To all who are concerned:
Here we are again. The State Central Committee voted last month, December 2020 for Virginia Republicans to nominate, via an unassembled convention, our candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General. Yet on Saturday January 16, there will be an attempt to change our agreed to method of convention to a primary.
It is not a matter of why did this happen. All of us know. It is about who controls the Republican Party – the establishment or the grassroots, the powerbrokers or the average Joe that just wants to see leadership that chooses not to compromise when the prevailing culture is against him or her. The attempt to make the change was discussed in a letter sent to State Central Committee members via postal mail, not email or Facebook or any other social platform.
Because of State Central’s decision six weeks ago regarding a convention, potential candidates are already “staffing up” or deciding not to run based on that decision. Time is of the essence here; November 2nd is less than 10 months away. What a travesty if State Central reneges on a commitment to hold an unassembled Convention!
What will be the outcome if the method of nomination is overturned? Trust from the average Joe in the Republican Party of Virginia will be dramatically reduced to an even lower level of confidence. The average Judy will walk away from the Republican Party and many of her friends will join. Far too many have soured in their support of the Republican Party due to Republican election fraud indifference, legislative hypocrisy, and a profound sense of discouragement that few in leadership consistently and publicly declared their support for President Trump.
As a member of State Central as well as a pastor, the stakes in November 2021 have never been higher. Virginia will be a battleground state because of what has just happened nationally in 2020 and the reality that Virginia elections are the one of the very few state wide contested elections in the United States.
Republicans will likely have their best and likely last opportunity to reclaim Virginia. Can we accomplish this by changing the method of nomination after already determined? Will the grassroots continue to support our nominees in a primary where attacks or disagreements with likeminded candidates are publicly displayed for Virginians to see?
To my State Central colleagues, we must stay committed to the nominating process determined in December and not again argue whether convention or primary is better. For this November 2 election, that decision has been made. In a state where morale has been lowered because of the aforementioned reasons, don’t add insult to injury by reversing State Central’s decision last month to select our nominations via an unassembled convention.
Travis Witt
Presidential Seat Fifth District