Gillespie won by landslide over Hill at 2014 Virginia Republican Convention

Ed Gillespie at 2014 Virginia GOP State Convention. Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell.

By Lynn R. Mitchell

At the 2014 Virginia Republican State Convention in Roanoke, Ed Gillespie soundly defeated Shak Hill for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, and then went on to come within a whisker of toppling incumbent senator Mark Warner. Final results were Warner 49.2 percent; Gillespie 48.4 percent; Sarvis 2.5 percent (see How Gillespie nearly slayed Warner).

Monday after Ed Gillespie’s name began circulating for governor after Mark Obenshain announced he was not running, radio host John Fredericks wrote the following false comment on his Facebook page:

Gillespie barely beat back a woefully underfunded convention challenge for U.S. Senate in Roanoke in 2014 by Shack Hill — who raised a little over $20,000 and ran what amounted to a Mail-Chimp campaign.

Wrong, wrong, and wrong. Here are the facts with the numbers to back them up. Ed Gillespie won by a landslide over Shak Hill (and the other two candidates), as noted at the time by blogger Justin Higgins who attended the convention and asked, “Just how badly did Gillespie beat Hill?”

Today’s the day … Lexy and Justin tying the knot

By Lynn R. Mitchell

In September Justin popped the question, and Lexy said yes. Today is the day they will marry, these two friends who will become man and wife. To be invited to their nuptials was an honor.

When they became engaged in September, I wrote about the happy news (see Justin popped the question, Lexy said yes):

Lexy and Justin tying the knot

By Lynn R. Mitchell

In September Justin popped the question, and Lexy said yes. In a month they will marry, these two friends who will become man and wife. To be included in their nuptials is an honor.

When they became engaged in September, I wrote about the happy news (see Justin popped the question, Lexy said yes):

Morgan Griffith offers background on Nov. 13th Speaker vote

By Lynn R. Mitchell

On the eve of a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives for Speaker of the House, Virginia Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-9th CD) issued a press release related to the upcoming vote:

Justin popped the question, Lexy said yes

Justin and Lexy
(Photo used with permission)

By Lynn R. Mitchell

It’s not every day you see a headline that reads, “Blogger Gets Engaged,” but that’s the lead story by Justin Higgins over at his JHPolitics blog.

RPV’s Mike Thomas calls for treasurer FitzSimmonds to resign

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Mike Thomas, First Vice Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, has called for the resignation of GOP treasurer Bob FitzSimmonds, former aide to Ken Cuccinelli and currently chief deputy clerk of court in Prince William County, after inflammatory remarks made by FitzSimmonds earlier in the week about Muslim Americans (see Va. GOP treasurer is said to offer resignation after Facebook post on Muslims).

In a Facebook post Friday morning, Thomas, who is one of the most widely-respected Republicans in the Commonwealth, noted the responsibility of those in leadership who represent RPV:

Freedom of Religion is just as much a part of our Constitution as Freedom of Speech. What is missing here is responsibility. Any individual is entitled to express his or her opinions on a subject. I will defend their right to do so, even when I disagree with it. BUT, if the individual is an officer or leader of the Republican Party, they have a RESPONSIBILITY to the Party to conduct themselves in a way that is respectful of others and accurately reflects the values of the Party.

Regrettably, the RPV Treasurer has not, in my opinion, exercised this responsibility as an officer of RPV through repeated public comments that are at best not respectful of others and not reflective of the Party, and he should step down as Treasurer.

Thomas joins others in the party calling for FitzSimmonds’ resignation including Republican Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates William Howell.

Dear RNC, could you be kinder and gentler with $$ requests?

By Lynn R. Mitchell

I’ve got to admit that the subject line of the email from RNC that landed in my email box this morning was a bit shocking.  “Lynn, did you abandon the RNC?” it read.

Actually, I got no further than that. I found it a bit in-your-face and not the usual mild request. But perhaps that was its purpose — to get your attention — when you normally pass over the multiple emails that come asking for money, volunteers, support, whatever.

Click. I deleted it and moved on.

This afternoon I noticed on Facebook that several Young Republicans were discussing that email, and they weren’t any too happy with the tone. Even Justin Higgins at JH Politics had written a post on it so I went to my trash file and retrieved the offensive email and, this time, opened it.

Obamacare loses, Hobby Lobby wins in Supreme Court decision

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The internet has exploded with the news of today’s landmark Supreme Court decision in favor of craft supply giant Hobby Lobby and its stand against the overreaching of Obamacare. Every news outlet has coverage so I won’t repeat it here but be sure to check out Justin Higgins’ post at JHPolitics (see Supreme Court sides with Hobby Lobby against Obamacare contraception mandate).

GOP 7th Congressional District donates $$ to help statewide candidates

By Lynn R. Mitchell

After Wednesday night’s 7th Congressional District meeting, much misinformation has been circulating Virginia from those who disapproved of the actions taken by the majority of the committee.

The 7th under the leadership of former chairman Linwood Cobb, one of the most effective district chairmen in the state, and Majority Leader Eric Cantor was excellent at raising hundreds of thousands of dollars used to fund Republican candidates throughout the 7th and the rest of the Commonwealth. They were a team that helped grow the party and held two of the largest Republican events in the state each year with the Republican Roundup that drew thousands of attendees, and Eric Cantor’s annual breakfast that had 1,700 attending in 2014.

#2: Media & bloggers from RPV State Convention 2014

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Justin Higgins (JHPolitics) with the LynnRMitchell.com crew (Alex Davis, Kurt Michael).

Cantor challenger Brat stands up Grover Norquist

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Mr. Brat didn’t go to Washington on Wednesday.

The Dave Brat campaign set up a schedule of events for Wednesday in D.C. that included a meeting with Grover Norquist and made sure to spread the news to the press and social media and even the Washington Post.

Washington Post reporter Robert Costa wrote:

Brat, a primary challenger to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), made arrangements to attend two exclusive meetings Wednesday: anti-tax activist Grover Norquist’s weekly breakfast at the Washington offices of Americans for Tax Reform, and the Weyrich lunch, a Capitol Hill gathering of hard-right operatives named after the late conservative strategist Paul Weyrich.

Calls were made, details were confirmed, and on Monday, Brat said in an interview that he was excited … He was ready to make his pitch to the grassroots power brokers who have lifted conservative unknowns with their mailing lists and social-media reach.

Libertarian Chris Stearns takes on Republican Reid Nicholson in 3rd District chairman’s race

By Lynn R. Mitchell

It’s decision time for voters in the 3rd Republican Congressional District where Chris Stearns is up for reelection as chairman, a position he has held the past two years.

Stearns, a former national leader from Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty — indeed, Ron Paul himself and his son Rand Paul endorsed Stearns for his short-lived state senate bid where he was soundly defeated — holds many libertarian views such as legalization of drugs, isolationistism, and others listed on the libertarian party platform as Justin Higgins noted over at JH Politics. Check out his post “Matt Kibbe, Chris Stearns, and the GOP’s direction.”

Justin Higgins: ‘Controversies Compound in 2nd District Debacle’

By Lynn Mitchell

The amount of disturbing news about irregularities in the 2nd Congressional District continues to grow with the latest post from Justin Higgins at JH Politics as he follows this unfolding story. He wrote yesterday about the College Republican who was refused by Chairman Gary Byler to participate because he had not received a paper notice of her appointment even though he acknowledged receiving an email notification. Justin expands on that aspect of the questionable conduct by Byler:

2nd Congressional District: Paper copies, please … emails not accepted

By Lynn R. Mitchell

In the electronic age that we live in, this would be comical if it wasn’t so serious. Apparently 2nd Congressional District Chairman Gary Byler is still attached to paper copies, or so it would seem from what Justin Higgins has revealed about Saturday’s convention and Byler’s questionable disqualification of the College Republican representative. According to Byler, she was ineligible to vote because he had not received a paper copy of her appointment to the position.