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Clinton campaigned in Virginia on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former President Bill Clinton played political analyst Tuesday during a campaign appearance in Virginia for Democrat Creigh Deeds, who is trailing Republican Bob McDonnell according to recent polling.

"So are the polls right?" Clinton said during a rally in northern Virginia. "The answer is yes, no and maybe. Yes, the polls are an accurate measurement of the voter groups that they talk to in proportion to each other. So if on election day that profile shows up, you have to change minds."

"The 'no' answer is, that's not close to a profile of the people either who voted in the primary, which was an open primary, or in the general election of 2008."

"And the 'maybe' is the thing that matters," he said. "The maybe is you. The maybe is what you do in the two weeks, whether you're prepared to step into the breach."

Clinton urged the crowd to tell fellow Democrats that jobs, health care, energy, education and "sensible budgets" are all at stake on Election Day.

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Clinton supported his friend Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia Democratic primary.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Obama still hasn't committed to campaign with Creigh Deeds before Election Day, but the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful is getting an assist from a former President: Bill Clinton.

Clinton will appear at a rally with Deeds somewhere in northern Virginia next Tuesday, a Deeds aide said. The exact location has not yet been finalized.

Longtime Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe, who sought the Democratic nomination before losing to Deeds in June, will also be in attendance. McAuliffe has sent out a fundraising e-mail on Deeds' behalf, but he has also urged Deeds to run a more positive campaign if he hopes to catch up to Republican Bob McDonnell before Election Day, Nov. 3.

Former Vice President Al Gore is raising money for Deeds on Friday evening.

McAuliffe said Tuesday night that his gubernatorial bid had been 'quite a ride.'

ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) - Terry McAuliffe conceded a tough loss in an unusually hard-fought Virginia Democratic primary Tuesday night, urging supporters to rally behind the party’s nominee, state senator Creigh Deeds.

McAuliffe, who campaigned in Virginia last year as Hillary Clinton’s finance chair, had run with the backing of national party leaders like Democratic Governor Association chair Brian Schweitzer, but was overtaken in the race’s final weeks by Deeds.

“It may not have turned out the way we wanted, but it was quite a ride,” McAuliffe told supporters at a hotel an Arlington hotel. “…I told Creigh I will give it my 100 percent to help him do what ever it takes to become governor.”

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Former President Clinton campaigned on behalf of McAuliffe at an event in Herndon, Virginia last month.

ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) - Longtime Clinton ally and former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe has conceded to state senator Creigh Deeds in the party's gubernatorial primary, calling on his supporters to back Deeds in his general election battle against Republican Bob McDonnell.

Deeds is one of three Democrats seeking the party's nomination for governor.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Creigh Deeds is looking to project an air of momentum in the closing days of the Democratic primary race by launching a new TV ad in the costly northern Virginia media market.

When the ad starts running Wednesday night, Deeds and fellow Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe will both be on the air in every corner of the commonwealth with just five days left until next Tuesday's Democratic primary. The third candidate in the race, former House delegate Brian Moran, has spent considerably less on television ads - but he maintains a strong base of support in the Washington suburbs where most of the state's Democratic voters reside.

The 30-second ad asks the question: "On June 9, which Democrat has the most experience to carry on the policies of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine?" The spot then touts Deeds' recent - and somewhat surprising - endorsement by the Washington Post. "The Washington Post says it's Creigh Deeds," a narrator says. "Deeds 'would make transportation his first priority.'"

The ad also points out that Deeds is pro-choice, a message that might help allay fears among northern Virginia liberals that the state senator from rural Bath County is too conservative to lead the party.

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McAuliffe is one of three Democrats seeking their party's nomination for governor in Virginia.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – In the battle for Virginia’s Democratic gubernatorial nomination, a race with many uncertainties, a major question has bubbled to the surface in the closing days of the campaign: How many African-American voters will actually show up?

If they do come to the polls in large numbers during next Tuesday's primary, former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe could very well be the beneficiary and move on to face Republican Bob McDonnell in the general election, a race that will be fraught with national implications. But if many of those voters stay home, McAuliffe’s lively and unconventional bid for the governorship might come to an end.

“At the end of the day, the African-American vote will be the decisive factor in this race,” said Bob Holsworth, the Richmond-based political analyst.

Although Virginia’s Democratic drift in recent years has arisen in large part from the population growth in left-leaning northern Virginia, next week’s three-way primary race may ultimately hinge on a very different part of the state - the stretch from Richmond to Hampton Roads along the southeast coast.

If the three candidates manage to divvy up the votes in northern Virginia - a growing possibility now that Creigh Deeds, a state senator from a rural district, is riding a burst of momentum following a key endorsement form the Washington Post - then the candidate who can best marshal voters downstate may have an edge.

It’s there where McAuliffe has been aggressively organizing in predominantly black neighborhoods, flooding urban radio stations with ads, and even campaigning alongside hip-hop performers like will.i.am and Biz Markie. As of Tuesday, McAuliffe had spent about $1 million on television advertising, with most of his ads purchased in downstate media markets.

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Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor's race.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - James Carville is offering some last minute help to his longtime friend Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor's race.

With just over a week until the Democratic primary, Bill Clinton's former strategist sent out a fundraising e-mail on Monday on behalf of Bill Clinton's former money man, telling supporters that McAuliffe is "the strongest possible nominee" out of the three Democrats seeking the nomination. Creigh Deeds and Brian Moran are also on the Democratic ballot.

The winner of next Tuesday's vote will face Republican Bob McDonnell, and both candidates will see a flood of national money as both parties seek to put their stamp on the newly-christened swing state.

"Republicans are desperate to end their losing streak, and they're bettin' the farm on the Old Dominion," Carville wrote in the e-mail. Carville noted that he knows "thing or two about electing Democrats in Southern states."

Carville also promised that McAuliffe, who has 14 offices throughout Virginia and more paid staffers than any of his rivals, "will have the biggest, baddest Get-Out-the-Vote operation a Virginia governor's race has ever seen."

Clinton himself has campaigned several times for McAuliffe across the commonwealth.

McAuliffe supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary campaign.

(CNN) - Virginia gubernatorial candidate Brian Moran is hammering his Democratic primary rival Terry McAuliffe for backing Hillary Clinton instead of Barack Obama throughout much of the presidential race.

The Moran campaign is hoping a new 60-second radio ad running on black radio stations in Virginia will remind African-American voters - likely to be a crucial voting block in the June 9 Democratic primary - of McAuliffe's full-throated support for Clinton and his past criticisms of Obama.

"Terry McAuliffe may have a lot of big money for his campaign, but don't let that hide the truth," the ad's narrator says. "The truth is, Terry McAuliffe led the campaign that ran the '3 a.m.' attack ad against Barack Obama. McAuliffe worked to put up the ads that questioned Obama's ability to be president."

The new attack is especially pointed because McAuliffe has gone to great lengths to model elements of his gubernatorial campaign after Obama's, which won Virginia in both the Democratic primary and the general election. In March, McAuliffe's campaign ran an ad on black radio stations proclaiming: "In 2008, our voices were heard when we elected our president, Barack Obama."

But Moran's new ad claims that, "if Terry McAuliffe had his way, Barack Obama wouldn't be our president today." Referring to a light-hearted appearance by McAuliffe on The Daily Show last June, the ad says that "McAuliffe even went on national TV and joked Barack Obama could, quote, 'kiss my ass.'"

The McAuliffe campaign called the ad "false and misleading" and accused Moran of "trying to divide Democrats again, especially at a time when we all need to come together to help President Obama get the economy back on track." The campaign said McAuliffe "fought tirelessly" for Obama after the primaries ended.

Moran and McAuliffe are competing against Creigh Deeds for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. The winner of that contest will face Republican Bob McDonnell in the general election.

UPDATE: The McAuliffe campaign responded again Monday by rolling out the endorsement of Tom Daschle, who co-chaired Obama's campaign.

"From the day Hillary Clinton ended her historic bid for president, Terry worked tirelessly to unify our party around Barack Obama and get him elected President," Daschle said in a statement. "His energy and enthusiasm were tremendous assets on the campaign trail and we were grateful to have him on our side."

HERNDON, Virginia (CNN) – Bill Clinton jokingly laughed off a question Wednesday about former Vice President Dick Cheney and his recent claims that the country is less safe under the Obama administration.

"I wish him well," Clinton told CNN while greeting voters after a campaign stop with Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe. "It's over," he added, apparently a reference to the Bush administration.

"But I do hope he gets some more target practice before he goes out again," Clinton said with a grin before moving along the ropeline.

The former president was alluding, of course, to Cheney's infamous 2006 hunting accident in which he mistakenly fired birdshot into the face of a campaign contributor during a South Texas quail hunt.

Bill Clinton is helping former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe campaign for governor in Virginia.

HERNDON, Virginia (CNN) – To hear Bill Clinton tell it, Terry McAuliffe is destined to become the 71st governor of the commonwealth of Virginia.

“He was born to lead at this moment,” Clinton said of McAuliffe at a campaign rally in northern Virginia on Wednesday. It was the former president’s third appearance on behalf of his friend and longtime political ally, who is now in the final weeks of a tough three-way primary battle for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

The winner of that contest will face Republican Bob McDonnell, the state’s former attorney general, in the general election.

Clinton praised McAuliffe from all angles, making sure to plug the former Democratic National Committee chairman’s apparent mastery of Virginia issues. McAuliffe has struggled with the perception that he’s a newcomer to Virginia politics, while his two Democratic rivals have labored in the trenches of state government for more than a decade.

The former president even said that if every child were raised as McAuliffe’s five children were, “this country would have about half the problems it’s got.”

Clinton and McAuliffe made their pitch to about 200 voters at a park in the northern Virginia town of Herndon, standing on a stage just downwind of a ripe-smelling pig sty. They held a second, larger rally later in the day a few miles away in the Washington suburb of Annandale.

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Virginia bubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell will face the winner of the June 9 Democratic primary.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Republican Bob McDonnell is up with his first television ad in the Virginia governor's race, a heavily biographical 30-second spot that largely avoids the commonwealth's troubled economy and focuses instead on family values and the former state Attorney General's record combating online sex predators.

"Bob McDonnell," the ad's narrator says, over images of the Republican with his wife and family. "Character. Experience. A husband. A father. Principles molded growing up in a middle class suburban neighborhood."

The campaign purchased over $200,000 worth of airtime for the ad, which is running in nearly every major media market in Virginia except in the sprawling and expensive northern Virginia market, which encompasses the greater Washington area. However, the campaign noted that they launched a "positive new online media campaign" on Monday "with a heavy focus on northern Virginia."

Two of McDonnell's Democratic rivals - Terry McAuliffe and Creigh Deeds - have already been running television ads as they ramp up for the Democratic primary, which is less than a month away. The third Democrat in the race, Brian Moran, has not aired a TV spot.

UPDATE: The Democratic Party of Virginia responded to the ad, accusing McDonnell of failing to offer a plan to create jobs.

"When it comes to Virginia's economy, Bob McDonnell's ad is all hat and no cattle," said Democratic party spokesman Jared Leopold. "McDonnell's newest ad - like his campaign - lacks the substance that Virginians want in a governor."

Terry McAuliffe has already told DNC chairman Tim Kaine to pump money into the Virginia governor's race.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Virginia's gubernatorial candidates are a spoiled bunch. With their election taking place in that odd year after a presidential election, the candidates are happily preparing for - even boasting about - the financial windfall from the national parties that awaits them once the general election kicks off in June.

As Joe Abbey, the campaign manager for Democrat Creigh Deeds, put it: "We're typically the only game in town."

There's also a governor's race in New Jersey, of course, where poll numbers show that the Republican frontrunner, Chris Christie, has a good shot at knocking off incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine. But the stakes are seen as higher in Virginia, a newly-christened swing state with shifting demographic patterns that have emboldened Democrats and forced the state GOP to do some serious soul-searching.

"Many have said that the road for the resurgence of the Republican party and the conservative cause goes through Virginia," said Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate for governor, who is framing his candidacy around job creation rather than focusing on wedge issues that have fueled past GOP campaigns in the commonwealth.

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Clinton will hit the campaign trail again.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton is wading into Virginia’s Democratic primary for governor on behalf of his friend and long time political ally Terry McAuliffe.

McAuliffe's campaign announced Wednesday that Clinton will campaign alongside the Democratic contender on Monday in Richmond and Roanoke. It will mark the first time that the 42nd president has actively stumped for McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman- turned gubernatorial candidate.

McAuliffe is locked in a contentious three-way primary battle with state Sen. Creigh Deeds and former House member Brian Moran.

The winner of that contest will face Republican Bob McDonnell in the general election.

McAuliffe makes no apologies for the kind of political firepower he’s bringing to the 2009 governor’s race, arguably the most-watched contest in this off-year election cycle. Of the $4.2 million he raised during the first three months of 2009, more than 80 percent of it came from out-of-state donors, many of whom McAuliffe knows from his years of involvement in national Democratic politics.

Clinton himself gave McAuliffe’s campaign a check for $10,000 in January.

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Terry McAuliffe is running for office in Virginia for the first time.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Donald is backing The Macker.

Donald Trump is just one of many big name donors funding Terry McAuliffe's campaign to win the Virginia governor's mansion this fall, according to newly released financial disclosure reports - and he isn't even among the most generous givers.

The New York real estate magnate cut McAuliffe a check for a whopping $25,000 in late March, but that's just a drop in the bucket compared to the largest single donation in McAuliffe's report - a $251,000 gift from billionaire media tycoon Haim Saban in January. That check narrowly bested a $250,000 contribution the following month from Steve Bing, another big fish in the entertainment industry.

McAuliffe raised $4.2 million in the first quarter of 2009, and thanks to Virginia's permissive fundraising laws, more than 80 percent of his cash came from donors who live outside the state.

In all, McAuliffe listed 87 donations of $10,000 or higher. By comparison, his Democratic rivals Creigh Deeds and Brian Moran reported 15 and 12 donations of $10,000 or higher, respectively. The Republican candidate, Bob McDonnell, reported 25.

Like many of McAuliffe's contributors listed in the quarterly filing, Saban and Bing are longtime friends and financial patrons of Bill and Hillary Clinton. McAuliffe aggressively tapped into the Clinton network over the last three months, even hitting up the former president himself for a donation of $10,000 in January.

Seven McAuliffe donors who gave $5,000 or more to his campaign actually stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom during the Clinton administration, including Alan Patricof, who was a finance chairman for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

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Terry McAuliffe arrived at the Shad Planking making no apologies for the amount of money he’s spending in the 2009 race.

WAKEFIELD, Virginia (CNN) – The crowds weren’t drinking tea on Tax Day in southeast Virginia.

At the Shad Planking - Virginia’s annual backwoods carnival of fish and politics - bourbon and beer were the cocktails of choice. And although the candidates for governor who showed up at this year’s event didn’t actually booze, they were definitely taking some shots.

Their main target, as expected, was Terry McAuliffe, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee who decided last year to seek the governorship.

McAuliffe arrived at the Shad Planking making no apologies for the amount of money he’s spending in the 2009 race.

Drivers making their way into Wakefield were overwhelmed by nearly 25,000 “McAuliffe for Governor” signs planted along the roadside, put there by 60 full-time campaign staffers and 40 more volunteers. Circling the skies above the event was a plane towing a sign reading “New Energy, New Jobs: Vote Terry.” McAuliffe even brought along a man dressed in a chicken suit wearing a diaper, meant to demonstrate the candidate’s enthusiasm for turning chicken waste into re-usable energy.

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Deeds is one of three Democrats seeking the party's nomination for governor.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Virginia gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds just fired a warning shot across the bow of local politicos who regard him as something of a third wheel in the state's crowded Democratic primary race.

Deeds, a state senator from Bath County, announced Thursday that his campaign raised $600,000 in the first three months of 2009. That might not seem like a large number - until you consider that Deeds was unable to raise money for roughly half that time, because Virginia law prevents state legislators from collecting checks during legislative sessions.

More importantly, Deeds now has $1.2 million in the bank. That's more than rival Brian Moran, a former House delegate who has $824,000 on hand, and it's about $1 million less than the third candidate, Terry McAuliffe, a deep-pocketed millionaire with a healthy rolodex of donors from around the country. McAuliffe announced Wednesday that he entered April with $2.5 million in his war chest.

"My opponents had twice as much time to fundraise," Deeds said in an e-mail to supporters. "Brian Moran even resigned his seat so he could raise money full-time for his campaign, but it didn't pay off. I now have 41 percent more cash on-hand than Brian."

Deeds also raised 97 percent of his funds in the first quarter from inside the state of Virginia, a greater percentage than both of his Democratic rivals. Moran raised 90 percent of his money from Virginians, while McAuliffe raised less than 20 percent from donors inside the commonwealth.

Deeds will surely play that figure up as he tries to sell himself as the Democrat with the best chance of beating Republican Bob McDonnell in the fall.

McDonnell has not yet announced his first quarter fundraising total.

UPDATE: Deeds' cash on hand total includes an $80,000 transfer from his senate account.

McAuliffe enters April with less money on hand than Tim Kaine at the same point in 2005.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe has raised $4.2 million for his Virginia gubernatorial bid in the first quarter of 2009, his campaign announced today - an eye-popping figure for a first-time political candidate in a statewide race.

By comparison, current Virginia governor Tim Kaine raised $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2005 as the lone Democrat in that year's gubernatorial campaign - and more than half of that total came in the form of a $1.5 million gift from the DNC. Former governor Mark Warner raised $1.4 million in the first quarter of of his 2001 campaign.

But unlike Kaine, who was unopposed for his party's nomination, McAuliffe is spending roughly half of what he's taking in. Kaine entered April 2005 with $5 million on hand, while McAuliffe began the month with around $2.5 million in the bank out of the $5.2 million he has raised in total, going back to last year. That means he has burned through about half of his donations so far while building a campaign operation and doing battle with his Democratic rivals.

McAuliffe is competing in a three-way primary against former House delegate Brian Moran and state senator Creigh Deeds. The winner of that June vote will face Republican Bob McDonnell, who is also expected to announce a sizeable cash haul of his own thanks, in part, to frequent fundraising help from prominent national GOP figures.

All of McAuliffe's rivals have conceded that they expect the well-connected ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton to outraise everyone else in the race.

Along with keeping a relentless campaign schedule, McAuliffe has been jetting around the country collecting checks from donors in places like New York, California, Florida and Arizona. The campaign did not announce how many donations came from voters inside Virginia, saying only that they have raised money from over 3,440 contributors since last fall.

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Huckabee told voters in Appalachia that northern Virginians have it easier.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Virginia Democrats are eagerly pouncing on Mike Huckabee for telling an audience in Appalachia that voters in northern Virginia "aren't necessarily thinking the same way folks like you and me think."

Huckabee made the remarks in southwest Virginia's Tazewell County on Monday while campaigning with Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate for governor. His appearance was recorded and posted on YouTube by a state Democratic operative.

"They have never fully understood how hard it is for a lot of people to put a paycheck together, be able to feed a family," Huckabee said. "Some folks up there near the Beltway," he claimed, have "never fully understood how hard it is for a lot of people to put a paycheck together, be able to feed a family."

The comments were reminiscent of a gaffe made last October by Nancy Pfotenhauer, a campaign adviser to John McCain, who went on cable television and contrasted the strongly Democratic Washington suburbs with the rest of state, which she called 'real Virginia.' The Obama campaign, eager to shore up support in vote-heavy northern Virginia, seized on the comment.

Virginia Democratic Party chairman Richard C. Cranwell called Huckabee's remarks "divisive" and demanded that McDonnell condemn them. "It's the same thing they tried to do last year with the 'real Virginia,'" Cranwell said. "I expect we won't be seeing Mike Huckabee back in Virginia again."

State senator Creigh Deeds, one of three Democrats seeking his party's nomination for governor this year, said Huckabee's comments were "hurtful" and asked McDonnell supporters to "pick up a newspaper to find out that Virginians are hurting across the commonwealth."

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Huckabee said McAuliffe is overreacting to his recent comments in Virginia.

(CNN) – Mike Huckabee shot back at Terry McAuliffe late Thursday after the former DNC chairman and Virginia gubernatorial candidate accused Huckabee of encouraging voter suppression.

"As someone who served as a Governor for 10 years, I can say if these are the type of things Terry McAuliffe worries about and make him break down and cry, then he won't last 10 days as Governor much less four years and he doesn't deserve the people of Virginia's vote," Huckabee said in a statement to CNN.

At issue is a joke Huckabee made during a recent appearance on behalf of Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate for governor.

Huckabee cracked that if McDonnell's supporters bump into someone who isn't planning on voting for the Republican, they should "let the air out of their tires and do not let them out of their driveway on election day."

The joke, a familiar one to those who followed Huckabee's presidential campaign, drew chuckles from the crowd.

McAuliffe, one of three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, sought to make the remark an issue on Thursday.

"There are no jokes to be made about denying people the right to vote in this country," he said in a statement. "It's not a laughing matter. This is a right that people fought and died for, so as public figures, we must be sure that we are setting the standard."

Huckabee said Republicans should let the air out of Democrats' tires on election day.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Terry McAuliffe, the jovial former chairman of the Democratic National Committee now running for governor in Virginia, is not laughing at one of Mike Huckabee's jokes.

During a recent appearance on behalf of Bob McDonnell - the Republican candidate for governor - Huckabee wisecracked that if McDonnell's supporters bump into someone who isn't planning on voting for the Republican, they should "let the air out of their tires and do not let them out of their driveway on election day."

The joke is a Huckabee favorite: he recited it countless times at campaign stops nationwide during his failed bid to win the Republican nomination in 2007 and 2008.

Nevertheless, McAuliffe - who made more than a few surrogate appearances of his own on behalf of Bill and Hillary Clinton - is accusing of Huckabee of inciting "voter suppression."

"Let's be clear," he said in a statement. "There are no jokes to be made about denying people the right to vote in this country. It's not a laughing matter. This is a right that people fought and died for, so as public figures, we must be sure that we are setting the standard."

McAuliffe, who has made a point of highlighting his creation of a voting rights institute when he led the DNC, accused McDonnell of "standing by silently as Mike Huckabee encourages his supporters to suppress the vote."

McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin brushed off the McAuliffe criticism.

"Virginians are losing their jobs, unemployment is at its highest point in 17 years, and Chairman McAuliffe spends his afternoon feigning outrage over a lighthearted political joke by somebody not even on the ballot in Virginia," Martin said. "This attack demonstrates a complete lack of perspective and seriousness. Chairman McAuliffe clearly has no clue what Virginians are going through, and how tough times are."