Winning Primary, Moran Blasts 'Biases,' 'Inaccuracies' in 'Unprofessional' Post

Winning the Virginia 8th Congressional District Democratic primary by a 59-41% margin Tuesday, incumbent Rep. Jim Moran, in comments to a large rally of supporters Tuesday night, lashed out at the Washington Post for what he called its "biases," "inaccuracies" and "unprofessional conduct" in coverage of him and his campaign.

"I have been burned by a newspaper that has an inordinate amount of influence," he said. "I am tired of running against the Washington Post year after year."

Moran was referring to a steady stream of prominent Post articles alleging unsubstantiated allegations of anti-Semitic remarks and questionable finances that have appeared in recent months. It culminated in a featured Post article last Friday that was based on nothing more than the allegation of a single known enemy of Moran who had vowed revenge in an e-mail to him. The fact that no one else in the meeting where the individual, pollster Alan Secrest, said Moran supposedly made an anti-Semitic remark would confirm that anything like that happened did not deter the Post from featuring the article four days before the election.

The last-minute Post smear of Moran was followed by a Post editorial claiming the seven-term Democratic Congressman to be "unfit to govern." These developments buoyed the campaign of Moran's sole opponent, Alexandria attorney Andy Rosenberg, who was seeking public office for the first time but received sufficient financial support for a wave of slick mass mailings in the days before the election.

But Moran supporters mobilized a get-out-the-vote drive in the closing hours, including the circulation of 50,000 reprints of last week's Falls Church News-Press editorial endorsing the congressman for re-election.

Present among the 200 at the victory rally at a small park in front of Moran campaign headquarters in the Clarendon section of Arlington Tuesday night were former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Donald S. Beyer, Jr., State Senator Mary Margaret Whipple and an array of Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church local officials. Fairfax's Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross was on hand, as well as Falls Church City Council member Lindy Hockenberry.

Tuesday's election marked the first time Moran faced a primary since being elected to Congress in 1990. A series of higher-profile potential opponents to Moran in the primary, who considered over the past year but then thought better of capitalizing on the Post's steady stream of attacks, eventually chose not to run, drawing the Post's ire in Saturday's editorial, which accused them of "lacking courage."

Now, Moran will face GOP challenger Lisa Marie Cheney and independent James Hurycz in November. Cheney said she now hopes to capitalize on what she called "a split in the Democratic Party."

But Moran, in his victory speech last night, said that Democrats will "come together in November to elect John Kerry." He also suggested that in addition to the Post, the GOP might have had something to do with creating the impression of a split n Tuesday's election.

Referring to the fact that any registered voter, regardless of party affiliation, could vote in Tuesday's primary, Moran quipped, "There were an awful lot of `Democrats' with `Bush in `04' bumper stickers on their cars getting out to vote today."

Moran said the focus now must turn to electing Sen. Kerry president in November.

"We have to take the country back," he said. "That's what has motivated me in this election. We have to get Sen. Kerry elected. We have to restore the good name of the U.S. in the world and lead by example with a sane foreign policy. In the races for the presidency and for Congress, we must focus on winning in November."

"We can pull together Democrats for a solid victory in Northern Virginia that can make the difference for the whole state," he said.

"We have a lot to be grateful for. I saw the people who've led and built this community pull behind my campaign in this primary," he said. "For these my friends it has been a testing for the journey ahead to take back this nation."

The City of Falls Church, at 60.8%, had the highest margin of victory for Moran of any jurisdiction in the 8th District, barely ahead of the City of Alexandria where Moran had served as mayor prior to being first elected to the U.S. Congress in 1990.

Alexandria's margin for Moran was 60.7%, while it was 59% in the sections of Fairfax County in the 8th District, and 56% in Arlington.

Falls Church also had the highest voter turnout in the district at 17.25%. Alexandria had a 14.5% turnout, Arlington 12.67% and Fairfax County 7.36%. The only area of the district that went for Rosenberg was the western-most Hunter Mill section in Fairfax County, including Reston, where Rosenberg carried 10 of 13 precincts.

All five of the City of Falls Church's precincts went for Moran. The Citywide total was 758 for Moran and 488 for Rosenberg. At 64.5%, Ward 1 (Thomas Jefferson School) had the single highest margin for Moran.

In the Greater Falls Church area of Fairfax County, all 13 of the Mason District precincts went for Moran, who had 1,261 to 583 for Rosenberg. All 11 Providence District precincts in the 8th District went for Moran, who had 901 to 608 for Rosenberg. Both Dranesville District precincts in the 8th District went for Moran, who had 210 to 113 for Rosenberg

This past Monday, just a day before the primary, representatives of the Moran campaign requested the right to reprint and distribute last week's News-Press editorial endorsing Moran, and volunteers circulated it in the form of handbills at voting locations throughout the 8th District headlined, "A Real Endorsement for a Real Democrat."

A highlighted section of the editorial read, "It's been no offhand comments of Moran, unscrupulously taken out of context and touted in front page headlines by the Washington Post more than once in the recent period. It's been Moran's ability to weigh in with his considerable seniority and powers of persuasion on behalf of a more balanced approach to the Middle East crisis that's made him target of reprehensible smears and innuendos."

At the victory rally Tuesday, Moran referred to "one newspaper that gave fair coverage of the election, the Falls Church News-Press," and the crowd roared its approval. He then followed with his comments about the Post coverage.