Reflections on Virginia's 2017 Primary

As I have noted in blog posts and my May, 2017, VEER column, the husband and I strongly backed Ralph Northam for the Democrat gubernatorial nomination. Despite his endorsement by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren - who, in my view, should have kept their seemingly uninformed noses out of Virginia's business - and his recent campaign ads, Perriello's history largely did not match up with his newly claimed positions.  Among other things, he opposed a ban on assault weapons, he voted to cut funding for women's reproductive care and supported offshore drilling off Virginia's coast, something that would have threatened both Virginia's tourism trade and its seafood industry.  Not exactly progressive stances.  Northam's approach on these issues have been the opposite of faux progressive, Perriello.   Similarly, Northam embraced the LGBT community, while Perriello has been largely invisible other than attending the Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner in April.  Again, not a progressive approach.

With Ralph Northam's win against Perriello yesterday, Virginia Democrats now have a candidate with a progressive track record who has the demeanor and resume to attract moderates and even liberal Republicans (to the extent any exist) in the general election in November.  For Perriello supporters, progressive ideology is fine and good (I agree with most of it), but if your candidate cannot win in the general election, then you have yielded the field to the Republicans who will push an agenda diametrically opposed to progressive values.   I truly wish that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren had minded their own business and not help caused a waste of resources better directed against Republicans.

Most remarkable of the vote yesterday was right wing extremist Corey Stewart's near win over Ed Gillespie (the results are within or close to the recount margin).  Frank Wagner, perhaps the most sane of the three GOP candidates came in a distant third. Stewart's campaign focused on everything that Donald Trump has championed and which decent, moral people find abhorrent: religious extremism, unlimited gun rights, propping up the moribund coal industry, and personhood status for fetuses, thus banning most forms of contraception.   And then there is Stewart's support for the Confederate flag and monuments to Confederate generals and officals on public property.  LGBT rights are not specifically mentioned by Stewart, but given his self-prostitution to Christofascists on other issues, Stewart would be a nightmare for LGBT Virginians.

Assuming Gillespie wins, it will be a disappointment for those who would have loved to see Ralph Northam run against an extremist like Stewart.  That said, Gillespie may be pressured to embrace some of Stewart's more extreme positions to encourage the GOP base to turn out in November. If that happens, it can only help Ralph Northam.  

A piece in The Atlantic has this to add:

Ralph Northam, the candidate endorsed by powerful Virginia Democrats, prevailed on Tuesday in the state’s Democratic primary election. Decision Desk HQ called the race just prior to 8 p.m. ET and The Associated Press called it soon after.

The Republican primary remains undecided and locked in a tight race between Ed Gillespie, who had been considered a heavy favorite to win, and controversial conservative challenger Corey Stewart. Political observers had not expected that the GOP race would become so closely contested as votes rolled in. Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, has led nearly all public polling in the race, while Stewart has trailed behind.

Turnout among Democrats suggested an uptick in enthusiasm. According to Politico’s Gabriel Debenedetti, Northam has an estimated [303,429,435] votes, while Gillespie and Stewart combined have an estimated [315,755] votes, so far.

Virginia’s competitive Democratic contest has been closely watched as an early test of what liberal voters in a battleground state are looking for in a statewide candidate following the party’s White House defeat. The outcome of the race is likely to disappoint supporters of progressive icon Bernie Sanders, who endorsed Northam’s opponent former Representative Tom Perriello. It may also be interpreted as a sign that traditional predictors of success in primary elections have retained their resonance even in the topsy-turvy political climate of the Trump era.

Northam locked down endorsements from long-time Democratic power-brokers in Virginia, including McAuliffe, and Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, as well as a coveted endorsement from The Washington Post. McAuliffe released a statement Monday congratulating Northam: “This election will be a choice between electing Ralph Northam and building on the Democratic successes we've achieved together or electing Republicans who will support Donald Trump's agenda of cutting taxes for the rich at the expense of Virginian's education and health care,” he said.

The Washington Post said this on the close GOP contest:

Stewart’s strength on the Republican ballot was perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening. He had been running as more Trump than Trump, making provocative statements and campaigning on the issue of preserving Confederate monuments. Polls had shown him with a fraction of Gillespie’s support, but a low turnout among Republican voters gave Stewart’s committed base an outsize influence, and Wagner drew significant votes in Hampton Roads that might otherwise have gone to Gillespie. 

Gillespie’s strength in Fairfax County seemed to be providing the edge as final returns came trickling in. Stewart scored big wins in Washingto’s exurbs - Loudoun, Fauquier and his own Prince William County - as well as in the rural central and southwest regions of the state.

Stewart’s unexpectedly strong showing shocked Republicans at Gillespie’s party at a Hilton Hotel ballroom in the Richmond suburbs, where supporters who had expected a blow-out were concerned to see Stewart running a close second.

“I’m shocked,” said Nancy Russell, who was Hanover County chairwoman when Gillespie ran for Senate in 2014. She was worried that Stewart would doom the GOP’s chances in November if he won the nomination.  “If Donald Trump didn’t carry the state of Virginia, I don’t know how Corey is going to,” she said.

Trump’s approval rating in Virginia is even worse than it is nationwide: Only 36 percent of Virginians were satisfied with his performance in a poll conducted last month by The Washington Post and the Schar School.

That created a challenge for Republican candidates, because the party’s base still supports the president, said Rozell, the George Mason dean. Virginia’s primary, he said, will show “whether a prominent Republican in a major campaign is able to separate himself in the public’s mind from the unpopular policies and actions of the Trump administration, while at the same time not losing much of the Republican support a candidate is going to need to win a general election.”

A Stewart victory in the primary would, in effect, put Trump on the ballot - making November’s election a clear referendum on the president and his policies and style.

Stewart's near win underscores the reality that the Republican Party is the party of religious zealots and white supremacists.  The GOP that I knew is truly dead.

Ralph Northam - The Best Choice for Governor on June 13, 2017

Your's truly with Ralph Northam and his wife, Pam Northam

With the news that Robert S. Mueller III, a former prosecutor who served as the FBI director from 2001 to 2013, has been appointed as special prosecutor  to investigate Trump campaign/Russia ties and seemingly Trump's efforts to thwart the FBI investigations of the possible collusion with Russian agents and/or Vladimir Putin, it should be glaringly obvious that the character of a candidate matters immensely,  That includes a candidates' integrity when it comes to being true to past positions rather than masquerading as something new simply to attract votes.  The following is a cross post of my May, 2017, column in VEER Magazine which makes the argument that Lt. Governor Ralph Northam is the best choice for the Democrat gubernatorial nomination and why people need to vote for Ralph Northam on June 13th  (read the entire piece at VEER):

I grew up in a family that was politically involved.  For roughly 25 years I have been in the political trenches, first as a Republican where I was a city committee member for the Republican Party of Virginia Beach and a precinct captain, and then as an independent with strong Democrat leanings after the Republican Party became something akin to a reprehensible sectarian party.  I even ran for Virginia Beach school board in 1994 only to be labeled "Christian Right" by the Virginia Beach Education Association.  I guess I've had the last laugh on that fabricated story line.

 

Through all my years of political involvement, one thing that I learned is that it is critical to research candidates and make sure that they are what they claim to be in campaign ads and to verify their claimed political positions on issues. Many are not what they claim and will change their supposed stances if they deem it politically expedient for their own benefit.  Never mind that their past voting records and positions are readily available for those willing to take a few minutes to do some homework and/or check out campaign web pages.  Too many people simply do not take the time. Indeed, many of my "friends" who voted for Donald Trump and who have since feigned shock over his anti-LGBT agenda as evidenced by rescission of many Obama era protections and his new and falsely named "religious freedom" executive order that allows tax-exempt anti-gay churches to engage in political activity, never took the requisite time to see who/what they were actually voting for.  The "religious freedom" executive order makes every citizen, including LGBT individuals, indirectly underwrite churches that peddle hatred as they stock in trade.   Now, these "friends" want me to "forgive and forget" - something that will not happen.

 

While we cannot undo the results of the 2016 presidential election, we do have an opportunity to make sure that similar mistakes do not occur this November when Virginia will elect new statewide officials, including the governor and attorney general, and all of the members of the House of Delegates.  With the Trump/Pence regime and a Republican controlled Congress posing an ongoing threat to Virginia's economy and the civil rights of all of its citizens - not just angry whites and or Christian extremists - electing a Democrat to Virginia's governor's mansion in November 2017, is more important than ever.  Indeed, a Democrat in the governor's mansion may be one of the few firewalls available to guard against the worse agendas coming out of the White House and the GOP controlled Congress.

 

For me, the man best suited for the position is Lt. Governor Ralph Northam, a man who I have known since he launched his first campaign for the Virginia Senate and who has held fast to his principles and ideals.  Yet, seemingly out of nowhere a possible wrench has been thrown into Virginia Democrats' plan for an orderly, uncontested race to nominate Ralph Northam for the party's 2017 gubernatorial nomination.  That wrench is one term Congressman Tom Perriello, who only served from 2009 to 2011 before losing to a right wing tea party candidate.  Perriello has challenged Lt. Governor Ralph Northam for the party nomination and is parading himself around Virginia as the "progressive" candidate in the contest and holding himself out as the best choice for forward looking Virginians.  Based on my research to date, Perriello's claims simply are not true.

 

Worse yet, in my view, Perriello's entrance into the contest is serving only three purposes: (i) to divide the party in Democrat Virginia - much as Bernie Sanders did in the 2016 presidential race, (ii) to divert funds that would be better spent on the general election against the eventual Republican opponent, and (ii) fan the vanities of Perriello and his out of state endorsers such as Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who seemingly have not done their homework when it comes to Perriello.  What is most disturbing is that, if the Republicans should win the governor's mansion in November, 2017, the consequences for many Virginians will be horrific.  LGBT rights, women's rights and minority rights will have no firewall to stop the ugliest efforts of the currently Republican controlled House of Delegates or to push back against the most egregious Trump/Pence initiatives.  Look no farther than North Carolina to see what GOP control of the governor's mansion could mean. All so that Perriello, Sanders and Warren can satisfy their egos?

 

I will be blunt.  I do not believe that Perriello can win against someone like the heavily funded GOP gubernatorial front runner, Ed Gillespie and, if that happens, the outcome will harm Virginians and Virginia's economy for years to come.  Tom Perriello claims that he has broad grassroots support, yet nearly 60% of Perriello's campaign funds raised to date has come from sources outside of Virginia as have all of his major endorsements. 

 

In sharp contrast, virtually all of Virginia's major domestic Democrats have endorsed Lt. Governor Ralph Northam in the coming Democrat primary. Why? Several reasons, in my view. First, because Northam is a steady candidate with years of experience unlike Perriello, a two year flash in the pan, despite Warren's efforts to fluff his resume.  Second, Northam has been in the trenches for years and has helped other Democrat candidates and worked with the party's grassroots, if you will.  My husband and I have been in those trenches for years (I confess I've turned him into an activist), have been on host committees and given money over and over again. Perriello has been nowhere to be seen in Virginia or in Virginia politics.  Third, Northam is right on the issues - including LGBT rights which Perriello barely mentions in passing on his campaign website - and brings the much needed perspective of a physician into play.  

 

Most disturbing, however, is the fact that Perriello is not being honest with primary voters about his actual record.  While arguably progressive on a few economic issues, the rest of his stances and voting record are anything but progressive.  Here's a sampling of what Slate.com had to say earlier in the year about Perriello's less than truthful storyline (emphasis mine):

 

But this narrative isn’t quite right. Northam may have crafted a moderate image, but in reality he is a fierce advocate for liberal causes who hews closely to the Democratic platform. And Perriello, for all his progressive bona fides, has a voting record that clashes with the party’s current support for gun safety measures and, more importantly, reproductive rights.  During his unsuccessful 2010 re-election campaign, Perriello boasted of his A rating from the National Rifle Association, which was a result of his opposition to an assault weapons ban.

 

When then–Attorney General Eric Holder proposed reinstating the ban, Perriello wrote a letter to Obama asserting that “to even consider reinstating an ‘assault weapon’ ban is an affront to our Founding Fathers, who so clearly understood the importance of the ordinary citizens' right to keep and bear arms.”

 

Perriello’s anti-abortion record will be harder to explain. In 2009, Perriello voted for the odious Stupak amendment, a dramatic extension of the infamous Hyde amendment. The Stupak amendment would’ve prohibited insurance companies that participate in the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges from covering abortion.

 

Five Thirty Eight blog hasn't been much kinder to Perriello and has looked at Perriello's recent gyrations to disavow - and distract voters from - his past positions:

 

This desire to win over activists might account for a number of position shifts Perriello has made of late. In January, he pilloried the NRA as “nut-job extremist organization” in the post-Sandy Hook era, but during his time in Congress, he received campaign funds and an “A” rating from the organization. In January, Virginia GOP chairman John Whitbeck made a sneering prediction about Perriello’s stance on offshore drilling, which he had supported while in Congress: “I look forward to yet another heart-felt, tear filled Jimmy Swaggart-style Facebook post in which Tom Perriello repents for his previous sins.

 

On offshore drilling, Perriello also voted against increasing safety standards at offshore drilling rigs after the BP oil spill.  On immigration, Perriello is equally duplicitous and must be channeling Donald Trump as his model.  America Rising had this to say (emphasis mine):

 

During his short gubernatorial campaign, Perriello has already flip-flopped on off-shore drilling, government funding of abortions, and Second Amendment rights. Now Perriello has added immigration to that already voluminous list of flip-flops. According to Politico, Perriello now supports immigration reform and the DREAM Act, but when he ran for Congress Perriello was a supporter of undocumented immigrants “self-deporting.”

 

Yes, you read that correctly.  Perriello said immigrants should self-deport themselves.  He is equally disingenuous when it comes to the issue of gay rights.  In his 2008 congressional campaign, Perriello said that marriage should be defined between a man and a woman.  In contrast Lt. Governor Northam  supported marriage equality in his 2013 campaign.  In addition, he cast a tiebreaking vote in 2015 to advance legislation barring discrimination in state hiring on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Compare Northam's campaign web page with its entire section on LGBT rights and civil rights with Perriello's slim sentence on the entire issue of civil rights and the difference is glaring.

Suffice it to say, of the two, Ralph Northam - who as noted above I have known from the beginning of his state senate career - is the true progressive and the true LGBT ally and the right person to move Virginia forward as Governor of Virginia.  I urge you to go to the polls on June 13, 2017 in the Democrat primary and vote for Ralph Northam.  The 2016 presidential election should be a stark reminder of the consequences of staying home and not voting.  Ralph Northam will not disappoint you.

Elections, including primaries matter and directly impact our lives.  PLEASE get out and vote for Ralph Northam on June 13, 2017!

Corey Stewart: The True Face of the Virginia Republican Party

L to r - Frank Wagner, Cory Stewart and Ed Gillespie

On June 13, 2017, voters in Virginia will select the Republican and Democratic candidates for their respective gubernatorial campaign standard bearers.  On the Democrat side, we have Lt. Governor Ralph Northam - who I support - and false progressive Tom Perrirllo (a future post will look at Perriello's dishonesty).  On the Republican side, the candidates are Cory Stewart, Ed Gillespie and Senator Frank Wagner.  With the exception of Wagner, the other GOP candidates - Stewart and Gillespie - are in the final analysis  indistinguishable.  Yes, Stewart openly courts withe supremacists and neo-Confederates while Gillespie does not.  However, if Gillespie is elected, he will follow the dictates of The Family Foundation - Virginia's leading hate group - and the day to day differences between him and Stewart will be indistinguishable.  Wagner is less extreme and certainly less racist and less inclined toward bigotry than his primary opponents .  Whether Wagner could win is doubtful. Thus, one is left with the likely choice being between Gillespie and Stewart.  The reality is that either way, one will end up with the same reality of what today's Virginia Republican Party is really all about.  Here are highlight from Politico on Stewart:

On April 24, as cities from New Orleans to Charlottesville were considering tearing down statues of Confederate heroes, a long-shot Republican candidate for Virginia governor penned his umpteenth tweet defending the honor of Dixie: “Nothing is worse than a Yankee telling a Southerner that his monuments don't matter.”

The tweet went viral. For Corey Stewart, whose political profile is high inside Prince William County, where he is chairman of the County Board of Supervisors, but considerably lower among the state’s Republican voters, this burst of notoriety would seem to have been helpful.

The only problem was that the attention was almost entirely negative. Stewart’s ratio of unfavorable replies to favorable retweets and favorites was horrendous: more than 3 to 1. At least four national political reporters noted that Stewart, was in fact, born in Duluth, Minnesota, making him much more of a Yankee than a son of the South.

But what others saw as a PR disaster, was from Stewart’s perspective an unqualified success. This explains why over the three months of the campaign, Stewart, 48, has tweeted numerous times about issues that would appear to concern only the most entrenched neo-Confederate. He has relentlessly criticized the city of Charlottesville for its plan to tear down a statue of General Robert E. Lee in one of the city’s major parks, and rename parks named after Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

When he hasn’t lamented the shoddy treatment of Southern heritage, he has compared the politicians who support removing statues to ISIS, the murderous Islamic extremists who have destroyed historic artifacts and religious sites throughout Syria. Or suggested that George Soros “needs to be tried for sedition, stripped of his citizenship or deported.” Or labeling his main opponent a “cuckservative,” the disdainful epithet of choice among the alt-right.

In short, Corey Stewart, who was Donald Trump’s Virginia campaign chairman (more on that later), has made a calculated decision to copy the playbook that worked for Trump in large parts of the country. Though he lacks Trump’s money and universal name identification, two things Stewart’s leading opponent Ed Gillespie has a leg up on, Stewart thinks he can make up for it with outrageousness. This bold gambit is not something Stewart is ashamed of discussing.

Stewart’s roots as a Trump clone go back to his service as the top government official in a fast-growing, now majority-minority county in Northern Virginia. In the mid-2000s, he unleashed a crackdown on illegal immigration that earned him a reputation as a crusader among conservatives and as racist demagogue among Democrats and the area’s media. The Washington Post’s editorial board, back in 2007, labeled him a “grandstander and an opportunist who would bring tumult down on the county” and said he had made Prince William “Virginia's Capital of Intolerance.”

Stewart’s strategy to gain attention (and desperately needed campaign cash) would seem to be make perfect sense, except for one thing: It didn’t work for Trump. At least not in Virginia.

The state is no longer the Old South—it’s just 62 percent non-Hispanic white. Its traditional political event, Shad Planking, has dropped the Confederate flags and rebranded itself as the Shad Planking and Grapes and Grains Festival, bringing Virginia wine to match the traditional whiskey. Neither Democratic gubernatorial candidate attended, nor did Gillespie. A Stewart supporter flew a plane carrying the Confederate flag over the event, prompting some of Stewart’s county allies to drop their endorsements.

Second, Trump didn’t win Virginia. Stewart was Trump’s state campaign chairman until he was fired for protesting outside the Republican National Committee when it appeared national Republicans might drop Trump after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tapes where the president discussed committing sexual assault. He blames a lack of investment in the state for the loss.

In the GOP primary, a Quinnipiac University poll shows Stewart trailing Gillespie, 28 percent to 12 percent. A majority voters are undecided, and Stewart notes he’s doing much better among voters who call themselves “very conservative” and identify as Evangelical. In polls of possible general election matchups, however, both Democratic candidates—Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam and former Representative Tom Perriello—are leading Stewart by double digits.

But his newfound shtick is turning off key allies there. Glendell Hill, the county’s African-American sheriff, told the Washington Post he dropped his endorsement of Stewart because of “all that Confederate stuff.” Four of his fellow county board members also endorsed Gillespie after the flag stunt at Shad Planking.

“They’re afraid that I’ve gone so far to the right that association with me will be bad for their own political careers,” Stewart says by way of explanation.   Stewart often uses support for Trump as a stand-in for conservatism.

Stewart has flirted with elements of the alt-right. He gave an interview to conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich and was once introduced at a rally to save the Lee statue in front of man holding a Pepe the Frog sign. The man who introduced him, Isaac Smith, is a 20-year-old activist who founded a group calling for “America First policies.” Among those proposed policies? That “most immigrants come from Western nations.”

[T]here were signs that Stewart might be about to answer his own question about whether his strategy of outrage has succeeded. A local television station was reporting he might drop out of the race. Stewart, always accessible, didn't pick up the phone Monday afternoon. Instead, he responded with a text: "Will make my statement tonight at 7 p.m. on Facebook Live."

Are Perriello, Sanders and Warren Giving the GOP the Governor's Mansion?

With Ralph Northam, the right Democrat candidate for Virginia

As noted in a prior post, nearly 60% of Tom Perriello's campaign funds raised to date has come form sources outside of Virginia.  So have his major endorsements, including Senator Elizabeth Warren who frankly just lost my vote should she run for national office.  Virtually all of Virginia's major domestic Democrats have endorsed Lt. Governor Ralph Northam in the coming Democrat primary. Why? Several reasons, in my view.  First, because Northam is a steady candidate with years of experience unlike Perriello, a two year flash in the pan, despite Warren's efforts to fluff his resume.  Second, Northam has been in the trenches for years and has helped other Democrat candidates and worked with the party's grassroots, if you will.  The husband and I have been in those trenches, have been on host committees and given money over and over again.  Perriello has been nowhere to be seen.  Third, Northam is right on the issues - including LGBT rights which Perriello barely mentions - and brings the much needed perspective of a physician into play.  

Perriello's entrance into that contest is serving only three purposes: (i) to divide the party in Democrat Virginia - much as Bernie Sanders did in the 2016 presidential race, (ii) to divert funds that would be better spent on the general election against the eventual Republican opponent, and (ii) fan the vanities of Perriello and his out of state endorsers.  If the Republicans should win the governor's mansion in November, 2017, the consequences for many Virginians will be horrific.  LGBT rights, women's rights and minority rights will have to firewall to stop the ugliest efforts of the currently Republican controlled house.  Look no farther than North Carolina to see what GOP control of the governor's mansion could mean. All so that Perriello, Sanders and Warren can satisfy their egos?

While Virginia has "gone blue" in the last three presidential race, many Virginia Democrats continue to be somewhat conservative by national standards.  A so-called ulta-progressive candidate - which is what Perriello labels himself as despite no efforts to attract involved LGBT supporters - will likely not fare as well as one who is a bit more traditional.  Let's not forget that Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders by 228,404 votes in the 2016 Democrat primary.  She went on to beat Donald Trump in Virginia by 212,030 votes in the general election.  "Traditional" candidates who have evolved on key issues win in Virginia.  Bernie Sanders himself proved this.  I do not believe that Perriello can win against someone like the heavily funded Ed Gillespie and, if that happens, the outcome will harm Virginians and Virginia's economy for years to come.   

Please vote for Ralph Northam on June  13, 2017.  Don't be fooled by out of state endorsements driven by other agendas.

57% of Perriello’s Gubernatorial Campaign Funds Come From Outside Virginia

Ralph Northam (with his wife Pam)  - the Best Choice for 2017

Democratic gubernatorial ticket would be spoiler Tom Perriello is billing himself as a grass roots, populist candidate versus Lt. Governor Ralph Northam who has the backing of both the Democrat establishment in Virginia and a huge grassroots network of his own.  Yet, a story in the Washington Post reveals that 57% of Perriello's contributions derive from out of state sources and  come primarily large donors.  In contrast, only 11% of Ralph Northam's funding comes from outside of Virginia.   The take away?  Perriello's is depicting himself as a grassroots populist but his campaign funding tells us otherwise.   If you want someone who will represent Virginians and their best interests in the Governor's mansion, Perriello is not your man. Sadly, Perriello is putting his ego ahead of Virginia's best interest.

On the issue of LGBT rights, I can only hope that LGBT Virginian's will not be duped by Perriello. Of the two, Ralph Northam - who I have known from the beginning of is state senate career - is the true LGBT ally and the right person to move Virginia forward.  In fact, in sharp contrast to Northam's campaign webpage, Perriello's campaign webpage mentions LGBT rights only in passing.  Here are highlights from the Post article:

Virginia Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam had almost twice as much campaign cash available as rival Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Perriello two months ahead of the primary, according to data compiled Tuesday by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP).

Northam had $3.3 million available as of March 31, compared with Perriello’s $1.7 million. But Perriello, a former congressman and State Department official, has outraised Northam since his unexpected entry into the race in early January, taking in $2.2 million to Northam’s $1.4 million.

Perriello’s haul was buoyed by several massive campaign contributions, with half of his money coming from four donors, while Northam was barred from fundraising during the 46-day General Assembly session that ended in late February.

Overall, 57 percent of Perriello’s money came from outside Virginia, compared with 11 percent out-of-state donations for Northam, according to VPAP. Perriello reported about 5,200 total donors, compared with about 11,000 total donors for Northam in the latest period, according to VPAP’s analysis of the numbers.

On the Republican side of the contest, the Post reports as follows:

In the Republican primary field, Ed Gillespie maintained his commanding financial edge in the three-person contest, raising nearly $1.9 million, which, combined with earlier fundraising, left him with just over $3 million on hand.

Gillespie’s donors reflected his former role as a top-level Republican consultant, with 49 percent of his money coming from out of state. Former president George W. Bush, who attended a Dallas fundraiser for Gillespie, kicked in $25,000, and strategist Karl Rove gave $20,000. Edward St. John, a real estate executive and philanthropist from Baltimore who gives heavily to GOP candidates, was Gillespie’s top donor in the most recent period at $50,000. Gillespie reported about 3,600 donors in total.

Corey A. Stewart, the Republican chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, had a little more than $400,000 available after taking in and spending about $300,000 in the first three months of the year. Frank Wagner, a state senator from Virginia Beach who also is subject to the fundraising ban during a legislative session, reported that his campaign treasury dwindled to $178,000 after he raised just $58,000 and spent more than $250,000.

Of the three mentioned Republicans, the only one event remotely LGBT friendly is Frank Wagner who I have known since 1994.

GOP Infighting May Save House Seat for Democrats

Despite recent successes, the GOP remains deeply divided and burdened with the lunatic teabagger set which seems opposed to backing any Republican who isn't a Christianists and in need of mental health care. All of this is good for the Democrat incumbent of Virginia's 5th District congressional, Tom Perriello. The district contains an extreme range of voters that range from liberals in Charlottesville - perhaps Virginia's most liberal city - to stagnant backwaters like Danville and Martinsville which reflect Virginia's less than glorious past (and believe in the slogan at right) as opposed to the future. One can only hope that the GOP civil war will leave far right voters so divided that Perriello wins a second term. Here are highlights from the Washington Post:
*

By all rights, Tom Perriello should have almost no chance to win reelection to Congress. He's a stimulus-backing, health-care-reform-loving, cap-and-trade-supporting liberal Democrat who represents a conservative central Virginia district where antipathy to the president and all things Washington runs high.

Perhaps too high. Perriello's opponents are so divided about who is the best conservative to replace him that they are transforming what should be a gimme for Republicans into a national emblem of GOP strife, potentially setting up a replay of the special election in Upstate New York in November that handed the Democrats a seat in a region they hadn't represented in more than 100 years.

Republican leaders in Virginia are backing a moderate state lawmaker, Sen. Robert Hurt, whose record enrages many conservatives, including a disparate band of Tea Party activists. To them, Hurt is not a real conservative because of his past support for tax increases, and they're promising a third-party challenge if he wins the nomination. And lurking on the sidelines is Virgil H. Goode Jr., the former GOP congressman who lost to Perriello by 727 votes and has hinted at running as an independent.

"We want a conservative, not a situational Republican," said Laurence Verga, a business owner from the Charlottesville area and one of five Tea Party candidates in the Republican primary. "I really believe the 5th District congressional election is about the soul of American politics."

But in such places as Virginia's 5th District, conservatives are uncompromising. Their goal isn't simply to reclaim the seat from Democrats: They want to fill it with only the purest of conservatives.

Unless leaders can bring the disparate groups together in districts like these, Republicans are likely to offset every unexpected victory they gain in a place such as Massachusetts with an unlikely loss elsewhere.

At least five distinct Tea Party organizations have formed across the 5th District, and activists say more are on the way. So far, seven candidates, including Hurt, are vying for the Republican nomination. Hurt is doing what he can to win over his conservative opponents.
*
Nonetheless, the feelings against Hurt are growing. Last week, on the day of a large Tea Party rally in Richmond organized in part by groups from the 5th District, dozens of activists swarmed Hurt's Senate office, although he wasn't there. And last weekend, Hay and a handful of Tea Party leaders met to figure out how to block Hurt's nomination.

Who's The Hottest Freshman Congressman?

On a humorous/fun note, I noticed that on Huffington Post there is a poll on who is the hottest new freshman member of Congress. Among the top five (5) that one can vote for is Glenn Nye of this area who is pictured above. I've met Glenn in person several times and yes, he is cute. Better yet, he is gay friendly and unlike his predecessor, Thelma Drake, seems open to listening to and likely supporting gay rights issues. Among the other choices are Aaron Shock from Illinois, Jim Himes of Connecticut, Tom Perriello also from Virginia and who like Glenn defeated an anti-gay voting incumbent, and lastly Jared Polis the out gay Congressman from Colorado. Here's some highlights from Huff Po:

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When members of the 111th Congress convened on January 6th, there were 65 fresh faces among them. Naturally, we've spent the last few weeks familiarizing ourselves with them, and after much voting, debating, and in-fighting -- or not -- we've made our picks for the five most adorable representatives. Take a look and cast your vote below. Then let us know if we left anyone out. Whatever the outcome, just remember: they're all winners here.