Following Monday’s surprise announcement from Del. Bill Cleaveland that he will not pursue a second term in the House of Delegates, rumors began to swirl that Chris Head, who finished second to Cleaveland in the 2009 Republican primary, would soon announce his intentions to run for the 17th District seat. Those rumors were put to rest yesterday when Head, the 48 year-old manager of Roanoke’s Home Instead Senior Care, formally announced his candidacy from his office.
My belief is in an unwavering support of conservative, faith-based, family oriented values, in fiscal responsibility and transparent accountability from our government, and in vigilant defense of our constitutional rights. If you send me to Richmond, I promise I will hold fast to these values.
The open seat combined with a positive environment for Republicans could make the race for the nomination crowded, yet Chris Head is the first announced nominee. While other individuals are believed to be interested in pursuing the nomination, two of Head’s rivals in the 2009 primary joined him at his press conference to express their support for his candidacy. Head was also joined by Sen. Ralph Smith, whom some believed also might be interested in the open seat. This support portents well for Head’s chances of becoming the consensus candidate for the Republican nomination and is a testimony to the effort Head put into increasing his name recognition and visibility at party functions since his primary loss two years ago.
Approximately 60 miles east in Lynchburg, two additional candidates have thrown their names into the increasingly crowded field vying for the right to run in the newly formed 22nd Senate District: Mark Peake, an attorney and chairman of the Lynchburg Republican Committee and Claudia Tucker, chairman of the Amherst County Board of Supervisors.
Mark Peake, who was appointed to serve on the Commonwealth Transportation Board by Gov. McDonnell, vows to make transportation an critical focus of his campaign:
Transportation priorities include continuing to fund the Amtrak train from Lynchburg to Washington, D.C. and getting a U.S. 29 bypass built around Charlottesville, Peake said.He vowed to work with Sen. Steve Newman, whose 23rd District includes the other half of Lynchburg, to seek the bypass. “That is one of the key issues for this area and I will fight hard to make sure that happens,” Peake said.
“I stand for limited government, fiscal responsibility, lower spending and lower taxes,” Peake said during an announcement crowded with supporters in his law firm’s office. He added, “Limited government doesn’t mean no government”….
Claudia Tucker, who works as Senior Director of State Government Affairs for a Fortune 50 company, believes that her work with the state legislature both through her day job and through her work on the Amherst County Board of Supervisors has prepared her to represent the 22nd Senate District:
“I hire attorneys or lobbyists or whatever the case may be, and I manage them. It has been my responsibility to read all legislation, work with legislators, and educate them about our company.”
“If you want to send an attorney back to Richmond, there are a lot of choices. But if you want to send a pro-business candidate with real-world experience, there is only one choice,” Tucker said.
(If Tucker’s name sounds familiar to some Bearing Drift readers, it is because she once served at the Chief of Staff to former Speaker of the House Vance Wilkins.)
Bearing Drift has already introduced two candidates for the 22nd Senate District race; with the announcements by Mark Peake and Carla Tucker, the race now has five Republicans, including Brian Bates, Tom Garrett and Bryan Rhode.
The addition of two Lynchburg-area candidates appears to make the Republican field more geographically balanced–a fact not lost on the Lynchburg News & Advance, which reminded its readers that nearly half of the district’s population resides in the Lynchburg metro area. This regional split could help determine which candidate eventually emerges with the Republican nomination.
While the field grows, many Virginia conservatives continue to wait with bated breath to see if a draft campaign can convince the Vice Chairman of the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors, Bearing Drift contributor and longtime conservative activist Shaun Kenney to enter the race for the Republican nomination.
