Jeff Frederick Campaign Kickoff

While Jeff Frederick has been knocking on doors for over a month, the campaign just announced their official campaign kickoff. Please come show your support for the campaign, and come by the campaign headquarters any time to volunteer.

Frederick for State Senate Campaign Kick-Off & HQ Opening

Saturday, July 30th at 10am

Frederick Headquarters

17934 Main Street

Dumfries, VA 22026

Jeff Frederick is Running for State Senate

The following e-mail was sent out by Jeff late this afternoon.

Willie --

I'm happy to report to you, after a lot of thought, discussion, and prayer, we've decided to run for the Senate of Virginia.

But, I'm not in it for the money ($18k a year), the title, the digs, some degree of perceived power, or people making me feel important. I am running to serve the people of eastern Prince William, Fairfax, and Stafford and to change politics as usual in Richmond. There's too much polarization; too much partisanship; and not enough principled people going down there who are focused on the people that they represent -- working hard day in and day out to make our communities, commonwealth and country a better place to live, work, and raise a family. We need leaders in Richmond who aren't afraid to shake up and stand up to the status quo and keep people of any political party accountable.

Citizens of the 36th Senate District aren't unlike most folks. They work hard. They pay their taxes. They strive to build a better future for themselves and their families. Whether it is someone who was born and raised in Virginia like me or someone who came from a foreign land to seek the American dream and integrate as a naturalized citizen, like my Colombian mother -- and everyone in between -- our best days are still ahead.

Yet, the career politicians in Richmond have made a mess of our economy and have put future generations at risk. Sure, they talk about creating jobs, but in reality they vote time and time again for job-killing tax hikes, new regulations, and more wasteful government programs.

I've opposed all attempts to grow government and tax you more, and I will continue to do so. You know better how to spend your money than government does. My record is clear and needs no election-year makeover. I never forget who I work for and always keep my promises. You might not always agree with me 100% of the time, but you'll always know where I stand and I'll always welcome your thoughts and ideas.

I hope you'll join our commonsense, pro-people -- not politics -- campaign to create jobs, grow our economy, improve transportation and infrastructure, and protect our special quality of life.

And, we need your help. Click here to donate to our campaign or get involved.

This is going to be a tough race in a district that was clearly gerrymandered for someone of the opposite political party. I've got a track record of winning in these tough districts and appealing to people of all political stripes, but this one could be the most difficult one yet. Notwithstanding, the numbers tell us it is winnable, especially given that 37% of the district is my old House district. Some of the toughest precincts in this new Senate district are precincts I consistently won in my prior House races against difficult opposition.

However, our past success could not have been possible without the efforts of so many -- volunteering, contributing, and praying for us.

Please consider making a financial contribution now, and signing up to volunteer with our campaign. With your help, I know we'll have a big victory this November. God willing, we'll win this election and change politics as usual in Virginia.

Amy and I are incredibly grateful for all you've done in the past, and we're counting on you now more than ever.

Thanks again. More updates to come soon.

-JMF.

Tripp Godsey running against John Edwards

As long as I lived in Roanoke, John Edwards was my state senator. He sits on the Health and Education Committee, and would vote down all the pro-life and homeschool friendly legislation I was tracking. He was one of the more liberal members of the state senate. Sadly Republicans weren't able to field a candidate against him in 2007, and he was elected unchallenged.

Thankfully the Roanoke Tea Party found a candidate to run against John Edwards. Tripp Godsey an insurance agent from SW Roanoke has risen to the challenge. The Roanoke Times reports that,

Godsey, 47, described himself as "polar opposites" with Edwards, D-Roanoke. Godsey said he's noticed discontent with Edwards in the business community.

"It was time to step up," Godsey said.

Godsey is a Farmers Insurance agent who specializes in restaurants and hotels. He sits on the board of the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association. He's married with three children.

Whether he can win or not remains to be seen, but it is important that John Edwards not run unopposed again. Godsey claims to be pro-life, and is at least willing to run against John Edwards. We need to hold every single Democrat in the Senate accountable this election cycle.

Especially if you live in the district check out his website and support him on facebook. Hopefully Tripp is a strong aggressive and conservative candidate. He should at least be supported to hold John Edwards accountable.

Jo-Ann Chase for Delegate VA-87

With redistricting, two new House of Delegates seats were formed in Loudoun Co. One of these One of these, the 87th, takes up much of eastern Loudoun and centers around Dulles airport. Most of this district used to be represented by Del. Bob Marshall.

A good friend and long time conservative activist has stepped up to run for this seat, Jo-Ann Chase. Now more than ever we need people of conviction who will fight for their beliefs. Jo-Ann is undoubtedly such a person. She has a passion for protecting the unborn, and protecting the freedoms we are losing as a nation. Jo-Ann will tell you exactly what she believes and will not change. With Jo-Ann what you see is what you get. Del. Bob Marshall has worked closely with Jo-Ann. He recognizes that she is the same kind of fighter that he is, and is excited to have her in the House of Delegates to work with him.

If you want a representative of conviction who will hold the party leadership accountable, vote for Jo-Ann. If you think now is a time to fight back hard against the wave of change in this nation, then J0-Ann is your person. Jo-Ann has worked hard within the party and her community, and it is time to send her to Richmond.

Go to her website and join her on facebook and do whatever you can to help Jo-Ann.

Robert Sarvis and the Importance of a 40 Seat Plan

Recently I was informed of a new state senate campaign. Robert Sarvis is running for state senate in the 35th district against Dick Saslaw. While there is not a lot of detailed information regarding issues on his website, he seems to have a solid resume. While it is definitely a long shot to unseat Dick Saslaw, we need to be fielding solid candidates in all 40 districts this year. The more districts we contest, the more we have the possibility of winning. We picked up 6 seats in the House of Delegates in 2009 by contesting almost every seat. Winning back the state senate will be much easier this cycle if we give every Democrat a challenge. For the safe ones like Dick Saslaw it will force them to spend money in their own district, and keep them from using their time and resources to help others. There may also be some surprises as the rising wave sweeps supposedly safe Democrats out of office. While his chances may be long, Robert Sarvis deserves our appreciation for being willing to challenge Dick Saslaw.

Mark Obenshain Calls on Political Parties to Stop Burdening Localities

Every time Virginia Republicans or Democrats choose a primary to nominate their political candidates they strap localities with the cost of the process. At a time when localities are hard pressed for money, political parties that claim to be fiscally responsible should not be forcing localities to shell out large amounts of money for them to choose a candidate. Primaries are not the only way for political parties to select a nominee in Virginia. Virginia political need to stop forcing local government to subsidize their operations. Thankfully Mark Obenshain is bringing up this issue this year in the General Assembly. In a recent e-mail Obenshain introduced his idea.

Ending Subsidies to Political Parties

Virginia is in a somewhat unique situation: we don’t allow voter registration by political party, but we still pay for party primaries. And the truth is, we pay through the nose, sometimes as much as $20 per voter.

There are perfectly good alternatives. Parties often choose to nominate via convention or party canvass, or through a “firehouse primary,” in which a limited number of polling places are opened in each locality, usually for fewer hours than in a government-run election. All of these methods are common, all are relatively affordable – and all are paid for by the political parties themselves.

If a political party wants a conventional primary, fine – but they can pay for it. Our localities are burdened enough as it is. If a party cannot or will not put up that much money, they can always go with a cheaper option. Our localities can ill afford it – and under my proposal, they wouldn’t have to.

It is highly doubtful this legislation will pass. Both parties have a vested interest in keeping the system as it is. However, Maybe legislators will do the right thing, help localities, and do the right thing. No matter what this is an important issue that needs to be raised.

Most Important Goal for 2011

Recently, a lot of the political discussion in Virginia has focussed on the 2012 Senate race. While this is an important race, it can not be the focus of Virginia conservatives this year. We have to be focussed like a laser on putting a conservative majority in the state senate. The state senate is the one body with a general election this year that the Democrats still control. If we are going to bring conservative reform to this state, we need to take the Democrats out of power in the state senate. However, as the Republicans showed the last time they controlled the state senate, just having a Republican majority is not enough. It has to be a conservative majority. We need enough conservative senators to elect a conservative majority, block tax increases from passing through that chamber, and enough votes to pass true reform legislation.

This year we will be endorsing state senate candidates who are committed to opposing all tax increases, and put a pro-life majority leader in charge of the state senate who will put a pro-life chairman in charge of the Health and Education Committee. If you know of incumbent state senators, or candidates for state senate who meet those criterion, please comment and let the blog know about them so we can promote them this year.

A Look Back on Last Year

With the dawn of 2011, it is a good time to look back on the last year. Countless blogs and political sites have recounted the biggest stories of the last year, and made predictions for 2011. I thought it would be interesting to see what stories from this site you thought were most important. The following is a list of the 5 most visited articles on this site from the past year.

1. Greg Habeeb for 6th District GOP Committee Chairman, Bill Stanley for 5th District GOP Committee Chairman; Ironically both of these men are running in special elections next Tuesday. They are both running strong campaigns, and will be fine replacements for Morgan Griffith and Robert Hurt.

2. How will the Student Loan provisions affect me? Part II; In many ways this speaks to the biggest story in VA politics of the year. D.C. passed a healthcare bill full of unknown and dangerous provisions, and Virginians have lead the way in fighting it.

3. Why Joshua Solovskoy resigned as Michael McPadden's Campaign Manager; This was one more story of the mess that was conservatives shooting themselves in the foot in the 5th District nomination fight. Hopefully we have learned our lesson and can avoid such destructive infighting in future nomination contests.

4. Virginians Should Vote NO on the Constitutional Amendments; If an organized campaign had formed at least one of these could have been beat...

5. Trixie Averill Supports Undermining the Republican Party; For an article written very late in the year, it definitely got a lot of traffic fast. It also shows one of the things this blog is committed to: holding Republicans, and especially party leaders accountable.

Let's work together this year and put a conservative majority in the state senate this year. While there is a lot of talk about the 2012 Senate race right now, the state senate elections are the only general election this year, and winning them is critical to continuing the momentum heading into 2012.

Patricia Phillips for State Senate 2011 Edition

Patricia Phillips just send an e-mail to her list annoucing her bid for state senate. This should come as no surprise to people following Loudoun politics. Patricia is a proven grassroots conservative who has worked hard for conservative candidates and issues. Let's make sure she wins this cycle. Patricia is the candidate we need to defeat Mark Herring in 2011.

Victoria Cobb Declares War on the State Senate

At the Family Foundation Gala tonight, Victoria Cobb declared that the next step in making Virginia a family values friendly state was putting a conservative majority in the State Senate. She made a point of not just wanting a Republican majority in the State Senate. She noted that Republicans lead by Russ Potts consistently killed bills relating to abortion and choice in education in the Senate Health and Education Committee. Victoria talked about the impact the Winning Matters campaign had on the statewide and House of Delegates races in 2009, and believes that a similar strategy will significantly impact the senate races in 2011. Hopefully the Family Foundation and other conservative groups succeed in this goal, and Steve Martin or Steve Newman hold the chairmanship of the Senate Health and Education Committee. When that happens Virginia will be the leader in all of the important battles of our time.

Chuck Colgan Unlikely to Seek Relection

Breaking news: Senator Chuck Colgan, president pro tempor of the VA State Senate [also the longest serving senator in the state], is saying he mostlikely will not seek reelection in 2011. "I'll probably not run. I'm not Strom Thurmond."

Some are skeptical of this announcement, given that he has said he "will not seek reelection" twice in the past, only to be convinced otherwise by Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

If Colgan DOES retire, who would be the best candidate in the district to run for the seat other than rising star Jackson Miller, currently a VA delegate. Bob Fitzsimmonds has also expressed his eagerness in taking on this seat again, and with both Miller and Fitzsimmonds in the running, it should make for a very competitive primary. BVBL has a complete list of possible candidates on both sides of the isle.

With nothing for Colgan to lose, and no Democrat Governor to convince him to stay, it should prove to be an interesting race for the 29th district.