Many Virginia Republican leaders who have attended the Republican convention for decades will not be in attendance this year.
Former Congressman Tom Davis who chaired John Kasich’s campaign in Virginia will be watching Nats this week.
“The Dodgers are here for a three-game series. I’m going to the Nats games,”
Former Governor and Senator George Allen will be on a camping trip in the west this week. Of our 8 Republican Congressmen and women, only one has committed to going to Cleveland, Rob Wittman, who is running for Governor next year. He needs to be there. The 10th district’s Congresswoman, Barbara Comstock has made it VERY clear that she wants nothing to do with Trump and will not attend the convention. She has not even committed to voting for him. Congressmen Dave Brat and Scott Rigell have also said they will not attend the convention.
Ed Gillespie, another candidate for Governor next year, will attend the convention although his focus will not be on Trump. From the Washington Post,
“Yes, Ed will be there next week for a couple of days to spend time with the Virginia delegation,” said Chris Leavitt, executive director of Gillespie’s political action committee.
Former Lt. Governor John Hager was not chosen to be a delegate and will miss this convention,
“They were hoping for a coup. I was just hoping to just get selected as a delegate,
“This will be the first one I’ve missed since 1980″, he said.
Hager’s son Henry is married to Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of George W. Bush. Hager is very well connected in Virginia politics and never misses a chance to be in the political arena, except this year when he won’t be at the convention.
Former Governor Jim Gilmore was also not chosen to be a delegate but he was in Cleveland last week to preach Republican unity,
“I am not a ‘Never Trump’ person like Romney or Bush or any of those people,” he said in an interview earlier in the week. “I’m trying to hold the party together.”
“There’s not a role for me to play (at the convention),” Gilmore said. “I have constructive things I can do here.”
More on the story here.
Jeb Bush won’t attend the convention or even vote for Trump. Many Republican Senators also won’t attend. More on that story here.
