Message from the Chairman
By now you have certainly seen that Ed Gillespie is our nominee to defeat Mark Warner in November. Ed received overwhelming support from 8th District delegates who showed up in large numbers on Saturday – despite the long drive to Roanoke.
Shak Hill made a strong showing at the convention, but graciously conceded, and threw his wholehearted support to Ed, when the outcome became clear. Shak, Tony DeTora and Chuck Moss all pledged to support Ed as our nominee — demonstrating leadership in the united front we need to beat Mark Warner and take back the U.S. Senate this fall.
Micah Edmond was in Roanoke and spoke forcefully to the convention. He made the case to the assembled Virginians that the 8th is an open seat race to watch this year as we work to replace Jim Moran.
Democrats are going to the polls today to nominate their candidate in the 8th. Later tonight, Micah will welcome that candidate to the general election campaign.
I look forward to helping our ticket defeat the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda their nominees will campaign on. I hope you will join me in giving of your time, your talent and your financial resources to this important cause!
In more breaking news, the Virginia Senate is now scheduled to meet on Thursday to pass a state budget. This comes after Democrat Senator Phillip Puckett resigned on Monday, handing control of the chamber back over to Republicans (20-19). This seat in Southwest Virginia regularly produces over 60% of the vote for other Republican candidates, so it should produce a Republican Senator in the special election – cementing Republican control.
That special election will play out later. The bottom line today is that Governor McAuliffe may soon be faced with a touch choice – pass a budget negotiated with Republicans or shut down Virginia’s government over Obamacare expansion.
While Virginia Republicans will still have to negotiate with a Democrat-controlled administration, a Republican-controlled Senate provides an additional check on the McAuliffe agenda. And, that is good news for Virginians.
Mark Kelly
Chairman