Republican leaders will meet at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Appomattox Community Center (220 Community Lane in Appomattox), and I hope you will join me in encouraging these officers to stand up to the pressure from DC to handpick their nominee by voting for your right to select your nominee at the 5th District Convention.  I am happy to report that five of the other six Republican candidates already have joined my call (see joint release below).

When I started this public push, I was told that candidates should not "lower themselves" to get involved in protecting the right of rank-and-file conservatives to choose the nominee, and instead should stay "above the fray."  My response was that if I am not willing to defend rank-and-file conservatives from DC pressure now, why should they believe I would do it when I was a Congressman?  I stand by the words I mailed you more than a month ago:

"DC insiders are trying to hijack the Republican nomination in the 5th District...  The Congressional Quarterly reported that paid Republican staff passed out the press release of the candidate Washington has chosen to represent the 5th Congressional District.  Whether you support me or not, stand up for your right to choose who YOU want as your nominee, just as Virginia Republicans did when they chose Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, and Ken Cuccinelli at the 2009 Convention.  I am asking you to stand up to DC insiders and let us nominate a principiled Republican who will uphold our values in Washington at the 5th District convention."

 

Since then, having traveled through every county in the 5th, I've talked with party leaders and the rank and file who work day and night to elect good candidates. Most Republicans I spoke with had serious reservations about a primary given the 5th District's size and varied media markets. I attended the Republican State Convention in Richmond this year and was struck how well that process worked to advance Republican victory this fall. Only one candidate is making the case for a primary and in my opinion that case had yet to be made.  Below is the joint statement from me and the other five candidates:

 

5 of 6 Republicans join my call to let you pick your nominee at convention (joint statement)   Six out of seven of the Republican candidates for the nomination for the U. S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 5th Congressional District have notified unit chairs throughout the district that they prefer having that nomination made at a District Convention of party delegates in May of next year rather than an open primary in June. A decision will be made this Saturday, December 12th,  at a district meeting in Appomattox.   In a joint communiqué sent to the unit chairs in the district that runs from Greene County on the north to the North Carolina border on the South, the six expressed concern over the fact that Virginia law would permit Democrats and other non-Republicans to vote in a GOP primary since freshman Democrat Congressman Tom Perriello is unlikely to  be opposed in his party, freeing his supporters to help pick their favorite Republican as his opponent.   In the email to GOP officials the candidates noted that, "We are encouraged by the widespread support we have found for a convention among conservatives in every county and city in the 5th District and we hope that party leaders will consider this overwhelming support for a convention and vote on Saturday to allow 5th District Republicans to choose their nominee at a district convention in May rather than by a later primary vote tainted by liberal voters playing games."   The six Republican candidates signing onto the statement were Feda Morton, Ken Boyd, Laurence Verga, Michael McFadden, Ron Ferrin, and Jim McKelvey.   Several other reasons were given for opposing a primary and supporting a convention.   "A primary will demand that local governments of the 5th District bear the expense of a primary," the statement noted saying that local governments are already financially strapped and this additional burden should not be needlessly placed on taxpayers.  Other reasons included the fact that a May convention would give the party's nominee an extra month to focus on defeating Perriello over a June primary and that a convention will require an absolute majority of votes to pick a winner while a simple plurality would be needed in a primary.   "...in a seven-way [primary], a candidate could conceivably win with as few as 15% of the vote." the statement explained.   This statement evolved following an appearance by six of the seven at a monthly meeting of the Fluvanna County Republican Party on Monday night where a large audience questioned the candidates for more than two hours. The full text of the statement on which we all agreed is as follows: Case for a Convention   "As the 5th Congressional District Republican Committee meets this Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009 in Appomattox, VA to debate and decide the method by which 5th District Republicans will nominate their candidate of choice to provide the citizens with an alternative to Democrat Tom Perriello, we ask them to carefully consider the following regarding nomination procedures:   1. A primary will demand the local governments of the Fifth District bear the expense of conducting a primary election. Currently, local governments of Virginia's Fifth District are strapped financially and being forced to prioritize their spending. A convention is an alternative that does not put the cost of selecting our Republican nominee on local government and the taxpayers.   2. A Convention will afford our eventual nominee up to a month of additional time to campaign against the incumbent, time that would be lost with the primary process.   3. A Convention will require that our nominee win with an absolute majority of votes, further showing the Republican Party's commitment to its nominee.  A primary, however, would allow a nominee to be determined with a plurality.  Therefore, in a seven-way race, a candidate could conceivably win with as few as 15% of the vote.   4. A primary will necessitate the unwarranted spending of millions of combined dollars by more than five campaigns that could easily be saved for eventual use against Tom Perriello.   5. A primary will cause public fracturing within the Republican party.  Public campaigning for and against will cause unnecessary negativity about our eventual nominee, our party, and our cause, further eroding the morale of the Republican base.   6. A primary, under Virginia law allows Democrats and other party affiliations to vote in a Republican primary, thereby greatly diluting the influence of each Republican vote.  As a result a primary will compromise the integrity of the Republican Creed by allowing Democrats to use their vote to ensure the Republican nominee is of their choice and not ours. (Though state law disallows voting in primaries of two or more political parties in the same year, the Democrats will most likely not hold a contested primary, as Perriello is an incumbent, thereby allowing unfettered Democrat access to the Republican nominating process in a primary).   We are encouraged by the widespread support we have found for a convention among conservatives in every county and city in the 5th district. We hope that party leaders will consider this overwhelming support for a convention and vote on Saturday to allow 5th District Republicans to choose their nominee at a 5th district convention."

 
"As the 5th Congressional District Republican Committee meets this Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009 in Appomattox, VA to debate and decide the method by which 5th District Republicans will nominate their candidate of choice to provide the citizens with an alternative to Democrat Tom Perriello, we ask them to carefully consider the following regarding nomination procedures:
 
1. A primary will demand the local governments of the Fifth District bear the expense of conducting a primary election. Currently, local governments of Virginia's Fifth District are strapped financially and being forced to prioritize their spending. A convention is an alternative that does not put the cost of selecting our Republican nominee on local government and the taxpayers.
 
2. A Convention will afford our eventual nominee up to a month of additional time to campaign against the incumbent, time that would be lost with the primary process.
 
3. A Convention will require that our nominee win with an absolute majority of votes, further showing the Republican Party's commitment to its nominee.  A primary, however, would allow a nominee to be determined with a plurality.  Therefore, in a seven-way race, a candidate could conceivably win with as few as 15% of the vote.
 
4. A primary will necessitate the unwarranted spending of millions of combined dollars by more than five campaigns that could easily be saved for eventual use against Tom Perriello.
 
5. A primary will cause public fracturing within the Republican party.  Public campaigning for and against will cause unnecessary negativity about our eventual nominee, our party, and our cause, further eroding the morale of the Republican base.
 
6. A primary, under Virginia law allows Democrats and other party affiliations to vote in a Republican primary, thereby greatly diluting the influence of each Republican vote.  As a result a primary will compromise the integrity of the Republican Creed by allowing Democrats to use their vote to ensure the Republican nominee is of their choice and not ours. (Though state law disallows voting in primaries of two or more political parties in the same year, the Democrats will most likely not hold a contested primary, as Perriello is an incumbent, thereby allowing unfettered Democrat access to the Republican nominating process in a primary).
 
We are encouraged by the widespread support we have found for a convention among conservatives in every county and city in the 5th district. We hope that party leaders will consider this overwhelming support for a convention and vote on Saturday to allow 5th District Republicans to choose their nominee at a 5th district convention."
 

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