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.

Bill Stanley for State Senate

Bill Stanley is a rising conservative star in Virginia. He passionately believes in our core conservative principles, and will fight for them in whatever position he holds. Whether it was as Franklin Co. or 5th District Chair, or in his run for Party Chairman, Bill Stanley has a record marked by accomplishment and conviction. His hard work as Franklin Co. Chair lead to overwhelming support in his bid for 5th District Chairman. As chairman of the 5th District Bill Stanley was able to unite conservatives around Robert Hurt as Republicans took back the 5th District. In his bid for Party Chairman in 2009, Bill Stanley showed that he was willing to fight for things that looked impossible, and was not willing to be bought off.

Most importantly as a pro-lifer and a fiscal conservative, Bill Stanley will work make a pro-lifer chairman of the Senate Health and Education Committee, and will not vote to raise taxes.

Conservative State Senators Mark Obenshain, Steve Newman, Steve Martin, Ralph Smith, and Jill Vogel all endorsed Bill Stanley as they look forward to another conservative coming to the state senate. Ken Cuccinelli, Bob Marshall, The Lynchburg Tea Party, Gun Owners of America, and Bearing Drift have also endorsed Bill Stanley.

If you live in the 19th Senate District, help put a conservative majority in the state senate by voting for Bill Stanley on November 23rd.

In Which I Agree With Tom Davis...

While I tend not to agree with Tom Davis, he understands Virginia politics very well, and his analysis of last week's primary was spot on. When asked by Politico what the most important election result was, and what we can learn, Davis made the point that the establishment is in trouble and even pointed to Virginia as an example of this.

"It's a political revolt out there. Jane Harman's numbers were down. Gary Miller's under 50 percent. Even the establishment Republicans in Virginia who run, they had multiple candidates against them and they were well under 50."

In VA-2, VA-5, and VA-11 there were very clear establishment candidates in Scott Rigell, Robert Hurt, and Pat Herrity. Scott, had the full backing of Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling, Robert Hurt had the support of most Republican officials because of his electability as opposed to his positions, and Herrity had the support of almost every party leader and elected official in the 11th district including Becky Stoeckel and Anthony Bedell. With all this support all three of these candidates failed to top 50% of the vote, and in probably the biggest surprise of the night, Herrity lost to Fimian by double digits. The only reason the establishment won in the 2nd and 5th is that the opposition was very disorganized and self centered and split the vote at least 5 ways in each race. When you combine these results with Howie Lind and Bill Stanley's victories in the 10th and 5th District Chair races, combined with victories in a number of unit chair races, this has to be a discouraging year for the establishment in VA. When the grassroots organizes and works together it can win any race. As a result we now have a much stronger party as we work together to win every congressional district in the state this fall.

Greg Habeeb for 6th District GOP Committee Chairman, Bill Stanley for 5th District GOP Committee Chairman

As some of you may have heard Salem GOP Committee Chairman Greg Habeeb has announced his candidacy for Chairman of the 6th District GOP Committee and Franklin County GOP Chairman Bill Stanley has announced his candidacy for Chairman of the 5th District GOP Committee. Both Bill and Greg have been hands down two of the best, if not the two best, unit chairs in the Republican Party of Virginia over the past few years and both were named "Unit Chairman of the Year" by their respective congressional district committees.

Many of you know Bill Stanley from his unsuccessful bid for RPV Chair last May as well as his work as Chairman of the Franklin County GOP Committee.  As a local unit chair Bill has without a doubt distinguished himself and his committee as one of the best in the state and was named "Unit Chair of the Year" for the 5th District two years running. In Franklin Country, under the leadership of Bill Stanley, the GOP Committee has seen their fundraising and membership increase greatly. I worked on Bill's campaign for RPV Chairman and I can think of no better person to lead the 5th District GOP or RPV for that matter. Youth is something the RPV and GOP as a whole needs desperately. Like Greg, Bill will bring much needed youth to the leadership of the 5th District Committee. Additionally, there is much tension between Republicans in the 5th District at the moment as you may well be very familiar with via the massive amount of news media and blog coverage. The Republicans in the 5th District need an experienced leader with enthusiasm as well as new and innovative ideas who can bring the party back together to work for our common goals. That experienced leader is Bill Stanley. I encourage any and all 5th District Republicans to support Bill Stanley to be the new 5th District GOP Committee Chairman.

Bill's website from his run for RPV Chairman is still up and you can click here to access it. While I have not confirmed this, I will be willing to bet that Bill will use many of the same ideas from his run for RPV Chair that you find on the above website if he is elected 5th District Chair.

Greg has done an outstanding job as Salem committee chair and was recognized as "Unit Chairman of the Year" for the entire Republican Party of Virginia in 2008.  I fully endorse his candidacy and encourage any other Republicans in the 6th District to attend the 6th District convention and support Greg. He will bring new ideas, enthusiasm, and much needed youth to the 6th District Committee and State Central. I would also like to add that if it wasn't for the enthusiasm and welcoming attitude of people like Greg I would have been reluctant to get involved with the local GOP in Roanoke during my breaks.

Here is Greg's email to 6th District Republicans:

Fellow 6th District Republicans

It was great to see so many of you in Richmond this weekend for the Inauguration of Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli. We face tough times as a Commonwealth and as a Nation but there is no question that we are now led by the best possible team in Richmond. I wish I could say the same thing for Washington. At least we have a great Congressman, Bob Goodlatte, doing his best to fight back the Obama/Pelosi/Reid agenda.

While this is a great time to be a Republican in Virginia, we must admit that for years our Republican elected officials have grown detached from their constituents and moved away from the fundamental principles on which this Party was formed. We lost our identity, we diluted our brand and we've paid for it electorally. The desire to restore our party to its core principles and rebuild our brand was the driving force behind my deciding to run for Salem Republican Committee Chair a few years back. Over the last 2 years, we have made great strides in Salem. Our Committee has grown exponentially in numbers without sacrificing our principles. We have put an infrastructure in place that has local Democrats panicked and scrambling to catch up. We have raised our profile through traditional and new media. We have raised money and supported our candidates while still holding them accountable. Simply put, we have made our Committee relevant.

Believe me, these efforts by so many on the ground have not gone unnoticed. There is a new buzz about the Republican Party in Salem. We have won elections with record numbers. Elected officials are now reaching out for our support and recognizing the need to stay in touch with those of us in the grassroots. Ultimately, we were humbled to be named the 2008 Unit Chairman of the Year for the entire Commonwealth and the 2009 Unit Chairman of the Year for the 6th District. I say "we" because those awards are a reflection of the work done by dozens and dozens of people.

As I pondered what was next, many of you have approached me about running for Chair in the 6th District. I must admit, this was not initially on my radar screen but, the more I thought about it, the more I believed that we could bring a new energy, purpose and focus to the Committee. We could provide the type of leadership necessary to restore unity where it is lacking in the 6th and build on our already solid infrastructure. Over the last few weeks I have spoken to numerous grassroots and elected leaders in the 6th and I have been humbled by the positive response I have received.

It is for all of these reasons that I am announcing my candidacy for the Chair of the 6th District Republican Committee to be elected at our Convention on May 22nd in Lynchburg.

Over the next few weeks I hope to speak to all of you to let you know some of my ideas and to get feedback from each of you. Until then, know that my goal in running for this position is not power, control or personal gain. I am doing this to support you, the grassroots leaders in the 6th District, and to continue to make the 6th District the strongest Republican District in the State.

Thanks and I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Greg

Cross posted @ Roanoke On The Right

2009 Convention Results (With CD Breakdowns)

The grand total results for the convention have been available for a while. I first saw them on the AP. Pat Mullins also e-mailed out the final results for each race a few days ago. Also the congressional district breakdown for the attorney general race was first released published by Not Larry Sabato and Shaun Kenney. However here is the results with the congressional district breakdowns for each of the three races. (To the best of my knowledge it is the first time the complete results have been posted online.) I was waiting for a little while on talking about the results in the hope that I could get hold of the results from the different units and analyze that. It seems however that certain members of the executive committee very vehemently opposed releasing these results and they are unavailable.

The first thing about these results is how well each of the victors did. Bolling, Cuccinelli, and Mullins won by 84%, 57%, and 70% respectively. It was also very gracious of Muldoon, Brownlee, Foster, and Stanley to concede and pledge to work for and with their former opponents. I am confident the success of our nominees and the graciousness of their challengers will unite our party over the summer, and towards victory in the fall.

In the Lieutenant Governor's race a couple things stand out. First off Bolling didn't do poorly in any congressional district. The lowest he received in any cd was 73.3%. Any candidate would love for that to be their lowest return in a district. Another thing that stands out is how poorly Patrick Muldoon did in the 9th district. In his home district he received 11.19% of the vote, and it was his 9th strongest congressional district. There were only two districts where he received a lower percent of the vote: the 8th and 3rd districts. I was honestly shocked as I expected Muldoon would beable to bring a lot of supporters to the convention from the 9th. Either the letter sent out by the 9th district leaders did in Muldoon, or he is just not very popular or well known in his home district. The other interesting thing is that Muldoon took the highest percent in the 10th district. With 202.39 weighted votes he took 26.7%, 10.33% better than he did statewide. I'm not sure exactly why Mulddon did that well in the 10th district, but maybe 10th district voters are itching for a change and are becoming sick of the establishment for some reason.

In the Attorney General race Ken Cuccinelli won eight of the eleven congressional districts, and came in second in the three he lost. John Brownlee won the 9th and the 4th, and Dave Foster won the 8th. There were also only two congressional districts Ken won where he received less than 50%. They were the 3rd and the 5th districts. Keeping Ken below 50% in the congressional districts he won was an essential part of the Brownlee/Foster plan to force a second ballot. They were atleast successful in two of the eight districts Ken won. Ken took over 65% in the 7th, 11th, and 1st districts and over 60% in the 10th and 6th districts. While Ken's home district is the 11th, the 7th gave Ken the highest percentage of the vote based in part on a surprisingly large victory in Chesterfield Co. Both Ken and Dave Foster won their home districts, the 11th, and 8th. John Brownlee only pulled 38.45% in the 6th district where he resides. Ken was able to win Salem and Roanoke cities, and almost took Roanoke county from John Brownlee. While John lives in the 6th district some would consider the 9th his home district since he has worked their as a prosecutor for a while, and he was able to win the 9th with 63.03% of the vote. However a win in the 9th only does you so much when it has about 700 less delegate votes than the 11th district.

From a campaigning perspective one of the important lessons of Ken's convention victory is the importance of building a statewide network. In a primary you can jack up vote totals in high density localities to win. In a convention each locality is assigned a certain number of votes. This forces you to compete in every location if you want to win, and you need to try to get a significant percentage of each localities votes. Ken's statewide network that the convention forced him to create enabled him to compete in every single district, and will hopefully be the backbone that propels him to victory in November. Ken's extensive political connections as an active state senator almost guaranteed him victories in Loudon, Fairfax, and Prince William counties as soon as he announced. Having the political connections heading into the race enabled him to win these three large localities easily. Political connections are something any candidate needs to develop before running an effective campaign for statewide office.

While the chairmanship race was more of a contest than the Lieutenant Governor's race, Pat Mullins and co pretty well swept the floor. There are two things that jump out though. Bill Stanley almost won his home congressional district. He took 48.84% in the 5th district which is a very solid showign for an underdog with only three weeks to campaign. The congressional district where Stanley did second best was the 11th district where he took 36.05%. The 11th district is the district Prince William County votes in, and it was one of the few ways Jeff Frederick's supporters had an opportunity at the convention to protest what happened to Jeff this past spring.

That's as much as I can draw out of the congressional breakdowns for the convention results. I'm hcurious to here what you think the results say. Also it would be very nice in future conventions to have access to unit results so that we can analyze them and see where candidates strengths are in each district, and what correlations and trends the unit results tell us. Hopefully this is something we will have access to after the next convention whenever that may be.

On one final note it will be interesting to see if Deeds and his statewide network and connections can pull of a victory tomorrow.

Thoughts on the RPV State Convention

Most of my thoughts on the first day I already posted. However I would like to add a few more thoughts and then list off the highlights from Saturday.

1. I think it is ironic that a party that supposedly believes in transparency in government has so little in its actual operations. While Kay Cole James is an impressive person she was selected as the chairman of the convention. Why did McDonnell have to send out an e-mail urging people to vote for her, and why was her name written in the convention program as the temporary chair? What difference would it have made to have a regular vote on the issue? The disdain the party leadership has for people thinking and acting independently was driven home when a congressional district chairman came down and asked another party leader if he should consolidate a large unit so they could shout down any amendment to the rules, or effort to put in a different convention chairman. Who cares what the people think let's script and direct them as much as possible. Again I think Kay Cole James is amazing. This is simply a comment about the state of our party leadership that selects a party chairman and convention chairman for us.
   
2. Some people jokingly referred to the convention building as the Temple of Bob McDonnell. This resulted from the fact that as an uncontested nominee he still won the sign war, and his staff were given special access to the convention hall that other campaign staff were not.
3. As a Cuccinelli volunteer I have to say it was a very impressive operation. Friday night with a number of our supporters attending gala's and dinners we put fliers on every seat in the convention hall in under an hour. While the blue and red shirted Cuccinelli volunteers weren't as distinct as the neon green Brownlee supporters, they were everywhere passing out stickers, brochures, flags, and keeping track of their delegations.
4. No matter how many things Republicans may disagree on or mess up, Republicans know how to be patriotic. Whether it was Lauren Giere, or the UVA acapella group singing the national anthem, reciting the pledge of allegiance with thousands of fellow Americans, the red white and blue everywhere, or Adnan Barqawi's speech Republicans know how to make one proud to be an American.
5. This was Cuccinelli's convention. He was the reason many of those delegates were their. If anyone doubted it before Saturday, the loud sustained applause that erupted when the nominations chair said his name reinforced the fact. Just like at the Dulles rally, he received louder applause than anyone else. Ken is bringing the excitement to this party right now.
   
6. Mike Farris's name recognition increased as a result of this convention. Bolling used Dr. Farris's endorsement repeatedly in the leadup to the convention and even mentioned him in his speech. (Bolling was also the only person to reference homeschooling in his speech. Thank you Bill for recognizing the importance of homeschooling.) Many people also mentioned how a certain energy has returned to the party that they hadn't seen since Dr. Farris ran in 1993. If Dr. Farris wants to run for office later this convention may of helped bring his name back into people's memories.
7. Convention speeches matter!! While the organization before and during a convention are critical so are the speeches given by the candidates. Bolling's speech reminded voters that he is a tried and true conservative who has accomplished many things for the party and has won elections. It was a very uplifting speech. Muldoon reinforced the fact that he was running a "slash and burn" campaign. His speech was vitriolic and one long hit piece on Bolling. He failed to ever bring up his own revord and accomplishments. It drew a number of boos and probably lost him votes. In the AG contest Brownlee gave a very solid speech. He didn't use notes or a podium which was very impressive. However he essentially gave his stump speech which many of the delegates had heard before. While Cuccinelli talked about the same issues he has discussed on the campaign trail, he went about it an entirely different way. Using the Don't Tread on Me flags was a stroke of genius. It played well to the audience and reminded the convention that Ken is the candidate who will fight to limit the size of government. Some suspect that the speech pushed Ken over the edge and gave him a first ballot win. The final speech to mention was Bill Stanley's speech. Few people knew Bill and he needed to wow the audience. While he gave a good speech, his poor clock management probably didn't help him.
8. I was very impressed with the RPV outreach to new media. They did a very good job with Blogger's Row, and the attention the candidates showed to the bloggers demonstrated that it wasn't just a show.
9. Overall it was an excellent convention that recharged and united the party as move forward to victory in November.
   

Convention Day One

Today was honestly fairly boring. the convention convened shortly after 2:00 and we heard from Bob Whitman, Bob Goodlatte, and the chairmen of the CRFV and YRFV. Lauren Giere (daughter of state central member from the 8th district Mike Giere) sang a beautiful rendition of the national anthem. The only votes that took place were on the rules and the temporary chair for the convention. There was no contest on either issue. The rules were approved unammended, and Kay Cole James was elected without opposition by voice vote as chairman of the convention.

I finished the day off by helping put Cuccinelli literature on all the chairs, and then went over to the Cuccinelli Hospitality Suite and had some delicious homemade Cuccinelli canolis.

I also had the opportunity to view the Executive Committee meeting, State Central roundtable, and rules committee meeting. It was nice to beable to watch the internal workings of our party. The Executive Committee was interesting because their was some confusion as to whether or not I could watch. Mike Thomas kindly let me in and I watched until they needed to go into executive session. I don't think they are used to other people watching them.

The other highlight is the fact that the RNC has already sent almost 30 staff to Virginia to help out with all the elections this November. These energetic young political veterans will be a huge asset to the effort this year and will also help run the 14 campaign offices that will be opening up across the commonwealth soon.

Hopefully tomorrow runs smoothly and there aren't any questions about credentials or voting. I plan on voting for Bolling, Cuccinelli, and Stanley. My confidence of them winning is in that order as well. If Bollign loses it will be one of the most unexpected upsets in political history. I am very confident Cuccinelli will win, though maybe Foster will sneak through. The chairmans race is a complete tossup as it is only three weeks old. Last year the chairman candidate with all the establishment endorsements lost overwhelmingly. While Bill Stanley does not have Frederick's name recognition, a lot of people are upset about what happened in April. Hopefully tomorrow delegates will realize they want a chairman who is elected by them and not selected by the executive committee, and vote accordingly.

Tomorrow should be an interesting and fun day, and after it is all over it is on to winning in November. The convention starts tomorrow at 10:00 am. Be sure to come early to the Leigh St. entrance to pick up your credentials.

Will the attacks on Jeff Frederick never end?

I don't think I will be actively supporting either candidate for RPV Chairman. However, it doesn't encourage me to vote for the establishment candidate when his supporters continue taking potshots at Jeff Frederick whenever possible.

The newest culprits is Bearing Drift and a post authored by Jason Kenney. The comments concern Bill Stanley's supposed thoughts on who he would choose for executive director. In it he says, "Reliable sources say that former Communication Director Gerry Scimeca has said that Jeff Frederick will serve as Stanley’s Executive Director, though whether or not that is on record is TBD." Those in the know understand how someone could misconstrue something Gerry would say in that fashion. They simply heard the name Jeff as the first name for the person Stanley is considering and assumed it was Frederick. However, when Gerry took the time to deny the comments no apology of any type was ever made. Simply updates at the bottom of the post. The intention of the post was clearly to imply that Stanley was bad because he likes Jeff enough to consider him for Executive Director of the RPV. The establishment had their fun, they took Jeff out. Now, can we please leave Jeff out of this as we try to unite and move forward.

I had the opportunity to talk with both Pat Mullins and Bill Stanley about their bids for Party Chairman. One of the things I asked Pat Mullins about was how he planned on uniting the party. He said that while he does not have a point by point plan, he would not speak out against and criticize Jeff Frederick, and he would reach out to those who supported Jeff as wemove forward. No matter who becomes our next chairman, I hope this party follows Pat's advice so that we can unite and move forward towards the November elections.

(Note I am a huge fan of Bearing Drift and their contributions to covering Virginia politics. I am a big fan of Jim Hoeft and the fair and thorough coverage he gives.)

Bill Stanley Announces his Bid for RPV Chairman

Now that Jeff Frederick has decided not to run and the convention is only two weeks away, we now have a contest for RPV Chairman. Here is the e-mail Bill Stanley sent out announcing his candidacy.

Dear William J,

Since its founding 155 years ago, the Republican Party has amassed an impressive record of accomplishment. Republicans are bound together not by self-interest or convenience, but by the conservative principles and traditional values that have made America the greatest nation in world history. Throughout our party's history, those core beliefs have always been driven and guided by our rank-and-file, the volunteers, activists and members who comprise our grassroots.

Recent electoral setbacks have caused some to question our party's ability to succeed in the future. Disappointment has wrought doubt, and doubt has led to finger-pointing. Some have suggested that the core beliefs that underpin our party have become outmoded and obsolete. Others appear to suggest we adopt in part the tenets of the other party. But, those who would trade principle for political success damage the public's faith in representative democracy and undermine the Republican Party.

Because Republicans love America, we must not abandon or discount the core beliefs that are essential to the future success and prosperity of our nation. Conservative principles that require an adherence to fiscal responsibility and limited government will never be outmoded. Traditional values that respect the foundations of Western Civilization and faith in God will never be obsolete.

If Republicans are going to win elections, we must have the confidence of our convictions and a willingness to promote them at every level of government. And, we cannot abandon those convictions simply because they are unfashionable among those who enjoy an elite status in American society.

People do not hold conservative principles and believe in traditional values because they are fashionable. They adhere to their core convictions because they are proven, having served mankind well for thousands of years and being a way of life for a majority of our countrymen.

Now, our party is facing a challenging electoral environment. Republicans can only return to majority status by connecting our beliefs to the way people live their own lives, insisting that government reflect the values of those it is entrusted to serve.

The Republican Party of Virginia can only succeed if it wholeheartedly embraces the core beliefs of its volunteers, activists and members. Those who comprise our grassroots are proud of their beliefs, confident in their convictions, and unafraid of the future. They deserve a party that reflects and represents them, promoting their principles and values to the entire Commonwealth.

To advance these core convictions and to return control of our party to its grassroots, I am announcing today my candidacy for Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.
As Chairman, I offer you, our party faithful, energy, experience, and leadership. It is your party. I will be your chairman.

Our party must be driven and guided from the grassroots up and not the top down. While we must give all those who work on our party's behalf their due, the Republican Party must not permit the judgment of the few to instruct or override the will of the many. The position of Chairman must be elected, not anointed.

The task ahead will not be easy. It will require a Chairman with a fresh perspective, one untainted by past battles, biases or affiliations. It will also require that Chairman be fully prepared for and able to fulfill the obligations of the enormous job ahead.

Although our ideas and principles offer a better future for our nation and our commonwealth, our opponents have surpassed us in applying modern technology and marketing techniques to gain an advantage. As a member of the generation that has developed and embraced this technology, I will ensure the Republican Party of Virginia marshals the tools that are now essential for victory.

My agenda is simple and straightforward, focusing on the fundamentals of grassroots party building. It puts the Republican Party of Virginia firmly in the hands of you, our volunteers, activists, and members, which is the only way to grow the Party and ensure that our nominees - from local office all the way to statewide candidates - win elections.

As Chairman, I pledge that:

· RPV will serve and answer to the Party's activist and volunteer base.

· RPV will provide the grassroots organizational structure necessary to help elect its nominees to office at every level of government.

· RPV will never be conformed to the image of any single candidate, campaign, or elected public official. Candidates, campaigns, and elected public officials come and go, but the Party has a responsibility to endure, reflecting the values and principles of its activist and volunteer base.

· RPV will ensure that Republican nomination contests are fair, open and properly conducted. RPV will never take sides or demonstrate a preference in any party nomination contests.

· RPV will reflect the values and principles of its conservative base, and will never shrink from, apologize for, discount, or diminish their positions on any given issue.

· RPV will focus its efforts on training our activists and volunteers at the Unit level, building the structure that will both foster and elect conservative candidates.

· RPV will fully incorporate the latest available technology, providing an effective and modern structure of communications with both the activist base and the public.

· RPV will never become a captive of the consulting class, but instead employ conservative management principles - competitive bidding, lean structure, customer service orientation - to ensure the Party is being both responsive to its base and responsible with contributions from its donors.

If I am elected by you, my fellow delegates, on May 30, this simple agenda - along with the voices and principles of our activists - will guide and direct my term as Chairman.

If you share my vision of a Republican Party of Virginia that is inseparable and indistinguishable from the grassroots it must represent, join with me in this campaign. With your support, we can steer our party - and its conservative principles and traditional values - on a course to victory.

Bill Stanley Franklin County Republican Chairman