9th District Convention Stuff

I had the distinct privilege of spending a good portion of the day today down in Max Meadows at the 9th District Convention at Fort Chiswell High School.  Here are just a few of my observations from the day’s festivities:

• People seem genuinely divided on the Chairman’s race.  I heard many, many folks declare themselves undecided (including me) and no matter who you are for, the fact that so many are still thinking about it cannot be comforting news for the incumbent.  Whether Jeff Frederick can capitalize on that remains to be seen, but I was impressed that Frederick himself was at the Convention and stayed throughout the entire event.
• John Brownlee is running for AG.  His wife, LeeAnn Brownlee, was at the convention, gave a very good speech for what she called her “first stump speech” and was passing out stickers and literature.  Word is that he will be announcing in Roanoke on Tuesday. I talked to a number of folks who were enthused about him running and some others who had no idea who he was, so that is something to keep an eye on.
• No sweet tea at lunch. Very disappointing. BBQ was good though.
• Congratulations to Michelle Jenkins who was elected as the new 9th District Chairman. It looks like she will have her work cut out for her, but from everything I have seen and heard, she is equal to the challenge.
• Man, they still love Jerry Kilgore down here.  Good to see him looking well.
• The greatest point of contention at the convention seemed to be whether or not to run anyone against Rick Boucher for Congress. One side argued that keeping our powder dry and running no one was better than running a weak candidate.  Others felt that having no candidate was a sign of weakness in the Party and that any Republican name on the ballot was better than none.  Ultimately, the convention gave the Executive Committee the power to select a candidate to run, should they be able to do so before the filing deadline.
• When is campaign technology going to advance enough to make lapel stickers obsolete? I felt like Ricky Bobby with a Fig Newtons sticker on his windshield by the time I made it into the building.
• John Hager had water.  Jeff Frederick had water AND doughnuts.  What, no Starbucks?
• Despite saving time, not having a roll call of localities took a lot of flavor out of the convention.  Everybody loves pimping their counties and cities.

I love being back in Southwest Virginia.  If I missed anything, please add it in the comments. See y’all in Richmond.

Category: Catch-All