Yep. Not a fan of party hack Gillespie, but given that he’s the only person willing to run that has name ID (and he’s not politically toxic like Oberweis in Illinois), I’d hold my nose and support him.
Unfortunately I think we’re still unlikely to beat Warner or even have a real contest, but that’s not so much the fault of Gillespie as it is the fact that Virginia has become a left-leaning RAT state at this point. Electing that scumbag McAwful was the last straw for me (and I don’t buy the “silver lining” stuff about it being “close” due to Obamacare... McAwful should have NEVER been a viable candidate in the FIRST place!). Not to mention RATs currently hold all the other statewide offices in Virginia.
Weird how Virginia and West Virginia have essentially switched sides since 2000. It was a shocker when Gore lost West Virginia, that was thought to be safe RAT at the time due to the influence of the coal miner unions. And Virginia in 2000 was more reliable GOP held states that had never been one-party RAT like neighbors. It hadn’t had a RAT governor since the semi-decent (at least compared to other RATs) L. Douglas Wilder.
I think it’s hyperbolic to call VA “left-leaning” because McAwful won with a sub 48% plurality thanks to the Soros-backed liartarian spoiler. Rather it has gone from a GOP-leaning state to a tossup (horrid rats like McAwful win tossup states all the time) due to the NOVA moonbat contingent that will vote for anything with a D.
Warner’s curbstomp victory over another former RNC head (and Governor!) in 2008 was the only truly shocking result. I am not optimistic about beating him either but I’m glad someone is at least trying, I could have seen the bastard getting a total pass based on his “popularity”.