AG Kilgore raises $500,000 tonight at banquet featuring Giuliani

Articles like this one in the Washington Post and this AP report make me think that the 2005 governor's race is already decided. Attorney General Jerry Kilgore has the money and the AG's position offers him the chance to be in the news doing "real work" (as someone said in this article), usually something at least some segment of the electorate thinks is worthwhile, almost every week. The Post's report begins with this: "Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore raised $500,000 today for his 2005 gubernatorial campaign with a show of Republican unity and organizational strength rarely seen so early in a Virginia election cycle." One of the persons quoted in the article observed that "He plays very well in Northern Virginia, despite his accent."