By Jay Warren
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: April 4, 2008

As upstart, long shot candidates go, I have never seen one as energized and determined as Sam Rasoul.

He’s fighting an uphill battle against longtime Roanoke Congressman Bob Goodlatte. Goodlatte is a very popular Republican who is a good fit ideologically with his rural, conservative district. That district stretches from Roanoke up the spine of the commonwealth through the Shenandoah Valley. It is one of the most reliably Republican areas of Virginia. Goodlatte has built considerable seniority in the House, having served as chair of the Agriculture Committee when the GOP controlled the body. He is known for his quiet leadership and excellent constituent services. To put it simply, Bob Goodlatte is a nice man and a strong leader. Oh, and don’t forget he has a considerable war chest full of campaign cash.

You can see why Rasoul’s task is so difficult.

But, none of that has deterred the young candidate. He has been campaigning for the office for at least a year, waging what appears to be a three-pronged effort. First, he has tried to wrap up as many endorsements within the district’s Democratic Party as possible. On that front, he appears to have been successful. His only opponent for the nomination dropped out Thursday citing Rasoul’s overwhelming support within the party. Second, for months now he has been putting out yard signs, attending every public event possible, and going door to door. And recently he started airing television ads on cable. Remember we are months away from the general election. To say the least, that is very uncommon this far out from Election Day. But given his low name recognition it’s one of the best ways to get his name out there. Finally, Rasoul’s campaign sends out dozens of e-mail news releases a week. Sometimes I wonder if the e-mail avalanche will ever stop! And his campaign calls frequently to keep me updated on campaign events and developments. As an under-funded candidate with no name recognition fighting a well known incumbent, it is Rasoul’s best way to keep his name in front of the area’s political reporters.

Will all of that be enough to defeat Bob Goodlatte in November? I doubt it. It is extraordinarily hard to beat an incumbent member of Congress, particularly one that is as popular as Goodlatte, who has done nothing wrong either personally or professionally. But, surprises happen in every election cycle and at this point this election looks like it is tailor made for the Democrats. That means it is likely some incumbent Republicans who no one ever considered vulnerable will lose. Sam Rasoul seems to be positioning himself to be in the right place at what he hopes will be the right time. We’ll see.