Bill Bolling: ‘Battle taking place for heart and soul of Republican Party’

Former Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling released a statement on the results of today’s Republican 7th District Chair race:

“I was extremely disappointed to hear of the results of today’s 7th district Republican Convention. Linwood Cobb has served our party well for years, and he deserved to be re-elected as the 7th district’s Republican Chair.

“Clearly, there is a battle taking place for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. We are seeing this battle play out all across our state. While the voice of every Republican should be heard, our challenge is to figure out how to be a conservative party, without allowing the most extreme voices of the day to control our party and determine its future direction.

“I remain committed to aggressive efforts to reform the Republican Party and get it back to a more mainstream place. If we cannot accomplish this, we will drive away more and more traditional Republicans and it will become almost impossible for us to reach out to the broader cross section of Virginians whose support we need to win elections and earn the right to lead.”

Linwood Cobb was the hardest working Republican district chairman in the state of Virginia, raising almost $1 million for Republicans, holding two of the top three Republican events in the state (behind the Virginia State Convention), and building the party in a way that will now be lost. It’s a sad day for Republicans.