Richmond, VA — With just over 3 weeks to go until the chaotic GOP primary, Virginia Republicans are mired in a brutally divisive final sprint. The infighting reached new heights this week after a dark money group rolled out a series of anti-Youngkin ads made to look like they were coming from Kirk Cox’s campaign, along with ongoing charges of corruption and cheating. 

Here’s how the floodgates opened:

• Kirk Cox stated that the vicious attacks were “manipulative behavior” and that whoever is behind them is “cowardly and wrong.”
• Glenn Youngkin’s campaign called it “a desperate smear attempt” from Pete Snyder — who they say has “no problem lying and cheating” — and accused him of “trying to rig the process every step of the way.”
• Pete Snyder has accused Youngkin of being responsible for “negative, dishonest smears” against other Republicans running for office. 
• In a show of his political courage, Youngkin’s campaign “did not respond to a request for comment” about this allegation.

Meanwhile, Amanda Chase is leading the pack as the first candidate to declare her intent of earning Donald Trump’s endorsement. Chase has announced that she is traveling to Florida to meet with the disgraced former president who lost Virginia by 10 points to seek his support ahead of the GOP convention. In a testament to Donald Trump’s hold over Virginia Republicans, Chase is already ringing alarm bells and telling her supporters not to trust the Virginia GOP to deliver accurate convention results. “I will be prepared to sue in court to force a public count,” she warned. 

“The constant, vicious attacks Virginians are seeing every day make clear that this Republican primary is nothing short of a chaotic disaster,” said Manuel Bonder, DPVA spokesman. “While Virginians are focused on recovering from the pandemic, these Republicans are chasing Donald Trump’s endorsement and fighting to prove who’s the most extreme candidate. These vicious threats and smear campaigns show how extreme and out of touch they are.”

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