While we’re still searching for a number of State Senate candidates in various districts across Northern Virginia, one district that has been saturated with candidates is 39th Senate District, currently held by George Barker (D). The seat was previously held by Jay O’Brien, who was a candidate for a few weeks before bowing out under an ethical cloud. His primary opponent, Scott Martin, has been campaigning steadily for months now, and while I have heard rumors of a potential opponent, Martin is the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the 39th.
Martin sent out invitations to his campaign kick off earlier this week, and I have to say that the amount of work he’s done is unbelievable. The kick-off is schedule for January 6 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM in the same firehouse that FCRC held our pancake breakfast last November. That’s kind of an odd choice, considering it’s in Chap Petersen’s 34th Senate District rather than the 39th, but when you look at the speakers he’s got lined up, it makes sense – he’s going to need a big venue. The list of folks speaking and the list of his “Host Committee,” the traditional listing of folks who’ve endorsed the campaign, is unbelievable. I’m truly amazed at who he’s got lined up supporting his campaign. To see the whole list, click on the graphic or you can click here.
Joe Wilson, of “you lie!” fame, Dexter Manley of the Redskins, Corey Stewart, and former Clifton Mayor Tom Petersen are “featured,” with Ken Harvey of the Redskins, Delegate Barbara Comstock, Lt. Col. Gordon Merritt, Christine Bolognese and Amy Josephson are “special guests.”
Now, that’s an impressive crew of folks all coming out to support Scott Martin’s primary campaign. But what I really have to give him credit for is his “Host Committee.” Those of us who are familiar with political fundraising – and I’ve hosted and sponsored more than my fair share for members of Congress and the Senate in my past jobs – look at the list of folks on the Host Committee pretty carefully, because the folks on that Committee are generally the people who have endorsed the candidate and are providing some kind of monetary support for the campaign. According to this invite, Scott has lined up the endorsement of incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner, VA-1 Congressman Rob Wittman, Delegate Rich Anderson, Delegate Jackson Miller, Clerk of the Court John Frey and a handful of other former candidates and local Republican activists. I have to say that I’m impressed – while I wouldn’t have been surprised to see someone like Eric Cantor on the list, as he has been supportive of the FCRC in the past and was at our DC fundraiser last summer, I haven’t seen Speaker-presumptive Boehner get involved in local Virginia politics before.
Like I said, it’s pretty impressive for a local candidate like Scott Martin to get the endorsement of so many establishment Republicans, and to have so many on hand to support him at his campaign kick-off. Hopefully all these big names will translate into some serious campaign money, as he’s going to need it, especially if he ends up having a contested primary. Barker spent almost$1 million in taking on Jay O’Brien back in 2007. Martin is going to need to raise that and more in order to beat Barker.
