In Newport News an election recount in Virginia’s 94th district has given the win to the Democrat, Shelly Simonds over Republican Delegate David. She has won by 1 vote, which will split the House of Delgates 50-50. RPV have conceded the race. From thehill.com:
“After a close recount it appears the citizens of the 94th District have elected Shelly Simonds to the Virginia House of Delegates, pending confirmation by a three judge panel,” the statement read. “We congratulate Delegate-elect Simonds and welcome her to this historic body. We also thank Delegate David Yancey for his distinguished service.”
It sounds like everything in the House will be a negotiation but with a Democrat Governor and Lt. Governor, it doesn’t look good for Republicans.
18 comments
I remember the RPV insiders saying to me, they would pretty much concentrate on 2017 instead of 2016. They considered 2016 a lost cause, before it even started. A lot of good that did!
The albatross that is Donald Trump is firmly affixed around the neck of every Republican. Unless his obnoxious, insulting, and juvenile behavior changes, it will just get worse. It’s a shame because the policies he is pursuing are laudable. The good news is that he is running out of people and organizations to insult and offend.
I agree with everything you wrote … but now what? It seems to me that Republicans in Virginia have come to a crossroads. In 2019 the entire legislature will be up for grabs. This will follow a national election in 2018 where, if history is any guide, the party opposing the sitting president will make major gains. Meanwhile, the demographics of Virginia keep tipping to the left. Against that backdrop 2019 could be the Waterloo for Republicans in Virginia. It seems to me that the only hope for the RPV is to focus on Virginia rather than national issues and put forth a big, bold idea that will keep Virginians focused locally in 2019 rather than on sending Trump another message.
Without Trump , no tax reform..come on…think for a moment, Republicans h ave been losing in Va long before Trump was a candidate.
I’m afraid that you have not yet come to grips with the magnitude of the 2017 Virginia state losses. The tax reform, which is certainly not winning the hearts and minds of Americans, could have been accomplished by any Republican president.
Virginia has been pretty blue for some time. Its always easier to get votes when you give away the store, which is what the Democrats always do. One vote isn’t exactly a landslide, so this Dem will need to tred carefully if she is interested in re-election. Shame on the Republicans who were too lazy to get out to vote. Every vote matters!!!
You make a fair point. There is some chance that 2017 was the anti-Trump backlash election and 2019 will see a return to historical trends. There are three reasons I don’t think that will happen. First, President Trump will continue to be outlandish in what he says (and Tweets). Regardless of his accomplishments there is a significant percentage of people “in the middle” who just don’t like the man. The mainstream media will continue their biased and unethical assault on President Trump. Over the past 12 months CNN has proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are willing to misinform for ratings and (perhaps) political purposes as well. Third, even if my first and second points are wrong the overall demographics in Virginia are running against conservatives and Republicans (as you note).
What should Republicans / conservatives in Virginia do between now and 2019? Is the situation hopeless?
Why bother voting when the Republican party puts up sub-standard candidates? Then again, why bother voting when you have local party affiliates such as the one on Fauquier County where you aren’t a “Good Republican” unless you kiss the ring of the Piedmont Environmental Council and give money to Democrat candidates?
Screw you for casting dispersion on those who were too lazy to vote. Yes, voting is our right and voting is also a choice. Guess you want to go the totalitarian route and force everyone to vote.
By the way… I voted. Keep it up RPV, you’re making the Libertarian party look more and more appealing.
A famous person once said “a house divided against itself cannot stand”. Forgive me if the quote is off a little..from memory. But this rot has been building inside the Va gop since the Rhinos took a walk on Ollie North…Eventually, it takes a toll.
From Ollie North to Roy Moore, convicted felon to alleged child molester . . . it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
How will the landscape look two years from now? Northam won’t do anything so he can’t make any serious mistakes. Trump will still be Trump. Corey Stewart will still be Corey Stewart. You’ve got to bet that more of the middle will be alienated than is the case today. I’d say it’s a 75% chance that the Democrats will have the Governor, Lt Governor, Attorney General, House of Delegates and Senate. That will happen just ahead of the 2020 Census and put the Dems in the driver’s seat for the redistricting. This could be the end of days for the Republican Party of Virginia.
So, what to do? The RPV needs to embrace an extremely bold plan for Virginia. To the greatest extent practical, let Virginia’s regions govern themselves. De-evolve transportation to the regions / localities. Let the regions fund their own spending. Cut the overall state taxes and let the liberal regions tax their citizens more and the conservative regions tax their citizens less.
Let’s face it – Virginia’s 5 – 8 regions have less and less in common as time goes on. The idea of allowing the regions to manage themselves free from much of the tyranny of Richmond is a step forward for freedom and liberty.
Besides that – it’s the only way to salvage what’s left of Virginia’s conservative culture. The alternative is an all powerful, all Democratic power structure in Richmond dictating their liberal policies to all Virginians.
The RPV has lost the war in Virginia. It’s time to save what can be saved.
So the Republicans only want to embrace empowering localities when they have lost their stranglehold on the entire Commonwealth? And you wonder why you continue to lose ground on VA.
Eric the troll and a half:
I’ve been a strong supporter of diluting Dillon’s Rule in Virginia for many years. I’ve posted many blog entries on BaconsRebellion about this topic. I’ve always found it odd that Virginia Republicans love the idea of states’ rights but can’t understand the benefits of localities having the power to do what’s best for their locality. Virginia is an extremely backwards state from a political perspective. Arguably the most backward state in America. I “lean right”. About 67% of my votes are for Republican candidates and 33% for Democratic candidates. I prefer moderates to zealots. In my opinion Virginia will never be more than a backwater old southern state lifted up almost entirely by a flood of federal money until it cleans its political house. That means a new state constitution, two consecutive terms for the governor, no more off year elections, minimized gerrymandering, cities within counties, etc. I honestly don’t care which political party gets desperate enough to start thinking about wholesale reform.
DJR.
As we TOLD YOU PROPHETICALLY Virginia Republicans’ DECADES of hateful politics – hating gays, hating trans people, hating the poor, hating the sick, hating immigrants, Muslims, and people of color you couldn’t figure out came back to BITE you in the ARSE. HURTS ain’t it?
I don’t think Republicans want to be Democrats, and apparently you think that is the road forward. Your constant babbling about Republicans being mean and hateful people is a Democrat talking point that makes you feel good about the disaster of the Obama administration. If you want more socialism, then you ought to leave the USA and try someplace else. The welfare state mentality of folks like you is killing Western Europe, and I would prefer not to join them. Give me a bold America First agenda that rewards success and avoids failure.
THE PROOF OF OUR PROPHETIC ANALYSIS: just one person – ONE – can you count ‘1’? or do you believe that numbers are ‘fake news’?, or SOCIALIST CONSPIRACIES? etc? –
In the House District in question,
just one person who voted Democratic BECAUSE they head how hateful Republicans talk about gay, trans, people of color, mixed race people, immigrants, people who are sick, poor people, etc …
JUST ONE – might be decided to vote for the Republican team, but DID NOT – lost Republicans the House of Delegates.
JUST ONE.
Yes, we can see you want everyone to get out of your way so the nation can become socialist. Sorry, an awful lot of us are not interested in that. The Stalinist libs on the left want us to abandon our ethics, our religious beliefs, our civil rights, and our culture to become some type of society which is no longer American but only exists in a far left fairy tale. As Margaret Thatcher said, eventually you run out of other peoples money. You know, the money you DEMs use to pay off the leftist types who vote in clear racist blocks for the candidates who will give them freebies. Contrary to lemming thought, Republicans do not want people dead. We want freedom of choice. Some of that means we want to choose how to spend our own money rather than having the govt confiscate it and use it on others. A large number of us have nothing against gays, but having them marry, forcing people to validate them when it violates their religious beliefs, teaching children that your sexuality is a choice, no we won’t go along with that. As for immigrants and refugees, we have no obligation to them and the era in which the US needed millions of unskilled laborers died long ago–they are taking our jobs, and straining tax resources which should be used for our own people. Thats the reality, Jack. The culture and crime issues they present couldn’t be clearer unless you are myopic or willfully ignorant. Unfortunately, this VA election was more about the bought and sold phony media, the slobbering Trump hatred, and the fact that many Dem voting blocks are lock-step voters unable to make an independent decision.
CORPORATE WELFARE is still WELFARE. It is the Republicans who are GIVING AWAY public monies by shifting the burden of illness and disability from CORPORATIONS and BUSINESSES that pollute air, land, and water causing or contributing to thousands of cancers, etc each year. Republicans HAVE NOT REPLACE Affordable Care Act – AS SATANIC LORD TRUMP promised – with something BETTER! So, the cost of thousands of cancers, thousands of injuries in unsafe workplaces, thousands of other harms to people, families and communities is being SHIFTED away fro the CORPORATION/BUSINESS that should be accountable onto the backs of hard working people who were harmed! This is NOT a SOCIALIST analysis; it is an INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY analysis. This is NOT a SOCIALIST analysis; it is a RESPECTING OTHER PEOPLE’S PROPERTY analysis. This is NOT a SOCIALIST analysis; it is a FAMILY VALUES analysis.