Free Republic

Sherwood, May lose; Gilbert remains By Alex Bridges Political newcomers defeated two of the region's veteran Republican Party delegates in primaries Tuesday, according to unofficial results. Mark J. Berg defeated Del. Beverly J. Sherwood for the 29th District. Dave LaRock defeated Senior Republican Joe May for the 33rd District, according to unofficial results from the Virginia State Board of Elections. Both May and Sherwood lost their bids to run for their 11th terms. The outcomes mean Berg and LaRock will represent the party on the ballot along with Del. C. Todd Gilbert in the regular election Nov. 5. Gilbert fended...

Mullins: Low Turnout Just Shows Dems Had No Good Choices for Lt. Gov., Attorney General Statement of RPV Chairman Pat Mullins: "Amid very low turnout from their own party, Virginia Democrats have fielded a ticket that is weak - from top to bottom - and incapable of winning in November. The lack of enthusiasm from Virginia Democrats is understandable given that this is a ticket that is not focused on nor is credible on the primary concern of Virginians: creating jobs. In Terry McAuliffe, Democrats have nominated a failed crony capitalist who has used his insider connections to profit from...

Primary -- Tuesday, June 11, 2013 We are in the fight for our lives -- the fight for our gun rights -- the fight for freedom. We have some particularly bad candidates in this primary. Sadly, in only two cases do we have distinctive candidates, so we have only been able to make endorsements in two races. The first is the need to unseat long term incumbent Republican Delegate Joe May from Virginia's 33 House district, which covers western Loudoun County, a swath through northern Clarke County, and northern Frederick County as far west as Winchester -- all in Northern...

Classy, eh? Andrew Kaczynski discovered this lovely eulogy from C-SPAN’s archives in which the man who wants to run Virginia said that his 83-year-old father couldn’t handle seeing a Republican President: Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia, once blamed his father’s death on President George W. Bush’s election in 2000.In a May 2001 interview with C-SPAN, titled the “Life and Career of Terry McAuliffe,” the former Democratic National Committee chairman says one of the “reasons” his father, Jack, died was “he could not go into a new year knowing that a Republican was actually moving into the...

Tired of listening to Pollsters/Pundits give their take on something they don't know anymore than we do? Wondering how one poll shows a candidate up 5, and another showing the same candidate down 6? Well now's your chance to look at the data yourself and make your own predictions, sniff out fraud, and beat the pollsters to the punch with the new Official 2013 VA Governor Vote Prediction Spreadsheet. This is the home game version because instead of myself filing in the data in the prediction columns, I've left them empty so that you can fill in your own predictions...

Dem VA Gov Candidate McAuliffe: My Dad Died Because of Bush by Ben Shapiro 30 May 2013, 10:21 AM PDT 5 post a comment George W. Bush has been blamed by the left for everything from hurricanes to the IRS targeting conservative non-profits. But now, it turns out that former Democratic National Committee head and current Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe blames Bush for his dad dying. Really. In an interview in May 2001, McAuliffe said that his father, Jack, died because “he could not go into a new year knowing that a Republican was actually moving into the White...

A senior Virginia state senator on Tuesday blasted a campaign ad from Democrat Terry McAuliffe as a misleading “example of self-puffery” — a development that comes as Mr. McAuliffe and Republican Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II try to soften their public images early in the high-stakes gubernatorial contest.

Any conservative, who thinks E.W. Jackson winning Virginia's 2013 Republican Lieutenant Governor nomination is a good thing, needs to have his or her head examined. A former marine, lawyer and minister, Jackson has made incendiary remarks in the past about gays, blacks and Democrats and yet refuses to retract anything he has said. This “firebrand” won’t help the Republican ticket of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for Governor and Mark Obenshain for Attorney General in a state that has become more purple than red and in which the race for governor remains rancorous and tight. Jackson referred to gays and...

Journalists and Democrats have designated a new Republican scandal: Bishop Earl W. Jackson "compared" Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan. On May 18, Jackson became the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of Virginia in this November's 2013 elections. An important detail in this drama is that Bishop Jackson is African-American. Much more alarming, Jackson has been leading a hard-hitting campaign to call on Blacks to leave the Democrat Party. Jackson argues passionately that no Christian -- Black, Hispanic, or Caucasian -- can remain any longer in the Democratic Party that booed God at the Democrat National Convention in 2012...

While most of us are waiting out the doldrums of an off year with not too much happening on the election front, Virginia residents have a bit more on their plates. They’ll be electing a new governor this November, and unlike Senate and House seats – which more affect matters of national policy – the chief executive of the Commonwealth is the person who holds the pen when it comes to any state level legislation and regulations which directly affect their lives. One issue which is very important to a lot of Virginians is energy and the jobs that come...

An outspoken and provocative conservative who emerged from Saturday's Republican Party of Virginia Convention as the party's nominee for lieutenant governor once compared Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan and blasted African-Americans for their "slavish devotion" to the Democratic Party. E.W. Jackson, an African-American pastor and attorney from Chesapeake, made the comments in a self-produced "message to black Christians" posted on YouTube last year. "The Democrat Party has created an unholy alliance between certain so-called civil rights leaders and Planned Parenthood, which has killed unborn black babies by the tens of millions. Planned Parenthood has been far more lethal...

Some 25 years ago I changed my life. A visit inside a church opened my eyes to the destructive life I was living, financed by welfare checks generously provided by American taxpayers. I got off welfare, went to work, got politically active and became a Republican. I didn’t become a Republican because of what the party looked like. I became a Republican because of what the party stood for. Individual freedom, traditional values, with a view that government’s role is to protect our freedom at home and abroad. For the next 25 years I had to suffer indignities from liberals...

The outspoken conservative Republican has won the state GOP nomination also accuses Democrats of ‘saturating the black community with ridiculous lies.’ E. W. Jackson delivers his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination for Lt. Gov. at the Virginia Republican convention in Richmond, Va., Saturday, May 18. He calls the Democratic party “anti-God.” The conservative Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Virginia once compared Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan and has made several other inflammatory statements that are likely to play into the state’s competitive race for governor. E.W. Jackson, a black pastor and attorney with a reputation for...

May 16, 2013 Dear : The VEA Fund for Children and Public Education Executive Committee (VEA Fund) and The VEA Fund Directors, your elected representatives from across Virginia, have offered recommendations for the June 11 Democratic primaries. The Democratic Party is choosing Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General candidates in an open primary on that day. Republican Candidates are being chosen by a convention this Saturday in Richmond. Regrettably, none of the Republican candidates chose to complete the candidate questionnaire required to gain a recommendation. In Virginia voters do not register by party, so our primaries are open. Any voter can...

E.W. Jackson, a minister and attorney from Chesapeake, pulled off a stunning upset last night, topping six rivals for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. Jackson fended off a late charge by Pete Snyder, a Northern Virginia technology entrepreneur, capping an epic four-ballot battle at the Richmond Coliseum that lasted nearly 10 hours.

RICHMOND — After Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II formally accepted his party’s nomination for governor and Virginia GOP scion Mark Obenshain secured the same for attorney general, it was a political neophyte who stole the show Saturday with multiple helpings of 11th-hour drama. Chesapeake Bishop E.W. Jackson, who mounted an unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate last year, emerged the wire-to-wire winner in the race for the GOP nomination for Virginia’s lieutenant governor at the state GOP’s nominating convention Saturday. It took four ballots and about 10 hours of voting for Mr. Jackson to emerge from a field of...

VA-ALERT: **URGENT ACTION ITEM** VCDL-PAC swinging into action! Sent: Mon 5/13/2013 9:52 PM THE PROBLEM We have a serious problem at this weekend's Republican Convention in Richmond dealing with the Lieutenant Governor's race. Of the seven candidates, six answered the VCDL Candidate Survey very pro-gun. However, one candidate didn't bother to answer the survey at all. That is no surprise, considering Jeannemarie Davis's history on gun rights. VCDL-PAC STRONGLY OPPOSES the nomination of a PROVEN ANTI-GUN LEADER -- Jeannemarie Davis -- for Lt Governor and urges gun owners to help us defeat her. Jeannemarie Davis did not just vote badly...

A new NBC/Marist poll on Virginia’s gubernatorial race — a.k.a., the only competitive governor’s race in the country in 2013 — released this morning has some slightly different findings than the WaPo poll from last weekend, which had Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli edging Democrat Terry McAuliffe with a five-point lead among Virginia voters; the NBC poll has McAuliffe beating Cuccinelli by a within-the-margin-of-error 43 to 41 percent among registered voters. Cuccinelli, however, has some very distinct advantages going for him — Virginia voters are more familiar with the state attorney general than they are the former DNC chairman, as well...

VA Atty Gen Ken Cuccinelli and GOP gubernatorial candidate to be on WMAL AT 805AM with Larry and Brian. Listen Live

It's still early yet, but at the last count, state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe were basically neck-and-neck in 2013's only competitive gubernatorial contest, with a lot of Virginians still pretty much unfamiliar with/uninterested in the race so far. In the latest Washington Post poll, however, things might be starting to shift ever so slightly, and in Cuccinelli’s direction: Six months before Election Day, Cuccinelli (R) has a slender 46 to 41 percent edge over McAuliffe (D) among all Virginia voters and a significant 51 to 41 percent lead among those who say they’re certain to cast...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 29, 2013 CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Darin Miller, (866) FRC-NEWS FRC Action PAC Endorses Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for Governor of Virginia March 29, 2013 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today FRC Action PAC, the political action committee connected to the Family Research Council, endorses Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for Governor of Virginia. Tony Perkins, president of FRC Action, made the following statement: "I am pleased to announce our enthusiastic support for Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for governor of the state of Virginia. Federal and state governments have grown so large that our citizens are losing not only...

RICHMOND — Virginia Democrats renewed their demands Monday that Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli resign after the Republican gubernatorial candidate belatedly disclosed about $13,000 worth of gifts on Friday that he claimed he forgot to note in four years’ worth of economic disclosure reports. They were not as insistent, however, that their own nominee, Terry McAuliffe, match Mr. Cuccinelli’s complete income tax disclosure earlier this month with one of his own. State Sen. A. Donald McEachin and Delegate David J. Toscano responded in a conference call to Mr. Cuccinelli’s revelation Friday afternoon that he failed to report five gifts from...

The parent company of a “green” car venture with ties to the Obama administration and Democratic Party leader Terry McAuliffe is incorporated in the tax shelter country of the British Virgin Islands, Watchdog has learned. Yet just nine months ago McAuliffe, former Democratic National Committee chairman and part owner of GreenTech Automotive Inc., blasted Mitt Romney over allegations the presidential candidate had an offshore bank account. “You’re running for president,” McAuliffe told the Daily Caller. “People just don’t get that. I mean, why do you have an offshore bank account? So we’ve got a long way to go.”

Saturday night race! Nationwide race is on ESPNEWS.

Out-of-state donors have apparently been very generous to one of the candidates for Governor of Virginia. Even though he claimed recently that three-quarters of his campaign contributors are Virginians, new campaign finance reports show that Democrat Terry McAuliffe has gotten nearly 80-percent of his money from donors outside Virginia. The nonpartisan "Virginia Public Access Project" found that in the first quarter of this year, McAuliffe accepted nearly 700-thousand dollars from labor unions and other groups in DC. Another one-point-two million came from donors in New York, Chicago, and L-A -- and the effort was helped by former president Bill Clinton.

By itself, Terry McAuliffe’s failure to announce his resignation as chairman of GreenTech Automotive Inc. would not raise many eyebrows. But when the news was reported last week — four months after McAuliffe quietly resigned — it added to questions about the gubernatorial candidate’s ties to the electric car company he founded in 2009, and claims he has made about it on the campaign trail. McAuliffe, the Democratic nominee by default, promotes himself as a job-creating entrepreneur. He has used GreenTech to try to burnish that image. He should have a clear explanation why GreenTech chose Mississippi, not Virginia, for...

April 4, 2013 Terry McAuliffe on business ventures: ‘Some work, some don’t’ IN HAPPIER DAYS: Terry McAuliffe touted his “MyCar� electric vehicle last year. But this and other images have been stripped from his GreenTech Automotive website.By Kenric Ward | Watchdog.orgFREDERICKSBURG – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe says he’s “proud” of his entrepreneurial background, but acknowledged this week that “some businesses work, some don’t.”McAuliffe’s statement came in the wake of more questions about his GreenTech Automotive venture in Mississippi. Asked by a Washington Examiner reporter about the project, which has failed to live up to its billing as a job...

Easter Sunday is not a day of rest for the Democrats' moneychangers. At least three top party officials dispatched fundraising emails Sunday in their bid to reach loyal Democrats in between church and Easter dinner. It's just the latest sign that politics and fundraising have become as regular as shopping at Sears or Walmart, which also open on Easter. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Sunday morning sent out an updated fundraising note from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that didn't even mention Easter. "We could really do this! If we can hit 200,000 donations before tonight's FEC deadline, it would...

Ah, dear ol' Virginia. The now-purplish commonwealth has gone from swinging blue for Obama in 2008, to electing Gov. McDonnell in a landslide just one year later, and then right back to supporting Obama in 2012 --- and it's so far looking like the 2013 gubernatorial is very much up for grabs. This is the first polling update since Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling announced earlier this month that he was scrapping the idea of an indie bid, which had the potential to siphon off votes from both Cuccinelli and McAuliffe, but it looks like his withdrawal had pretty much no...

BOLLING SAYS NO TO POSSIBLE INDEPENDENT CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR Lieutenant Governor cites financial, political and personal reasons for decision; pledges to continue working to build a better Virginia Richmond – Lieutenant Governor Bolling today released the following statement: “When I suspended my campaign for the Republican Party's nomination for Governor, I indicated that I wanted to be a more independent voice for Virginia, speaking out more objectively on the important issues facing our state. Over the past several months, I have done just that. I have sought to call Virginia to a higher purpose, focusing more on policy than politics...

Should Bill Bolling run for Governor of VA? - tell him. (Survey at link)

Until three months ago, when he dropped out of the race to become the Republican nominee for governor, Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling had to keep mum about his unhappiness with the GOP’s shift to the right. He couldn’t say, as he did in an interview here Tuesday, that he thought the Republicans had become so extreme that they were alienating voters and blocking the commonwealth’s progress. (snip) To say all that previously would have meant giving up any chance of beating Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a tea party favorite, for the nomination. As it happened, Cuccinelli and his allies...

Well-publicized instances of attempted voter fraud by high-profile Democrats in Virginia and Maryland have helped Republican lawmakers make a case for tougher voting requirements. In Virginia, Patrick Moran, the son of Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, has become the poster child for voter fraud after he was documented on a hidden camera last year coaching an undercover conservative operative on how to forge a utility bill to vote for someone else. At the time, the younger Moran was working on his father's campaign in Northern Virginia, though he stepped down after the embarrassing incident. Authorities did not file charges against...

The Republican speaker of the Virginia House has ruled against a GOP-backed redistricting plan that was muscled through a divided Virginia Senate while a veteran black Democratic lawmaker was attending President Barack Obama’s inauguration. … The move set off a firestorm among Senate Democrats, who’d threatened to deny the Senate’s 20 Republicans the necessary 21st vote to advance key initiatives. …

The Republican attorney general's controversial comments in his upcoming tome could come back to haunt him in the Virginia governor's race.Pragmatic Republicans looking to hang onto the governorship in Virginia have been hoping that their nominee, state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, would tailor his outspoken conservative views for a more-moderate Old Dominion electorate.  But based on excerpts released from his new book, Cuccinelli is making no apologies — and comes out swinging hard against all government entitlement programs.According to reports from Politico and The Washington Post, Cuccinelli doesn’t limit his criticism of government programs, but also is skeptical of its...

The regularity with which Joe Scarborough speaks about having won his congressional races has become a matter of mirth on Morning Joe. When Joe did so yet again this morning, he wound up contradicting himself on the issue of the electability of conservative candidates. Scarborough was criticizing candidates who are supposedly too conservative to win, citing Republican Senate candidate Ken Cuccinelli of Virginia, whom he called "certifiable" on some issues. But—unable to resist a boast—Scarborough then contradicted himself, recalling that when he ran for Congress from Florida, "Newt Gingrich and the the Republican establishment worked against me, because they thought...

I'd like to invite you to join Terry as he visits C'Ville Coffee in Charlottesville to give a campaign update. Terry is excited to meet activists and voters to talk about the upcoming election and listen to their concerns. We hope you'll join us to support him tomorrow. Thank you, Michael Halle Coordinated Campaign Director Democratic Party of Virginia Wednesday, January 16 WHAT: Terry to visit C'Ville Coffee in Charlottesville WHEN: 5:30 PM WHERE:1301 Harris St, Charlottesville, VA 22903 RSVP Today

Legislators will be dueling over guns this year at the Capitol, with gun-rights advocates set to oppose efforts to close Virginia’s gun-show loophole. Alexandria state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-30) and Arlington Del. Patrick Hope (D-47) have introduced legislation that would require a background check for every gun purchase. That includes the 40 percent of current gun sales that take place in a private transaction, which do not require any kind of background check to be conducted on the individual purchasing the weapon. “The current laws are like Swiss cheese,” said Hope, who sits on the Militia, Police and Public Safety...

Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday morning shows race has tightened a bit since November. Democratic gubernatorial candidate and McLean resident Terry McAuliffe and GOP candidate Ken Cuccinelli are virtually tied at the beginning of the race for the governor's seat in Virginia, according to a new poll released Wednesday morning. The Quinnipiac University poll shows McAuliffe with 40 percent to Cuccinelli's 39 percent. One in five voters say they are undecided, according to the poll. In November, a similar poll showed McAuliffe with 41 percent to Cuccinelli's 37 percent. "While all three candidates for governor have run statewide previously, voter...

VCDL IS PREPARING FOR ALL OUT CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT OUR RIGHTS AND TO PROTECT SCHOOLS VCDL's thoughts & prayers are with the families, friends, and all who were affected by the atrocity committed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School by a criminal monster on Friday. Words cannot adequately express our deepest sympathy to the victims and the revulsion we feel for the vile act of a lunatic. Although some gun organizations have dropped off the radar screen, VCDL has been active and on the offensive - from newspapers to television, from local news to national shows. From the Washington Post...

Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli on Saturday dismissed calls by some for the Republican party to "rebrand" or remake itself in the wake of the 2012 elections and offered an olive branch to supporters of Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who announced this week he does not plan to seek the GOP nomination for governor next year. "Many of you have heard me talk about our first principles — principles that our Founding Fathers recognized were a gift to us from God," Mr. Cuccinelli, who is running for governor, said at the Republican Party of Virginia Advance in Virginia Beach,...

The current Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has been and remains a pretty popular leader. His legacy of a decreased unemployment rate that betters the national average, repeatedly balanced budgets, and a relatively evenhanded leadership style will be a tough act to follow, but you can’t run for two consecutive gubernatorial terms in the Old Dominion — a rule of which I am exceedingly fond.Candidates can’t officially sign up for the contest until January, but several people have already gone public with their political intentions, via WaPo a few days back: The early fight in Virginia next year will be among...

His Royal Highness Bill Bolling Commits Political Suicide By Greg L | 11 June 2012 Tonight I’ve heard that Bill Bolling is actually threatening RPV Chairman Pat Mullins with a lawsuit if Mullins doesn’t rule out of order any motion at Friday’s meeting of the Republican State Central Committee seeking to reverse course on the convention/primary debate. Bolling is saying that if Mullins doesn’t fall into line and do everything possible to ensure there will be a primary in 2013, a suit will be filed by the end of the day on Friday. I have no idea what the basis...

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli holds a commanding 51 - 15 percent lead over Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling in the 2013 Republican primary for governor, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. In Virginia's U.S. Senate race, two former governors, Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican George Allen, are locked in a year-long, too-close-to-call race with 44 percent for Kaine and 43 percent for Allen. Gov. Bob McDonnell gets a 53 - 30 percent job approval rating, matching his all-time low of 53 - 32 percent in a March 21 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. The race for...

"Ken is the most inspiring public figure in Virginia's recent history... Ken Cuccinelli never sidestepped an issue because it was too hard... I am proud to announce my endorsement of Ken Cuccinelli to be the next Governor of Virginia." ~Senator Black I strongly endorse Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in the race for Governor. Ken is the most inspiring public figure in Virginia’s recent history. I endorsed Cuccinelli when he first ran for office because he is a passionate man of principle. That was one of the best decisions I ever made. From State Senator to Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli never...

Conservative Cuccinelli or Moderate Bolling for Governor?

For Immediate Release March 21, 2012 Contact: Ibbie Hedrick Cell: 804-677-0009 Email: ibbie.hedrick@billbolling.com Website: www.billbolling.com BOLLING ANNOUNCES NEW HIRES FOR GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN RICHMOND – Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling today announced the addition of three members to his gubernatorial campaign. These new additions to the Bolling for Governor campaign will join the Political and Finance departments. "I've been very pleased by the strong pledges of support that my campaign for Governor has received over the past several months from Virginia's business and political leaders, as well as grass roots Republicans from all across our Commonwealth", Bolling said. "These people understand that...

Cuccinelli IS the Conservative Mood By Richard A. Viguerie | 12/12/11 Ken Cuccinelli wants to be Virginia’s next governor. People in his position tend to make nice and kowtow to the hierarchy in their political party. If – yes, if – they have strong principles, they tend to suppress them when principle conflicts with party bosses. At Newt Gingrich’s request, I recently convened a meeting between Newt and uncommitted leaders of the conservative movement, much along the lines of meetings convened by others between conservative leaders and other candidates such as Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum.

Ending months of speculation, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said Thursday that he will run for governor in 2013. The decision — unveiled in an email to employees of his office and confirmed by top deputies — sets up a potential contested GOP gubernatorial primary battle with Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who stepped aside and ran for a second term in 2009 to make way for then-Attorney General Bob McDonnell's successful run for governor. "Although I originally expected to serve as attorney general for another term, my job is that of public servant, and I feel that two years from...

RICHMOND — Republican Ken Cuccinelli II, Virginia’s outspoken attorney general who has drawn national support from the tea party movement, confirmed Thursday that he will run for governor in 2013. Cuccinelli’s candidacy sets up a potentially contentious — and expensive — primary fight against Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), a presumptive gubernatorial candidate.