T-D: Gilmore Ahead For GOP Senate Nod
According to an article in Saturday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch (click here), former Governor Jim Gilmore is ahead of Delegate Bob Marshall in delegates in the campaign for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator John Warner. The nomination will be decided in Richmond at the Republican convention in May.
In another campaign development, a major Marshall victory has apparently been voided. One area in which the Marshall forces are fond of citing as an example of their success and path to victory was the Tazewell County mass meeting. But, according to the Smyth County Conservative blog, (click here) the 9th District Republican Committee invoked a rare rule to dissolve the Tazewell County Committee and void the delegate selection. The committee sided with those who claimed the mass meeting locked out Gilmore supporters and did not allow them to register as delegates. The 9th District Committee elected a new Tazewell Committee which is considering a new mass meeting.
I think it would be prudent to inform your viewers that no one knows the exact make up of the Tazewell delegation. From the legal sources, the chair who was run out has a great case against the 9th district and RPV. Wasn’t she one of the marriage amendment regional coordinators that helped deliver big numbers? As far as Bob Marshall’s race for the Senate he has racked up huge wins in his sweep of NOVA and scored big in Spotsylvania County with 114 delegates out of 134 filed and 117 out 121 in Fredericksburg. From my knowledge even Gilmore’s back yard in Chesterfield is up for grabs between the two of them. I would hardly say that Gilmore is ahead of Marshall in the delegate count. Gilmore is trying to create a false perception of winning when in fact he is in big trouble for someone who use to be the AG and former Governor of Virginia.
Correction: It was 17 out of 21 delegates for Marshall over Gilmore in Fredericksburg.
I read every article linked to this post and several others. The consensus is that Gilmore is winning. Also seems what happened in Tazewell was real — a complete lockout. Worse than slating. I thought the GOP had gotten over those tactics. There’s a video of it and I know a Marshall supporter who bragged that they did lockout Gilmore’s supporters. (He may have been talking trash, though, to act as if he was more connected to the Marshall campaign than he actually is; I’m not sure.)
As for Chesterfield, not in your wildest dreams! No one I know there, and I know plenty, say Marshall made anything but a pinhole prick there. The Chesterfield GOP, for all its problems, isn’t divided over this. No matter what is said about Chesterfield, it will remain solidly behind Gilmore. Are you saying that despite the organizations of Gilmore and Cantor, and all the other elected Chesterfield officials that Marshall can actually beat him there? Ha! Anything’s possible, but if that happens, I’ll eat Dolly’s hat.