make one ask the question however, given that Boucher is sitting on a large campaign chest, what does NRDC and BGA know about this race that the rest of us don't that makes them feel they need to use some of their funds to attack Griffith?

Griffith Wins GOP Nod To Oppose Rep. Boucher

On Saturday, House of Delegates Majority Leader Morgan Griffith won the GOP nod to face NRA endorsed and "A+" rated Representative Rick Boucher. Griffith won the Republican nomination at a Saturday convention where he prevailed on the first ballot over five lesser-known challengers. According to CQ Politics:

Republican officials expect that Griffith will give Boucher one of his closest races in a career in which the Congressman has usually won by overwhelming margins. The National Republican Congressional Committee has included Griffith in the top echelon of its "Young Guns" candidate recruitment program.

Unlike Boucher's previous opponents, Griffith has a voting record, including a great voting record on Second Amendment related issues where he earned an "A+" NRA rating in his 2009 reelection campaign for the House of Delegates.

This should be a very interesting race to watch. With the issue of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms being a draw between the two candidates, look for both to appeal to voters on other issues important in this south west Virginia district.