Virginia's 8th District Republican Committee

Congratulations to Jay McConville on being elected the new chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee at the convention today! Congratulations also to Matt Ames, who ran an excellent campaign for chairman – in fact, Jay announced in his acceptance speech that his first order of business as chairman would be to appoint Matt the First Vice Chair of FCRC. (The appointment will be confirmed at the next FCRC meeting.) Thank you to both candidates for running excellent campaigns that did not divide but motivated the party, and set the framework for the efforts of the FCRC over the next two years.

And outgoing chairman Anthony Bedellde serves a huge thank you for his leadership over the past three years – under his chairmanship, Fairfax County, one of the bluest counties in the state, went red in 2009, voting for Gov. Bob McDonnell 51%-49%. Under Anthony, the membership of the FCRC has more than doubled, and the efforts of FCRC were pivotal in the 2010 and 2011 elections.

Congratulations to FCRC Executive Director Susan Falconer, Political Director Daniel Tillson, Convention Chairman Mike Thompson Jr., all the convention committee members, and FCRC interns for an extremely successful and well-run convention.

Here is the email from Jay McConville sent today after the convention:

Friends:

I am honored and humbled to have been elected to be Chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee today.  I thank everyone for their support, and pledge my every effort to serving you as we work to elect our candidates in 2012 and build our party for the future.

I entered this race with only one goal, to do whatever I can do to help keep our country on the right path, the path envisioned by our founders, the path of liberty, and freedom and prosperity for all.  Together we can make a difference, and I thank you all for this opportunity.

A special thanks to Matt Ames, who ran a great race, and who is a true gentleman.  Together we pledged to run a campaign that served to unite the party, and he was true to his word.  I am so pleased that he has agreed to serve as the FCRC 1st Vice Chairman.

I also want to thank all my supporters, my campaign staff, my Campaign Manager Nancy McWhorter, and of course my family for sticking by me over these last months, and for working so hard to reach our shared goal.  Congratulations also to the great FCRC Staff who put on such a motivating and professional convention today. Great job!

Finally a very special thank you to Anthony Bedell. Anthony’s dedication and skill as FCRC Chairman have given us a party that is motivated, organized, and ready to win in 2012 and beyond.  Thank you Anthony for all you have done for Fairfax County, and for your mentorship and friendship over these last four years.

Please join us at the FCRC “Chairman’s Election Happy Hour” on March 28th.  Details are at www.fairfaxgop.com. I look forward to seeing you there and to working with you in the months and years to come.

Through Growth Comes Victory!

Sincerely,
Jay McConville

We’re down to the final week before the Arlington County Board special election, and while we can’t yet rally around a presidential candidate, we can rally around our fantastic GOP nominee Mark Kelly! Mark has a plan to cut property taxes in Arlington by 10%. This is tremendous if you live in Arlington, and it’s still great even if you don’t – this means businesses that you go to in Arlington will be able to lower their prices. So if you want to see Mark’s plan become reality, get out and help the campaign!

The campaign is continuing their phone bank operation. If you can stop in any time to make calls, whether it’s for just an hour or the whole day, please go to Arlington GOP headquarters, 405 South Glebe Road in Arlington (map).

The campaign will be putting out door hangers this weekend in three shifts – Saturday at 11 am; Saturday at 1 pm; and Sunday at 1 pm. Please meet at Arlington GOP headquarters, 405 South Glebe Road in Arlington (map). Sign up to volunteer here or contact volunteer coordinator Mary Ruth at 571-242-4869 to RSVP.

The campaign also needs volunteers to staff the polls on Election Day. Contact Arlington GOP precinct operations coordinators Goud Maragani (goud.p.maragani@gmail.com) or Bradley McKinney (bradley.mckinney@gmail.com) to volunteer.

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We are getting new RetireJimMoran.com bumper stickers this week! We will hopefully be releasing them at the Fairfax County Convention this Saturday, and we’ll post here next week about how to get one. A new website design will also be rolled out at the 8th District Convention. We’re planning many activities to retire Jim Moran this year!

We will be accepting advertisements from candidates and organizations for the 8th District Convention program. Details will be announced shortly.

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The Colonial Republican Women’s Club is holding its Annual Membership Event with Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. All those interested in joining the club are welcome to attend this free event. It will be held at 6120 Manchester Lakes Drive in Alexandria (map). Contact Nancy Almasi at lavistadrive@msn.com to RSVP or for more details.

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The Fairfax County Republican Convention is being held this Saturday, March 24th at West Springfield High School, 6100 Rolling Road in Springfield (map). The deadline to sign up to be a delegate has passed, but the convention is open to the public. Click here for details.

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The Republican Party of Virginia announced it is sponsoring three debates for the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate. The first is to be held on May 25th. Details TBA.

The George Allen for Senate campaign is recruiting volunteers to help with making door-to-door and phone contacts. If you want to help, sign up here or call Richard Crouse at 804-726-2012.

If you have volunteer opportunities for any of the other Senate candidates, please email them to webmaster@vagop8cd.org to have them published here and to va8gopchairman@hotmail.com to put them in the newsletter.

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Check out our new 2012 Volunteer Opportunities page for ongoing opportunities to get involved in the elections this year, both with individual campaigns and the party.

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Finally, these events are not sanctioned by the 8th District GOP or the party, but we thought we should make you aware of them.

On Friday, March 23rd, the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Coalition is holding protests across the country against the Obamacare/HHS mandate that religious institutions pay for abortions and contraception, which they morally object to. There will be a protest at 12:00 noon on the 23rd outside the federal Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW in D.C. (map). Get more details here.

On Tuesday, March 27th, Americans for Prosperity is holding a “Hands off My Healthcare” rally to protest Obamacare. It will be held at the Upper Senate Park at the corner of Constitution & Delaware NE. Get more details here.

We’re about two weeks away from the Arlington County Board special election on March 27th! Our GOP nominee Mark Kelly has a plan to cut property taxes in Arlington by 10%. If you want to make that a reality, help Mark with a few hours volunteering or a donation or both!

The campaign has a phone bank at Arlington GOP headquarters, 405 South Glebe Road in Arlington (map). If you can stop by and make calls even for an hour or two after work, or wait out the evening rush hour by making calls, your help is greatly appreciated. You can sign up to volunteer here, or just drop by (call Mary Ruth at 571-242-4869 to let them know you’re coming).

And the campaign will be holding a “March to Victory” Fundraiser and March Madness Party this week on Thursday, March 15th, 7:00-8:30 pm at the home of Ed Pozlusny, 2841 N. Beechwood Circle in Arlington (map). Tickets are $35/person or $20 for Young Republicans, with sponsorships at $100 and $250. RSVP online here or to Sandy Mikilia at sandy@kellyforarlington.com.

Let’s fight hard for Mark over the next fifteen days!

If you live in Fairfax County, the deadline to file to be a delegate to the 8th District Republican Convention and/or the Fairfax County Republican Convention is TOMORROW, Saturday, March 10th, at 12:00 noon. Postmarks do not count. Filing forms must be received by your magisterial district chair or the FCRC by 12:00 pm.

Get the filing form here (PDF); instructions on second page.

As you probably know, Mitt Romney won yesterday’s Virginia primary. The unofficial results from the State Board of Elections show Romney won the 8th District with 14,545 votes (64%) to Ron Paul’s 8,205 votes (36%). The statewide margin was 60%-40%.  Congratulations to the Mitt Romney campaign on its victory and to the Ron Paul campaign for its hard work during the primary season.

Nationally, Romney won Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Vermont. Rick Santorum won North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Newt Gingrich won Georgia. Paul picked up delegates in several states.

Congratulations to all the candidates for their performances last night, and thank you to all of the volunteers who staffed precincts last night for national, state, and local candidates and to recruit volunteers for the local GOP committees.

The battle for the nomination continues to the next states – there are still ways you can help the campaigns going forward:

The Rick Santorum campaign has a call from home program where you can sign up with just your name and email and immediately start calling voters in upcoming primary states on behalf of the campaign in the comfort of your home at your leisure. All you need is a phone and a computer. To sign up and begin calling, click here.

The Mitt Romney campaign is recruiting volunteers in the 8th District. Please contact Iris Somberg at isomberg@mittromney.com if you are interested in getting involved.

If you know of opportunities for Virginia volunteers for the other candidates, send them to webmaster@vagop8cd.org to have them published on the website, and to va8gopchairman@hotmail.com to have them published in the newsletter.

Thanks to all our volunteers from the Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax County Republican Committees, as well as the Kelly and Murray campaigns, who worked at the polls Tuesday. FCRC reported that they recruited over 250 new Republican volunteers at the polls!

It’s SUPER TUESDAY!

Voting Information

The polls will be open from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm. Vote at your regular polling place. Your polling place may have changed because of redistricting, so please be sure to verify at the Virginia State Board of Elections’ personalized voter tool.

Note that only Ron Paul and Mitt Romney will be on the ballot in Virginia because the other campaigns did not file enough valid signatures to get on the ballot. No write-ins are allowed. If you don’t want to vote for Paul or Romney, you can cast a blank ballot by not selecting a candidate, then submitting your ballot.

You can get live results from Virginia at the State Board of Elections results page. Results usually start coming in 10-15 minutes after polls close. Media outlets will also have results, but the SBE has detailed precinct/county results.

Contact 8th District GOP Chairman Mike Ginsberg with any questions at va8gopchairman@hotmail.com.

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Volunteers Needed!

The Mark Kelly for Arlington County Board, Patrick Murray for Congress, and George Allen for Senate campaigns are looking for volunteers to work outside the polls today. The goal is to identify and recruit potential Republican volunteers for the general election, and to make Arlington Republicans aware of the March 27th Arlington County Board election. Volunteers will be distributing literature and materials such as bumper stickers to voters, and gathering petition signatures to get Allen and Murray on the ballot.

The campaigns are looking for folks to staff the polls during the busiest voting times — early morning (6:00-9:00 am), lunchtime (11:30 am – 1:30 pm), and after work (5:00-7:00 pm). If you can spare any time, even just an hour or two, to help, it will be greatly appreciated.

To help the Kelly campaign/Arlington GOP, contact Arlington GOP precinct coordinators Bradley McKinney (bradley.mckinney@gmail.com) or Goud Maragani (goud.p.maragani@gmail.com).

To help the Allen campaign, contact Mike Ginsberg at va8gopchairman@hotmail.com.

To help the Murray campaign, contact the campaign at patrick@murrayforcongress.com or 703-548-4977.

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Phone Banking for the Presidential Candidates

The Rick Santorum campaign has a call from home program where you can sign up with just your name and email and immediately start calling voters in key Super Tuesday states on behalf of the campaign in the comfort of your home at your leisure. All you need is a phone and a computer. To sign up and begin calling, click here.

The Mitt Romney campaign has set up phone banks in Alexandria and DC to contact Virginia voters. The phone banks are open today and from 5:00-9:00 pm. In Alexandria: 1033 North Fairfax St., Suite 400 (map). In DC: 11 D St. SE (map). If you are interested, contact Iris Somberg at isomberg@mittromney.com.

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Phone Banking for Mark Kelly

The Kelly campaign has set up a phone bank at the Arlington GOP headquarters, 405 South Glebe Road in Arlington (map). The special election is fast approaching and your help is crucial. If you can stop by and make calls even for an hour or two after work, or wait out the evening rush hour by making calls, your help is greatly appreciated. You can sign up to volunteer here, or just drop by (call Mary Ruth at 571-242-4869 to let them know you’re coming).

Our presidential primary and Super Tuesday is just a few days away! We’ll have information about voting on Monday, but your help is needed this weekend!

First, Rick Santorum’s campaign has a call from home program where you can sign up with just your name and email and immediately start calling voters in key Super Tuesday states on behalf of the campaign in the comfort of your home at your leisure. All you need is a phone and a computer. To sign up and begin calling, click here.

Mitt Romney’s campaign has set up a phone bank in the 8th District – 1033 North Fairfax St., Suite 400 in Old Town Alexandria (map). The phone bank is open Friday 5:00-9:00 pm; Saturday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm; Sunday 11:00 am – 6:00 pm; and Monday 5:00-9:00 pm. If you are interested in making calls, even if just for an hour or two, contact Iris Somberg at isomberg@mittromney.com

On Saturday 3/3, the George Allen for Senate and Patrick Murray for Congress campaigns will be marching in the Alexandria St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The group will meet at 11:00 am on South Alfred Street between King and Prince Streets (map). We want a great turnout to show the strength of the GOP in Northern Virginia!

Our Republican groups will need volunteers to help work at the polls on primary day:

The Arlington GOP will be reaching out to Republican voters about the March 27th County Board special election for Mark Kelly. To volunteer for even an hour or two (or more), contact Arlington GOP precinct coordinators Bradley McKinney (bradley.mckinney@gmail.com) or Goud Maragani (goud.p.maragani@gmail.com).

The Patrick Murray campaign will be stationed at polls in the 8th District distributing information to Republican voters. To volunteer for even an hour or two (or more), contact the campaign at patrick@murrayforcongress.com or 703-548-4977.

The Alexandria GOP and Fairfax County GOP will also be at the polls on Tuesday. Details TBA.

Convention Candidates

The deadline to file to run for an office to be elected at the 8th District Convention was this past Friday, February 24th. Here is a list of candidates who filed to run:

District Chairman Candidates
Mike Ginsberg

State Central Committee Candidates
Samuel Hillenberg
Mark Kelly
Anne LeHuray
Marti Meersman
Rich Nilsen

Delegate to the Republican National Convention Candidates
Erin Anderson
Patrick Bailey
Matthew Burrow
Evan Draim
Christopher Doss
Charles Hokanson
James Lafferty

Alternate Delegate to the Republican National Convention Candidates
Heather Homan
Marta Saltus
James Scarborough
Maggie Wynne

Elector in the Electoral College Candidates
Barbara Bowie-Whitman
George Croft

Thanks to all those who filed!

The deadlines to sign up for the 8th District Convention as a delegate from Arlington and Falls Church have passed.

The deadline for residents of the City of Alexandria is March 17th for signing up in person; mailed filings must be postmarked by March 14th. Download the filing form and instructions here.

The deadline for Fairfax County residents is March 10th. Download the filing form and instructions here (PDF).

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Presidential Campaign Activities in the 8th District

Ron Paul is coming to the 8th District – there will be a campaign rally on Tuesday, February 28th at 6:30 pm at the Waterford at 6715 Commerce St. in Springfield (map). Details available here.

The Mitt Romney presidential campaign has set up phone banks in Alexandria and D.C. to contact Virginia voters for the March 6th primary. The Alexandria phone bank is at 1033 North Fairfax St., Suite 400 (map). The D.C. phone bank is at 11 D St. SE (map). The phone banks are open Monday through Friday 5:00-9:00 pm; Saturday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm; and Sunday 11:00 am – 6:00 pm. Contact Iris Somberg at isomberg@mittromney.com for more information.

The Rick Santorum presidential campaign has a call from home program where you can contact voters in key states on behalf of the campaign using any phone – no travel necessary. Sign up online here.

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Mark Kelly, Patrick Murray Campaign Updates

The Mark Kelly for Arlington County Board campaign has set up a phone bank at the Arlington GOP headquarters at 405 South Glebe Road in Arlington (map). Your help is critical as time is short before the March 27th special election! Also, the campaign will be stationed at Arlington polling places for the March 6th presidential primary to get the word out to Republican voters about Kelly’s candidacy in the special election. If you can help, even for an hour, please contact Brad McKinney at bradley.mckinney@gmail.com, or Goud Maragani at goud.p.maragani@gmail.com.

The Patrick Murray for Congress campaign will also be stationing volunteers at polling places for the primary to gather ballot petition signatures and to hand out literature. If you can help, contact the campaign at patrick@murrayforcongress.com or 703-548-4977.

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New GOP Leadership in Arlington & Falls Church

This past week, the Arlington GOP elected Charles Hokanson as its new Chairman for 2012-2014. Charles most recently served as the Arlington GOP’s Vice-Chairman. He has also served in a number of positions related to education policy, including working for Rep. John Boehner. Charles has been a die-hard activist and will be a great leader of the Arlington GOP.

In Falls Church, Ken Feltman was elected the new Chairman of the Falls Church GOP. Ken has a long background in politics, and is a longtime resident of Falls Church. He brings political experience and a strong understanding of local issues to the position.

A big thank you to Mark Kelly, who stepped up and filled the remaining portion of the 2010-2012 Arlington GOP chairman term for the last six months, and to Bruce Swenson, who did amazing work revitalizing the Falls Church GOP as chairman over the last two years and whose work was instrumental helping statewide candidates win in 2009 and local candidates win seats on the city council.

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Upcoming Events

Finally, there’s a lot going on in Northern Virginia in March – check out our Upcoming Events page to see all the exciting GOP events this month!

If you haven’t already heard, Arlington GOP chairman Mark Kelly is running for Arlington County Board in the March 27th special election to fill the seat vacated by state Sen. Barbara Favola. Mark makes an excellent candidate and needs your help to get the campaign going strong with just six weeks until the election. The Kelly campaign will hold a kickoff this Wednesday, February 15th at 7:00 pm at the home of Steve & Harriet Pearson, 3542 North Dickerson Road in Arlington (map). Tickets are $50/person or $30 for Young Republicans, with sponsorships at $100, $250, and $1000. RSVP online here. Also, if you want to volunteer for the campaign, sign up online here.

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Unit committees have announced the process for becoming delegates to the 8th District Convention on May 12th. If you want to be a delegate to the 8th District Convention, you need to sign up as a delegate through your local unit committee (Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, or Fairfax) or visit their websites or get in touch with the 8th District Committee (va8gopchairman@hotmail.com) and we will help direct you to the right folks to speak to. The deadlines for signing up as a delegate will be set by the respective unit committees.

Deadlines for signing up to be a delegate to the 8th District Republican Convention through your unit committee:

City of Alexandria residents: Sign up by March 13, 2012 with the Alexandria Republican City Committee.

Arlington residents: Sign up by February 22, 2012 with the Arlington County Republican Committee.

Fairfax County residents: Sign up by March 10, 2012 with the Fairfax County Republican Committee.

Falls Church residents: TBA

The convention call has been updated to reflect changes in the delegate numbers for Fairfax County as a result of redistricting. See the 2012 Convention page to see the revised call.

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You should follow the redistricting plan passed by the General Assembly to determine which district convention to go to. For example, if the plan moves you from the 8th District to the 11th District, you should go to the 11th District Convention. Get more details here.

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The filing deadline for offices to be elected at the convention is fast approaching. The deadline is Friday, February 24th at 5:00 pm to file to run for chairman of the 8th District Republican Committee, representative to the State Central Committee, delegate/alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention, and elector in the Electoral College. Those wishing to run for any of these offices must file 1) a signed written statement stating their intention to run for the office and 2) the required filing fee with the 8th District Republican Committee Chairman Mike Ginsberg no later than 5:00 pm on the 24th at 1276 North Wayne St. in Arlington (map). Note that all filings must be received by that time and date – a postmark on the 24th does not count. See the convention call for filing fees and details.

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Absentee voting for the March 6th presidential primary is happening now. See the valid reasons for voting absentee here. You can vote absentee in person through March 3rd at your county/city elections office listed here. To vote absentee by mail, you must apply by February 28th, and absentee ballots must be received by March 6th at 7:00 pm. Download an absentee ballot application here.

Convention Filing Deadlines

The filing deadline for offices to be elected at the convention is fast approaching. The deadline is Friday, February 24th at 5:00 pm to file to run for chairman of the 8th District Republican Committee, representative to the State Central Committee, delegate/alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention, and elector in the Electoral College. Those wishing to run for any of these offices must file 1) a signed written statement stating their intention to run for the office and 2) the required filing fee with the 8th District Republican Committee Chairman Mike Ginsberg no later than 5:00 pm on the 24th at 1276 North Wayne St. in Arlington (map). Note that all filings must be received by that time and date – a postmark on the 24th does not count. See the convention call for filing fees and details.

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Mark Kelly for Arlington County Board

Arlington GOP Chairman Mark Kelly has announced that he is running for the Arlington County Board in the special election to fill the seat vacated by Barbara Favola. The special election is on March 27th. Learn more about Mark’s campaign at his website here.

Mark needs your help on this extremely short campaign. He needs to raise funds and build an organization quickly, because the election is less than two months away. Please consider making a donation here.

The Arlington precinct operations team will be out at polling stations on the Virginia presidential primary day, March 6, helping to spread the word about Mark’s campaign. Can you help? Visit the campaign website and get in touch — they will help get you set up and ready to help the campaign.

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Redistricting Update

The General Assembly has passed a congressional redistricting plan. Under the Voting Rights Act, the plan must receive approval from the U.S. Department of Justice in addition to the signature of Governor Bob McDonnell. We believe these lines will likely be the final lines. The biggest change to the 8th District under the plan is that the portion of Reston which is currently in the 8th District becomes part of the 11th District.

Click here to view the planned precinct list.

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Presidential Primary

The Virginia presidential primary, part of Super Tuesday, is about a month away! The March 6th primary is open to all registered voters who will be at least 18 years old by the general election on November 6th. (17 year olds may vote in the primary as long as they turn 18 on or before November 6th.) If you are not a registered voter, the deadline to register to be eligible to vote in the primary is February 13th.

In-person absentee voting is going on now through March 3rd at your city/county elections office, listed on the second page of this document. Applications to vote absentee by mail are due February 28th. Click here to download the application form.

Please note that only Ron Paul and Mitt Romney qualified for the primary ballot in Virginia, and write-ins are not permitted.

Also, the State Central Committee voted to rescind the requirement that presidential primary voters sign a statement of intent to vote for the Republican nominee in the general election. Presidential primary voters will not be required to sign any statement of intent.

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Congressional Primaries

The primary for the U.S. Senate race and the 8th District congressional race (if necessary) has tentatively been set for June 12th, but the General Assembly appears likely to move the primary back to sometime in August to allow for the redistricting plan to be finalized. Stay tuned.

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Collecting Signatures

Our Senate and House candidates need your help to get on the primary ballot! State law requires candidates for the U.S. Senate to gather 10,000 signatures of voters, including at least 400 from each congressional district. Any person qualified to vote in Virginia may gather signatures.

Patrick Murray — To help, contact Shari Bolouri at shari@cardinalevents.com.

George Allen — To help, contact Tim Nussbaum at tnussbaum@georgeallen.com.

E.W. Jackson — To help, contact info@jacksonforvirginia.org or 757-802-4246.

David McCormick — To help, contact heat@davidmccormicksenate.com or 757-749-8528.

Jamie Radtke — To help, contact 804-451-5985.

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New Upcoming Events

Check out our Upcoming Events page for a list of GOP events throughout the 8th District and Northern Virginia, including a Mitt Romney reception, candidate forums, and more! The calendar is updated at least once a week so be sure to check it regularly!

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Rick Santorum Campaign Call from Home Program

The Rick Santorum presidential campaign has a call from home program allowing you to make volunteer calls on behalf of the campaign to voters in key battleground states from the comfort of your home! Sign up here.