SD-13 (Open): GOP Primary is a Race...to the Far Right

Richmond, VA — When GOP Sen. Dick Black chose to retire, rather than defend his extreme, anti-women record in a district Corey Stewart lost by 19 points, some speculated that it could “clear the way for his party to nominate a moderate with more appeal to crucial swing voters.”

Fast-forward a month... and things are not going according to plan. The SD-13 Republican primary is already mired in infighting and the candidates are racing straight to the right.

In case you missed it...

Things got messy last week when Loudoun County supervisor Geary Higgins entered the SD-13 GOP primary. Incumbent Sen. Dick Black, best known for his defense of murderous dictators and strident opposition to women’s access to health care, offered Higgins his enthusiastic endorsement, touting their shared out-of-touch views on social issues -- and lobbed personal insults at candidate Ron Meyer, accusing him of being unfit to serve:

Meyer took the bait and responded in an angry, meandering diatribe in a post and video on Facebook, bragging about his right-wing bona fides -- including his opposition to common-sense gun safety measures and a woman’s right to choose:

Black’s son-in-law, conservative blogger Mick Staton, also joined the pile-on. (And another SD-13 GOP primary candidate, Mike Buscher, shared his post.)

With the candidate who claimed not to care about social issues already racing to appease Black’s supporters… it doesn’t look like the GOP will be clearing the way for a moderate to hold onto SD-13 anytime soon.

After all, we’ve seen this show before: You can always count on the VA GOP to nominate the wackiest candidate who wants the job.

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