Gov. Bob McDonnell: Obama has edge on Romney in Virginia–for now

Chris Moody
·Political Reporter

Virginia Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, a possible vice presidential pick for Mitt Romney, says President Barack Obama's campaign has a leg up on Romney in his state—for now.

McDonnell made the comments during an interview published Wednesday in the Washington Examiner:

Virginia Gov. McDonnell, one of Mitt Romney's earliest supporters, admitted Tuesday that the Republican presidential contender's ground game isn't close to matching that of President Obama in the Old Dominion, a state of vital importance to both campaigns.

"The ground game's not there yet," McDonnell said Tuesday in a wide-ranging interview with editors and reporters from The Washington Examiner.

The Virginia governor said he believes Romney still has time to catch up and will make up for any disparity by contrasting the president's first-term record with Romney's vision for the country's future.

Obama won Virginia in 2008, and the Commonwealth is considered one of the most important swing states in the November presidential election.

McDonnell went on to tell the Examiner that Romney still needs time to bring people together after the Republican primaries.

"He's still in that healing, unifying-the-party stage," he said. "Now he'll begin building the ground game."

More popular Yahoo! News stories:

• Romney: Obama is leading the country 'sideways or worse'

• Obama using health care law to court Latinos

• RNC Hispanic outreach director: Romney 'still deciding what his position on immigration is'

Want more of our best political stories? Visit The Ticket or connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or add us on Tumblr. Handy with a camera? Join our Election 2012 Flickr group to submit your photos of the campaign in action.