GOP Serious About Taking Back VA in ‘09
Virginia Republicans Unite in Support of
“McDonnell-Bolling” 2009
- GOP Congressional Delegation, All District Chairs, GOP Leadership in General Assembly, Other Leaders Sign Letter Supporting Ticket-
Richmond- In an unprecedented display of party unity, every Republican member of Congress from Virginia, every Republican District Chair in Virginia, the entire General Assembly GOP leadership team, the leadership of the State Central Committee, and a host of other prominent and involved Republican leaders have signed a letter to party members statewide voicing their strong support of Bob McDonnell for Governor, and Bill Bolling for Lieutenant Governor in 2009.
In the letter, these leaders, joined by other notable Republicans from across the Commonwealth including former Governor Jim Gilmore, former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, and Republican Party of Virginia Chairman John Hager, stated, “We….. strongly endorse the ticket of Bob McDonnell for Governor and Bill Bolling for Lieutenant Governor in 2009 and urge all Virginia Republicans to join us.”
The letter continues, “A McDonnell-Bolling ticket will unite our Republican party around its core conservative principles, while putting forth strong, experienced leadership to meet the challenges facing our Commonwealth.”
Speaking about the letter, Attorney General Bob McDonnell remarked, “A united Republican Party is the first step towards ending the Democrats 8 years of control of the executive branch in Virginia. Today, we have taken a tremendous step forward in our effort to reclaim the Governor’s Mansion, and to win all three statewide races next year. Bill and I are honored to have received the support of our Republican members of Congress, every Republican District Chair, the Republican leadership in the General Assembly, the leadership of the State Central Committee, and a number of other prominent and involved Virginia Republicans. From the grassroots to the halls of Congress, Virginia Republicans have united in support of our ticket. Together, we are going to win next year, and bring innovative, vigorous, conservative leadership to Virginia.”
Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling noted, “Bob and I are honored to have the support of such a distinguished group of Republican leaders. I am pleased that the Republican Party has united behind the McDonnell-Bolling ticket and our positive vision for the future of Virginia. We will offer the people of Virginia the most experienced ticket to ever seek statewide office in Virginia, and a clear blueprint for finding solutions to the many challenges we face today. We are looking forward to the campaign that lies ahead and to victory in November of 2009.”
A copy of the letter is attached to this release.
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April 30, 2008
Dear Republican Leader:
We, the undersigned, strongly endorse the ticket of Bob McDonnell for Governor and Bill Bolling for Lieutenant Governor in 2009 and urge all Virginia Republicans to join us.
A McDonnell-Bolling ticket will unite our Republican party around its core conservative principles, while putting forth strong, experienced leadership to meet the challenges facing our Commonwealth.
Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling share a common conservative philosophy, a track record of solving problems that impact the lives of Virginia’s citizens and the proven ability to win tough campaigns.
After two successive Democratic Administrations, now is the time for our Republican party to unite behind this strong, energetic ticket.
Sincerely,
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Rob Wittman |
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Thelma Drake |
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U.S. Congressman |
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U.S. Congresswoman |
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Randy Forbes |
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Virgil Goode |
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U.S. Congressman |
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U.S. Congressman |
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Bob Goodlatte |
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Eric Cantor |
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U.S. Congressman |
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U.S. Congressman |
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Frank Wolf |
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Tom Davis |
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U.S. Congressman |
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U.S. Congressman |
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Jim Gilmore |
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Jerry Kilgore |
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Former Governor of Virginia |
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Former Attorney General of Virginia |
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John Hager |
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Ed Gillespie |
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Chairman, Republican Party of Virginia & Former Lieutenant Governor of Virginia |
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Former Chairman, Republican Party of Virginia & Former Chairman, Republican National Committee |
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Don Huffman |
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William J. Howell |
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Former Chairman, Republican Party of Va. |
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Speaker of the House |
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Morgan Griffith |
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Sam Nixon |
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House Majority Leader |
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House Majority Caucus Chairman |
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Kirk Cox |
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Tommy Norment |
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House Majority Whip |
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Senate Minority Leader |
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Steve Newman |
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Walter Stosch |
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Senate Minority Caucus Chairman |
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Senate Republican Leader Emeritus |
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Kenneth Stolle |
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Morton Blackwell |
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Senate Republican Leader Pro Tempore |
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Republican National Committeeman |
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Kathy Terry |
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Mike Thomas |
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Republican National Committeeman |
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1st Vice Chairman, Republican Party of Va. |
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Juanita Balenger |
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Kevin Gentry |
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Eastern Vice Chairwoman |
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Eastern Vice Chairman |
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Trixie Averill |
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Jim Hale |
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Western Vice Chairwoman |
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Western Vice Chairman |
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Rick Neel |
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Fred Malek |
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Treasurer, Republican Party of Va. |
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Finance Chairman, Republican Party of Va. |
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Lisa Gable |
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Polly Campbell |
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Co-Finance Chairman |
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Treasurer, Republican Party of Va. |
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Tom Foley |
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Bruce Meyer |
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Chairman, 1st District GOP Committee |
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Chairman, 2nd District GOP Committee |
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Mike Wade |
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Jason Gray |
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Chairman, 3rd District GOP Committee |
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Chairman, 4th District GOP Committee |
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Tucker Watkins |
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Fred Anderson |
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Chairman, 5th District GOP Committee |
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Chairman, 6th District GOP Committee |
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Linwood Cobb |
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David Avella |
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Chairman, 7th District GOP Committee |
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Chairman, 8th District GOP Committee |
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Stan Young |
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Jim Rich |
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Chairman, 9th District GOP Committee |
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Chairman, 10th District GOP Committee |
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Becky Stoeckel |
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Lori-Ann Miller |
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Chairman, 11th District GOP Committee |
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Chairman, Young Republican Federation of Va. |
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Adam Bitely |
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Jim Hyland |
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Chairman, College Republican Federation |
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Chairman, Fairfax County GOP |
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Lyle Beefelt |
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Donald Williams |
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Chairman, Prince William County GOP |
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Chairman, Chesterfield County GOP |
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Kenny Golden |
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Mike Wade |
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Chairman, Virginia Beach GOP |
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Henrico County GOP |
UPDATE: Check out the Bearing Drift Podcast and Post on this.
Filed under: Virginia Politics
There is one misidentification in the letter. Polly Campbell is actually the Secretary of the Republican Party of Va. Rick Neel, who is also in the letter, is the Treasurer. They are both great people who have contributed a lot to RPV over the years.
Um, is this a “don’t run against these guys or we’re going to get you” letter?
Also note, they didn’t mention Cuccinelli in the letter.
Cucc will have an opponent.
And the only thing stopping Bolling and McDonnell from having an opponent is this letter.
So Bolling and McDonnell are being protected from any opponent by the RPV, while Cucc isn’t.
Maybe I’m missing something - are you saying that Cucc should be protected from an opponent by RPV?
Cucc is a conservative candidate but he’s introduced some goofy legislation.
But the bottom line is - RPV shouldn’t protect him while other conservatives are still mulling getting into the race.
And how do you not know that “other conservatives are still mulling getting into the race” for Governor or Lieutenant Governor?
Wait a minute - back up here - RPV didn’t initiate this deal. If someone had really wanted to run for either spot, they had the opportunity to pipe up.
McDonnell and Bolling are the statewide “incumbents”. Currently, no one is challenging them, and anyone who does would not have a chance. This letter just makes that obvious to thick skulled.
Cuccinelli is running for an open seat. He may be the favorite, but he has not won the nomination yet. Others will most likely jump in.
Anonymous: So candidates are going to be required to announce a year in advance of the primary/convention now?
Light Horse: You assume much for something that’s more than a year away. After all, wasn’t Tom Davis going to be running for Senate this year? Wait — isn’t Gilmore going to win the Republican nomination for the Senate race?
Anyone else think that John Hager is looking for some help here during his run for Chairman of the RPV?
[...] every well-known Republican in the state for 2009 (Bearing Drift, Scott’s Morning Brew, and Virginia Virtucon). Still, as soon as I saw it, a cold shiver went down my spine, and nothing in the [...]
People were expecting that Tom Davis would be challenged for the Senate nomination. It’s not a surprise that Jim Gilmore is running. It’s an open seat.
Candidates are not “required to announce a year in advance”, but it helps a lot.
Mr. Watson,
I understand the theory behind what you’re saying, and, in fact, if anyone were to decide to challenge Bob McDonnell or Bill Bolling, there would be nothing to actually prevent them from doing so, and if that person were to turn out enough people to get more votes at the Convention, they would be the nominee.
However, the practical reality is that it is awfully nice for our party to be united behind a popular statewide officeholder in the Governor’s race and a popular incumbent in the Lieutenant Governor’s race, while the Democrats are trying to sort out all their entire ‘09 ticket. As for the Attorney General’s race, since that is an open seat race, I doubt Ken Cuccinelli was expecting an uncontested nomination, and I have no doubt that he and his potential opponents (who appear to be Paul Harris and John Brownlee) are more than up to the challenge of a competitive campaign.
As for announcing a year in advance, the fact is that campaigns are starting earlier and earlier every cycle. People can disagree as to whether or not that’s actually a good thing, but it’s reality, and I think it’s better for our candidates to understand that reality and begin the hard work of raising money and building an organization early rather than late.
I think a big part of the problem with the Kilgore campaign in 2005, and the Allen campaign in 2006, and before them, the Earley campaign in 2001, were that the candidates sat on their leads. The candidates avoided saying controversial things, and expected to win because Virginia was a conservative state. But Virginia is no longer as conservative as it was, and the Democrats, under Mark Warner’s leadership and money, are better organized than they used to be.
Um…Kilgore lost because he wanted to demonize Catholics. He also was too scare to debate Kaine and Ross Pouts together. Also, didn’t he refuse to answer if he would make abortion a crime?
Allen lost because of one word: “Macaca”.
Earley: No idea, before I started paying attention to politics.
So much for not saying “controversial things”.
Also, you might want to check out D.J.’s post about the situation (the pingback is a couple comments above).
[...] These leaders demonstrated that commitment today wtih a letter entitled “Virginia Republicans Unite in Support of McDonnell-Bolling 2009. Riley has the details here: GOP Serious About Taking Back VA in ‘09 [...]
[...] Assembly, Other Leaders Sign Letter Supporting Ticket- ? Richmond- In an unprecedented displayhttp://virginiavirtucon.wordpress.com/2008/04/30/gop-serious-about-taking-back-va-in-09/Council considers cheap laptops - with a twist on purchase The Wellington AdvertiserWhen Centre [...]