Not surprisingly, Manassas Mayor Hal Parrish has withdrawn from the race for the 50th delegate district. Had he remained in the race he would have faced in a primary the incumbent Republican Jackson Miller who recently lost a battle for Clerk of the Court.
Mayor Parrish’s father held the 50th delegate seat for 24 years. Parrish moved to have his name withdrawn from the ballot the day after Delegate Miller lost his bid for Clerk of the Court. From the Prince William Times:
“In reality, I had made that decision a long time ago,” Parrish said. “I told many, many people that I wanted to run and I thought I would do a good job for our citizens. But I also said I would not run if Jackson was unsuccessful, and that’s just the way it is.”
Parrish said he signed a statement asking the Virginia State Board of Elections to remove his name from the primary ballot. It’s up to the state board to officially pull it, which Parrish said he expects to happen soon.
According to Manassas voter registrar Susan Reed there may not be time to remove Parrish’s name from the primary ballot on June 13th. From InsideNova.com,
“The ballots were already printed before all this happened,” Reed said. “The same thing would’ve happened if Jackson had won the clerk’s race, even though he couldn’t run for re-election. We’ll just need to post signs and let people know.”
Mayor Parrish ran unopposed in 2008, 2012, and 2016. In 2015 he ran for the Senate seat vacated by Chuck Colgan and lost to Democrat Jeremy McPike.
