6:32 Finally, a big shout out to the 7th District’s Rep. Dave Brat. His district has been characterized by a lot of acrimony over the last two years, but he’s stayed on the same positive message relentlessly. Today was no different. There were folks on the ballot for various offices who have been diametrically opposed to him, but he stayed positive throughout. His message has been to keep our dialogue about principles, not politics, and about shared values rather than personalities and petty fights. That’s what has the 7th District united like it hasn’t been for a long time. Kudos, Congressman!
Steve Albertson
6:17 Final results in the 2nd District: Dennis Free won the Chairman vote by an apparently large margin. For the State Central Committee slots, two Virginia Beach School Board members won, Carolyn Weems and Ashley McLeod. The third SCC seat is filled now by Jeff Ryer, head staffer for the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus. Gary Byler, Waverly Woods, and Frank Wagner will be going to Cleveland as national delegates.
Steve Albertson
4:04 We’ll be on the road for the next while, so check back after 5:00 pm for more results.
Steve Albertson
4:01 In the 7th, the National Delegate race is settled: Anita Hile (on the first ballot), followed by Mark Hile and Garrison Coward. For alternate the lineup is Martha Crosby, Deborah Smith, and Cindi Marcellus, Congrats to all!
Steve Albertson
3:56 It looks like Dennis Free has prevailed in the 2nd District. Unconfirmed at this point. We’ll let you know full results, including results on the State Central Committee races, as soon as they become available. Free won with a little over 50 more raw votes from Virginia Beach, which isn’t a small number in the weighted total.
Steve Albertson
3:24 I’m told the ballots are being recounted in the 2nd because it was too close for comfort the first time around.
Steve Albertson
3:19 Balloting under way in the 7th for the national delegate and alternate races. Still no results from the 2nd. I’ve heard various reports that Dennis Free was “crushing” Gary Byler, and that Gary Byler was winning. As I mentioned below, it all comes down to Virginia Beach. Free has the backing of the established powers there, including the Stolle family and everything that comes with that. Byler has broad backing among conservatives and libertarians, but lacks the organizational heft of Free’s effort. We’ll let you know results the instant we know.
Steve Albertson
2:46 The Conservative Unity Ticket of Jasen Eige, Alec Thomas, and Marie Quinn just made a motion to elect the True Conservative ticket by acclamation. Alec exhorts the room to leave here united. Very classy, and nicely done. Now moving on to a second ballot for national delegate and alternate. On the first ballot, only Anita Hile won a majority, so she will be going to Cleveland. Congrats, Anita!
Steve Albertson
2:33 The True Conservative Ticket of Susan Lascolatte, Dewey McDonnell, and Ron Hedlund has won a handy victory in the 7th!! Detailed results to come, but margins were not close. Congrats to the Conservative Fellowship ticket!! Still up: National Delegate races, where it isn’t yet clear that a second ballot won’t be needed.
Steve Albertson
2:16 Votes now being counted in the 2nd District. Shouldn’t be long before we have some results in the 7th.
Steve Albertson
2:09 Big update: VCN sweep of all three State Central races in the 4th District. Jack Wilson retains the chairmanship by a wide margin. Congrats, Jack! [UPDATE: I am reliably informed that I was misinformed about folks int he 4th being part of a VCN ticket. I understand that these good folks ran simply as Republicans, not with any other label or support.]
In the 6th, just the reverse happened: Scott Sayre elected district chairman, and the Fellowship State Central ticket all won.
In the 7th, votes have been counted and weighted results are being tabulated. Some confusion about whether all delegates were counted in registration led to confusion about whether more people voted than were properly qualified in Culpeper, Henrico, and Chesterfield. Think this is probably resolved, but stay tuned.
Tabulating results in the 7th
Steve Albertson
12:40 Update on the situation in the 2nd: Colgate is out, but is not endorsing one of the other candidates. However, some of his core supporters are, and are trying to pull people to Gary Byler.
Steve Albertson
12:38 I haven’t seen the math, but the Conservative Fellowship ticket feels pretty confident they’ve got the numbers in the 7th. Sen. Jill Vogel (R-Fauquier) is speaking now, before voting commences.
Steve Albertson
12:36 Voting beginning now in the 7th. Counting will be very easy…the 7th is using the same optical scan balloting system used two weeks ago in the 1st, which allowed lightning fast tabulation. Hopefully no SNAFUs here.
Steve Albertson
12:33 A very high-placed source reports that Second District Chairman Curtis Colgate has dropped out of his race to be re-elected. I understand there are rumors that he will back Gary Byler instead.
Steve Albertson
12:10 Almost forgot…we’ve got 5 national delegate alternate speeches to go, too. Then we’ll move on to voting.
Steve Albertson
12:04 Voting underway in the 4th and the 6th. We’re on to the last four national delegate candidate speeches in the 7th.
Steve Albertson
12:02 National Delegate candidates in the 7th now speaking. First up are Garrison Coward, followed by Benjamin Dessart. Next are Mark and Anita Hile, beloved (or feared, depending on your perspective) grassroots activists from Henrico. Anita, and then Mark, really nail the importance of the national convention: Platform and Rules.
Steve Albertson
11:55 From the 2nd, rumors are floating around that 2nd District Chairman Curtis Colgate may drop out of the race prior to voting. It seems pretty clear to multiple observers that he would not survive to any second ballot. The big question is which candidate will pick up Colgate’s support: Gary Byler, or Dennis Free?
Steve Albertson
11:51 Alec Thomas speaking now. Definitely has a good group of supporters in his home county of Chesterfield. Speaks about his background in Republican campaigns. Pledges that he will (1) type up a digest of what happened at each State Central meeting; (2) push a Party Plan amendment that would bar all party officers from endorsing in any nomination contest; and (3) bring his campaign experience to the State Central Committee.
Steve Albertson
11:45 Strong speeches from Susan Lascolette and Dewey McDonnell. Long time grassroots stalwart Marie Quinn speaking now. There are very visible geographic fault lines…mixed support for the different tickets county by county. In Henrico, support is mixed. There is huge support for the conservative ticket in the smaller, rural outlying counties. In Chesterfield, there are cheers for the VCN ticket members, crickets for the others.
Steve Albertson
11:44 Report from the 4th: 240 delegates checked in and about to commence voting. The 4th is a stronghold for the Trump organization, so any anti-establishment candidates are going to be a threat.
Steve Albertson
11:38 Firebrand State Central candidate Ron Hedlund is now speaking. Transparency, integrity, and accountability are his watchwords. He gets a very healthy reception. Goes after RPV Chairman John Whitbeck pretty hard for getting involved in his race. “Ladies and gentlemen, I know the majority of people in this room agree, this kind of meddling by the chairman and executive director has no place in local party race, and it’s unacceptable.”
Steve Albertson
11:32 In the 2nd District, the marquee race is between sitting District Chairman Curtis Colgate, Dennis Free, and former District Chairman Gary Byler. Sources indicate Free is looking strongest. However, given that it’s a three-way race, there will be a second ballot unless one candidate gets a majority on the first ballot. In the 2nd, as always, everything comes down to how Virginia Beach votes. The Beach has, by a very wide margin, the largest weighted vote in the district, and pretty much decides how any contested race will turn out.
Steve Albertson
11:28 State Central candidate speeches in the 7th are starting. First up (in alphabetical order) is Jasen Eige.
Steve Albertson
11:23 Candidate speeches underway in the 4th and 6th. Nominations committee reporting who the qualified candidates are in the 7th.
Steve Albertson
11:23 Candidate speeches underway in the 4th and 6th. Nominations committee reporting who the qualified candidates are in the 7th.
Steve Albertson
11:19 Credentials Committee reports that 700 delegates have been duly credentialed. That breaks down as follows: 37 people may vote only on National Delegates and Alternates (those who did not pay the mandatory filing fee to be delegates) and 663 people who paid the filing fee and may also vote on the State Central races. Those 700 people will cast a district-wide weighted total vote of 1298 votes.
Steve Albertson
11:07 There was a motion from the floor, which carried by a wide margin, to leave registration open to accommodate late arrivals due to traffic and weather. As parliamentarian, I had the unfortunate responsibility to rule this motion out of order, given that the Official Call required that registration be closed at 10:30, and no motion to modify the provisions of the Call is in order. (Yes, boring parliamentary stuff that makes eyes glaze over…but at least it has the effect of speeding things along). Credentials committee report is now being given.
Steve Albertson
11:01 Now that registration in the 7th has closed, we’re moving on to credentials, but credentials hasn’t finished their work. This is going to delay the proceedings.
Steve Albertson
11:00 Sen. Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania) is now speaking. Reeves is going beyond the time allotted to him. The Senator, who is running for Lieutenant Governor, made a Facebook splash this week when he endorsed the VCN ticket here in the 7th. That’s an unconventional way to win support at next year’s convention. One of my colleagues at TBE remarked to me yesterday, “I never thought I’d say that I’m supporting Jill Vogel for anything, but I am now.”
Steve Albertson
10:56 From the 4th District, apparently three candidates for National Delegate who withdrew their candidacies nonetheless are given time to speak. Two of them use their time to endorse the re-election of District Chairman Jack Wilson, who is facing a challenge from Carolyn Worssam. I’m told that much of the personnel infrastructure of the Virginia Conservative Network is deployed in the 4th today. Of course, many of those folks are quite visible here in the 7th as well.
Steve Albertson
10:51 The Congressman describes the key pillars of our society: first is the Judeo-Christian foundation, which paves the way for the rule of law. The rule of law allows for the protection and promotion of individual liberties. These together allow free markets, and all the real good that flows from that. Without any of these pillars, we’re no longer able to be the kind of America we want to be.
Steve Albertson
10:48 Brat spends a good portion of his remarks on a reminder of the religious foundation of our country. We can’t win on the issues when we’ve left our moorings…when, for example, kids at UVA vote to define the use of the term “America” as a “microagression,” it points to a moral and spiritual failure that can’t be corrected at the ballot box.
Steve Albertson
10:43 Brat exhorts the crowd to not just participate in elections, but to provide a continuous support system for those whom they elect: keeping them accountable to the voters, shining a light on the right policies, and helping to shape the terms of the larger debate.
Steve Albertson
10:38 Dave Brat is now speaking. His speech is uplifting about the power of the grassroots. “When I’m in DC I’ve got some good cover. I’ve got the people of the 7th District behind me. And the whole world knows that.” Brat welcomes the new members of the district as a result of redistricting from Powhatan, Nottoway, and Amelia counties, and gives a shout out to those counties the district lost in redistricting: Hanover and New Kent.
Steve Albertson
10:33 It will be interesting to see how the assembled crowd, who clearly love Rep. Brat, will treat the contest for the RPV State Central Committee. Will the results break along pro-Brat/anti-Brat lines, as the ticket of Susan Lascolette, Dewey McDonnell, and Ron Hedlund want, or will it reflect something else?
Steve Albertson
10:29 Brat’s presence here highlights the real story of today’s 7th District Convention. The ripple effects, and reactions, to his defeat of Eric Cantor in 2014 are still visible. The big contest today is between two tickets for the State Central Committee: one made up of original “Brat Pack” members who supported Brat’s upstart rebellion from the beginning, and one composed of those who have gone out of their way for the last two years to undermine and weaken Brat, primarily to soften him up for a nomination challenge but also to blunt his impact on intra-party affairs. Sen. Chase’s speech took about 6 minutes, and she is followed by Henrico Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, who is also giving introductory remarks for Dave Brat.
Steve Albertson
10:24 The featured speaker before getting to the rest of the business is the 7th District’s nominee for Congress, the very popular Rep. Dave Brat. Sen. Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) is introducing him now. Brat gets a standing ovation before he even takes the stage. This is HIS district.
Steve Albertson
10:15 We’re live in the 7th. Ken Peterson has been elected temporary chairman, and yours truly has been appointed to serve as parliamentarian. So I beg your pardon in advance if the business of the convention prevents me from posting regularly.
Steve Albertson
10:02 We’re providing live, on-site coverage from the 7th District Convention at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in downtown Richmond. We will relay reports from our friends at the other conventions: the 2nd District Convention, the 4th District Convention, and the 6th District Convention. The gavel is about to come down in the 7th.
