The three candidates for governor debated Wednesday night at the Lyric Theater in downtown Blacksburg. This was their fourth debate, and frankly I had somewhat low expectations for the event.

On paper former Del. Brian Moran, State Sen. Creigh Deeds, and former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe appear to have few policy differences. So, I assumed the exchange would be polite with slight debate around the edges of issues like a power plant in Surry County, clean coal technology, gun rights, gay rights, green jobs, Swine Flu, etc.

And, when the debate stuck to the issues, I was mostly right. The candidates more often than not agreed with each other; although, I was a little surprised by Moran. He seemed to be more to the left than the other two candidates. Perhaps this will help him in a primary fight, but I wonder if being the most liberal candidate in the race will help during a general election campaign in a state that is still very much to the right on social issues and in the middle on most everything else.

Our political analyst, Dr. Bob Denton, has predicted that the candidates would take a few personal jabs at one another, particularly because there are so few policy differences. And boy was he right!

I’ve covered a lot of debates. Rarely are there real fireworks or knock out punches. Usually, candidates are coached to be reserved, to show little personality, take few chances, and do no harm. Generally, it’s the easiest way to survive the debate. Apparently, Brian Moran didn’t get this memo.

Now, let’s be clear… all three candidates threw some punches. But, none as hard or as often as Moran. At one point he and McAuliffe were in a shouting match over, of all things, negative campaigning. Then Moran took it to an entirely new level when he used his ENTIRE closing statement to attack McAuliffe. He closed with two sentencing saying he’s the strongest in the race. That’s it. Nothing else about him or his record. Just an all out attack on a fellow Democrat. And, the attack wasn’t on the issues. Instead his criticisms focused almost exclusively on more personal issues of McAuliffe’s business dealings, leadership style, and campaign tactics. It was the most negative closing statement I have ever seen.

Politics is a rough game. Attacks are the norm, but not necessarily during a primary. Sure, we’ve seen bloody primaries in the past. I’m thinking of Mark Earley and John Hager in 2001 vying for the Republican nomination for governor. Or, Bob Marshall and Jim Gilmore during the 2008 Republican primary for the US Senate seat John Warner vacated. But in both cases, the fight was less about personality and more about politics. The races pitted the conservative base against the moderate (or at least less conservative) wing of the party.

That’s not the case in this race, which is what makes it so interesting. Maybe Moran sees this as his only way to take down McAuliffe who now leads in organization, campaign cash, and the latest public polls. It’s hard to say. But one thing is for sure: the attacks are sure to raise Moran’s negatives and will likely do the same to McAuliffe. And the attacks are not likely to stop. In fact, buckle up. We have six more weeks to go!

I’ll have a few more thoughts on the debate in the coming days…