Or will defense heavy Virginia turn away from the man who some Republicans fear might be too much of an isolationist? [read_more]Pete Snyder, the Finance Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia voiced his opinion on the Paul campaign in Virginia,
“Senator Paul has a strong following in Virginia, especially in grassroots and from younger voters, he has a terrific opportunity to do really well in Fairfax County, Arlington and Virginia Beach, where he can draw from a network of younger, more engaged and probably more libertarian-leaning Republican voters.
Evidence of that support was apparent last year when Pete Snyder and Cuccinelli held a party for Rand Paul in Arlington and 450 people turned out, largely younger people.
But Virginia has a heavy military presence and a large part of the civilian defense industry. Those groups tend to be less libertarian than Paul and less isolationist. Larry Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, refers to Paul as “relatively dovish in a hawkish party”.
“Rand Paul has been moving away from what some called modified isolationism, but Paul’s many opponents for the nomination are planning massive assaults to define him as outside the GOP mainstream,” Sabato said. “Whether that’s fair or not, it will have an impact.”
Ken Cuccinelli shared his concerns about the Paul campaign in Virginia,
“One of his biggest challenges is going to be to articulate an approach to the whole area of national defense, security and foreign relations. And then he’s going to have to convince enough GOP voters that his approach is worthy of support,”
Cuccinelli thinks Paul can garner support among Republican activists in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Although Cuccinelli has not thrown his support to any candidate he has said he could ‘enthusiastically support’ Paul.
More on the story here.
