Virginia Republicans are having an identity crisis - and it all revolves around loyalty to President Elect-Trump and his agenda. This is causing major fractures in the Republican Party of Virginia and creating a brutal race to the right in the gubernatorial primary between Frank Wagner, Ed Gillespie, and Corey Stewart.
Don't take our word for it. Check out these excerpts from Republican contributors:
Virginia Republicans are not excited and many, are utterly lost.
2017: What’s a Conservative to do? "Congressman Wittman’s announcement that he will not be seeking the Republican Party’s nomination for Governor has left thousands of conservatives across the Commonwealth asking themselves whether or not there will be any candidates worth voting for in the primary. [...] I asked Waverly Woods, a prominent TEA Party activist, founder of Virginia Freedom Caucus, and Corey Stewart supporter, why she wasn’t supporting Ed Gillespie. She said, 'Because I want to drain the swamp, not drink from it.'" - Bull Elephant, 12/8/2016
There Is No “Establishment": No one has the slightest idea what anyone is talking about anymore. The time has finally come to kill the phrase “the establishment” once and for all. [...] Our inability to communicate with one another is creating fractures and divisions between people that agree on just about everything (except for that all important issue that proves the other guy isn’t really “conservative”). - Bull Elephant, 12/8/2016
Trump loyalists want establishment Republicans to prove their loyalty - creating a full-blown race-to-the-right.
Guest column: Will Virginia conservatives “Advance” with Trump’s victory? "Clearly for conservatives to indeed advance and 'take back Richmond' the key word will be outreach, Trump style. Davis says, 'I’m working on it.' Hope her message does not fall on deaf ears of establishment conservatives and their difficult history." - Inside NoVa, 12/8/2016
Establishment politics are out; gonzo Trump-style is in. Virginia Republicans voted for Trump in the Presidential primary as a rejection of establishment politics.
Cocktails at 5:00 Anyone? "RPV Advance to celebrate the draining of the swamp [sic] starts with celebrating swamp dwellers who've been previously drained" - Bull Elephant, 12/7/2016The Republican Reprieve: "The first thing we need to do is clean out the RNC stable, top to bottom. Anyone in RNC associated with the Karl Rove wing of the Republican Party needs to be gone. [...] Once this swamp is drained and cleaned out, we quickly need to address the Republican Party in each state." - Bull Elephant, 11/17/2016President-Elect Trump: We Want Results: "Don’t waste this opportunity. You made many promises, and this is the only reason that you were put in power. We expect you to fulfill those promises, and take even more action consistent with the ideals." -Fairfax Free Citizen, 11/14/2016
One common denominator: Virginia Republicans lost big in the Commonwealth on election night, yet, they stay on a losing path.
Headline: "Virginia Republicans Descend on Richmond Riding 0-7 Streak" - John Fredericks, 12/6/2016Surprised? Not Really "But the thing that really struck me is how blue we really are. On a night that Clinton was overwhelmingly defeated, it was northern Virginia that carried our state for her. There is some work to be done." - Bearing Drift, 11/9/2016How Virginia Democrats Spent Election Night – and What it Says Moving Forward: "Yet Virginia was the one battleground state of any size that Hillary Clinton did win, and the confidence that has given party officials may yet set the state part from others which are often deemed “purple.”.. no matter how many post-election stories are written about how and why Hillary lost nationally, it needs to remain the most instructional one for the Virginia GOP." - Bearing Drift, 11/18/2016Think Virginia Republicans Are Winning? Think Again. "[...] Today, Virginia Democrats have picked up one Congressional seat. And, today, with 99.88% of precincts reporting, Hillary Clinton has won Virginia by five points. That hardly seems like a time for victory laps.There comes a point in every organization where it has to examine its culture and this incident is a perfect example of where the Republican Party of Virginia is: still embattled, bitter and losing." - Bearing Drift, 11/9/2016