I'm not quite sure what to make of this, but Larry Sabato certainly has a lot of good sources in Virginia politics....Democratic gubernatorial nominee Creigh Deeds -- suddenly trailing badly in poll after poll -- has shaken up his staff. Thirty-something wunderkind Joe Abbey, Deeds' manager for his upset June primary victory, has been shunted aside. (That victory was engineered by the Washington Post's editorials, not Abbey or even Deeds.) Party activists have blamed Abbey, fairly or not, for Deeds' listless campaign. Abbey will apparently retain a title and a role in the campaign, but the decisions will be made by Monica Dixon (a close associate of Sen. Mark Warner), longtime Democratic party staffer Kevin Mack, and Mo Elleithee. The latter will handle all communications and press, and he is a veteran of high-level positions with the successful gubernatorial bids of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine as well as Hillary Clinton's presidential effort.Thoughts?
UPDATE: Larry Sabato's story is being flatly denied by the Deeds campaign. See here, for instance. I've also communicated with Mo Elleithee and he says point blank that the story is not true. "Joe's the manager. Period."
