By Cynthia Dunbar
Earlier this month I announced that I would be seeking election as the next Republican National Committeewoman from the Commonwealth of Virginia. I am excited about the opportunity to carry the conservative banner for my fellow Virginians, alongside legendary National Committeeman Morton Blackwell.
Serving on the Republican National Committee, and on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia, is not a task to be taken lightly. It involves making decisions on some of the most important issues facing our Party. This is why I have been so humbled by the response to my announcement that I am running.
I am proud to have received the full support and endorsement of our outgoing RNC Committeewoman, Kathy Hayden. Kathy Hayden has served us with great distinction and commitment. Her recognition as a conservative voice on the RNC has helped cement Virginia’s leading role in shaping our Party. I shall do everything I can to honor her service and continue her leadership.
Additionally, I am honored to have the endorsements of other strong conservative leaders from across the Commonwealth. Those in my own back yard in the 5th and 6th Congressional Districts include stalwart leaders such as: Sen. Bill Stanley (R-Franklin), State Central Committee Member Chris Shores, State Central Committee Member Peyton Knight, State Central Committee Member Travis Witt, Delegate Ben Cline HD 24, former State Central Committee member Scott Sayre, Page County Chairman Charlotte Homer, and Amherst County Chairman Spencer Drake.
These leaders recognize the disconnect that exists between party bosses who control the levers of power at the RNC and someone who has spent a lifetime as a grassroots activist. At a young age I was shaped by my parents and their conservative values and tested on the campaign battlefield while helping in their campaigns for Assoc. Circuit Judge and the Missouri State Senate. It was their guidance and this experience that prompted me as a high school student to join the Reagan Revolution, and I was selected to serve as a Youth Delegate to the 1980 Republican National Convention. While I was a student at Regent University School of Law I volunteered on Pat Robertson’s 1988 Presidential campaign, engaging me in Virginia and in National politics.
In my campaign for the Texas State Board of Education I had a district twice the size of a congressional district and I carried all 16 counties, including my opponent’s home county. In that capacity I was able to zealously defend the principles that are the foundations of our Republican Party. This experience forged me as a leader of our Party, and someone with a proven track record of being an unwavering voice of truth and liberty in the face of strong liberal opposition. After leading the charge on the Texas State Board of Education to defend our values and protect the integrity of our nation’s history, I was recruited to join the Law School at Liberty University.
While at Liberty I continued to support and promote the Republican platform and its underlying principles. I have branched out beyond the routine methods of growing the Party to implementing cutting edge mobilization including educating the voting populace on our Constitutional Republic, training students to draft sample legislation to work through the House of Delegates, and recruiting, training and supporting the next generation of conservative leaders.
Respected national conservative leaders know me. But what I wear as a bigger badge of honor is that I am equally known by the liberals who fear me. My work as an outspoken Conservative Republican has earned me the respect of the right, and the ire of leftist media and activists such as the New York Times, The Guardian, Keith Olbermann, and Right Wing Watch, making me a known national figure in the political arena.
As I travel around the Commonwealth, I am humbled to have the support of so many in our Party. For those of you with whom I haven’t yet had the pleasure of speaking, I hope to have the honor of earning your support and your vote in the upcoming 2016 Virginia Republican Statewide Convention.
We are facing a crucial time in our nation’s history and for the sake of our future, we must advance the ideals and principles we hold dear as Republicans. I have a documented record of not only unwaveringly aligning with these ideals, but also being an outspoken leader effectively championing measures that restore our nation to its greatness.
Current circumstances require more than country club Republican rhetoric; we must select leaders whose mettle has been tested on heated battlefields—and who have emerged victorious. I am such a leader, and I pledge to you I will lead, never follow. For the sake of our Republican Party, our Commonwealth, our Nation and our future, I earnestly seek your support.
