VA showered in presidential campaign love

I have never covered a presidential campaign like this one. The amount of attention Virginia is getting is jaw-dropping.

I’ve lost count of the number of trips Obama and Biden have made to the commonwealth, although I know Obama has been to our end of the state five times since securing the nomination. That is astounding. And he’ll be back in Virginia Wednesday with rallies in Richmond and Leesburg.

McCain has yet to campaign in SWVA, but he’s not ignoring the Old Dominion. He’s had countless rallies in Richmond, Hampton Roads, and Northern Virginia and is advertising across the commonwealth.

But, to give you and idea of just how intense the final days of this campaign will be, consider the candidates’ schedules for this week and the schedules of their surrogates.

For Team McCain, Virginia will see visits from:
Sen. John Warner (Lynchburg)
Rep. Bob Goodlatte
Former VA Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (Wytheville)
US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) (Lynchburg and Roanoke)
Former US Senater George Allen (Roanoke, Blacksburg, Wytheville)
Todd Palin (Martinsville)

For Team Obama, Virginia will see visits from:
Ethel Kennedy (several stops throughout SWVA)
Gen. Wesley Clark (Roanoke)
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (NOVA)
Sen. Obama (Leesburg, Richmond)
Former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus

And that’s just what I know on Tuesday. Trust me, the list will grow.

UPDATE: Yes, the list has grown. Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) will be in Roanoke, Lynchburg and other location to help get out the vote for Obama/Biden. He’ll be here Thursday and Friday.

UPDATE II: And the list gets longer. Now, we have word that Gov. Sarah Palin will be campaigning in Salem on Monday of next week.

UPDATE III: I just conducted an exclusive interview with Sen. Joe Biden which will air tonight. During the interview he announced that he’ll be in Danville and Martinsville on Friday.

UPDATE IV: We just found out that former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani and Steve Forbes will be in Richmond on Saturday campaigning for John McCain.

Check out the map showing campaign visits from our news partner, Lynchburg News & Advance.