Controversy clouds Allen's re-election bid

0 Comments | USA TODAY, September, 2006 | by Jill Lawrence

LEESBURG, Va. -- Michael Johnson is a swing voter in a swing county in what's turned into one of the hottest Senate races in the country, and he's swinging away from George Allen, the man he voted for in 2000. Johnson, 35, a football fan attracted six years ago by Allen's family (his father was a Washington Redskins coach) and "positive, honest" image, says he probably won't vote for Allen this fall.

The reason is a videotape showing Allen taunting a volunteer of Indian descent for his Democratic rival as "macaca" -- considered an ethnic slur in some cultures. "It was horrible," says Johnson, a planner for fast-growing Loudoun County. "Definitely disheartening." In interviews here Wednesday, many Republicans said they're sticking with Allen. "He's a wonderful man. A good...