Richmond Times-Dispatch: Political donors favoring constitutional changes

Summary

John McGlennon, professor of government, quoted in this article on proposed amendments to the Virginia state constitution.

Full Description

"'Donors want to put their money where they think it will make a difference … but all the polls I’ve seen say the constitutional amendments are likely to pass with big majorities,' Farnsworth said.

That support will be hard to overcome, said John McGlennon, a political scientist at the College of William & Mary.

'My guess is that both sides recognize that the amendments have popular support. For Democrats, that means making sure that voters know the amendments are on the ballot and the party endorses all three. For Republicans, there is little incentive to go beyond using party faithful about the party's position without creating a more visible contest likely to focus Democrats to become more active in the face of two to four competitive districts,' McGlennon said.

'The bottom line: the parties will not be spending a lot on media for these amendments but will use mail and early and election day poll workers to provide sample ballots educating voters on the party position,' he said."

Read full article at richmond.com.