Warner Predicts Businesses Will Shift to Kerry
Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) said he believes business leaders who supported his efforts to raise taxes and balance the state's budget will also support John F. Kerry for president because they are concerned about the economy and the size of the federal budget deficit.</br></br>In a conference call with reporters in southern states, Warner said the historical pattern of business leaders backing Republican candidates will be broken this year, nationally and in Virginia.</br></br>"You've got more business support this year for the Kerry ticket than even [Bill] Clinton did in 1992," he said. "There's a real unease among many of the business leaders in the state."</br></br>On Monday, the Kerry campaign released a list of 200 business executives nationwide who have signaled their support for the Democratic nominee. The list contained three names from Virginia: Vinton G. Cerf, senior vice president of technology strategy for MCI; Roger W. Sant, co-founder and chairman emeritus of AES Corp.; and Warren M. Thompson, chairman and president of Thompson Hospitality in Herndon.</br></br>The Democratic National Committee has begun airing a television ad in Virginia called "Strength" that uses clips from Kerry's acceptance speech at the party's nominating convention last week.