As Va. primary looms, candidates target military

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http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=65839&ran=33586

NORFOLK — Here, in the home of the world’s largest naval base, in the veterans’ capital of the nation, Democratic presidential candidates are making a final push for the “military vote” in Tuesday’s primary.

Supporters for front-runner Sen. John Kerry set up phone banks in Virginia this week to gauge veterans’ support. snip

“If you’re trying to woo the military, you’d rather be a Republican than a Democrat,” said Peter Feaver, a professor of political science at Duke University who studies how the military votes.

But with candidates touting their service records and tapping into an unease over the war in Iraq or the struggling economy, a small number of energized military members could be an important voting bloc. “This election will be close, so any tiny group that can be identified and lobbied could be a deciding factor,” Feaver said.

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