Loyola wins 6th Senate District GOP nod in a nail-biter
By JR Hoeft | Saturday, July 9th, 2011 | PoliticsToday was the Republican 6th Senate District Nominating Convention in Norfolk,VA. The contest was between Dr.Joanne Lapetina and Ben Loyola. In the end, it came down to delegate turnout, as Loyola barely carried the day with his support from the Eastern Shore.
Quick recent history of the 6th District: in 1999 the seat was held by longtime Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Stanley Walker. In that historic campaign, Nick Rerras was able to defeat Walker, which was critical in helping the GOP gain the majority in both seats of the General Assembly – the first time since Reconstruction. Rerras represented the 6th through 2007; but, for various reasons, Rerras was not elected to a 3rd term and, once again, the state senate switched party control.
With Ralph Northam only being a freshman incumbent, Republicans at the convention were eager to nominate someone who would restore the seat to GOP hands and regain the far too brief majority Republicans once possessed.
Just about any time, anyone expressed the phrase, “fire Ralph Northam,” or “take back the Senate” or “give Bob McDonnell a majority”, the entire delegation erupted in applause.
Governor McDonnell sent a note to the convention lamenting that commonsense legislation is passed in the House, only to be defeated by Democrats in the Senate. He promised delegates that he looks “forward to campaigning with whoever is nominated today and working with them when they serve in the Senate.”
The convention drew hundreds of people from Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and the Eastern Shore; but, by far, the largest contingent was from Norfolk.
Also attending were the 2012 U.S. Senate campaigns. Del. Chris Stolle (representing George Allen), U.S. Senate candidates Tim Donner and David McCormick attended in person and video messages were sent from Jamie Radtke and E.W. Jackson. Donner’s speech was very energetic and he represented himself well – mixing in not only enthusiastic support for delegates and their efforts to “beat Ralph Northam”, but also effective points about his campaign and the national picture. E.W. Jackson’s video failed to work.
Before the convention, the Loyola campaign was openly concerned about the amount of support Dr. Lapetina had in the city of Norfolk. They were of the opinion that if Norfolk went 60-40, it was quite conceivable that Dr. Lapetina would win the race, given the weight of the vote.
The credentials committee reported the following votes:
• Norfolk had 97.468 delegate votes
• Accomack had 50.184 delegate votes
• Matthews had 20.38 delegate votes
• VaBeach had 4.66 delegate votes
• Northampton had 16.060 delegate votes
The Loyola campaign had quite a bit of visible support during the floor show – especially from Team Rigell (the congressman endorsed Loyola). But observing Norfolk, it looked liked there were many folks who chose to fold their arms or sit on their hands. Exactly the opposite when Dr. Lapetina was speaking.
In the end, Lapetina carried Norfolk with the raw tally 115-86 – or 57%-43%, but that wasn’t enough to win. She stated afterwards that she needed four delegates from the Eastern Shore to have shown up and she would have won the campaign.
“Norfolk came for me today,” she said.
She graciously conceded the race to Loyola by moving that he be the party’s nominee by acclimation.
Now, Loyola, who doesn’t have strong ties to Norfolk, will have to invest the next four months heavily in the city, trying to convince many Reagan Democrats that he is the right man to represent them in Richmond over Sen. Ralph Northam.
This is the 27th Republican nominee to be selected for the upcoming 2011 General election in the State Senate. In the end, there will be 35 Republicans running in 40 State Senate seats. Democrats only managed to muster 24 candidates to defend their 22-18 seat majority.
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Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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43 Responses to "Loyola wins 6th Senate District GOP nod in a nail-biter"
What were the counts in the units other than Norfolk and how close in votes was it really overall ?
Not a very accurate article! And why no mention of the Teaparty? They came out in large numbers for Ben in Norfolk. I don’t think I observed anyone “sitting on they’re hands” when Ben was speaking either. He had a commanding presence and clearly energized and engaged the entire audience
I’m excited we have an excellent candidate and am looking forward to working with him to unseat Northam!
We do have a great candidate, it sucks that the editor of a conservative blog is discrediting the energy, motivation and support that Ben carried throughout the district. The false observations he made cause me to question his intentions and the accuracy and legitimacy of the blog as a whole. Is it even worth reading anymore?
Accomsck hsd 100 delegates.. 23 showed up.
Congratulations to Ben Loyola and looking forward to the next election. Lots of energy coming from this campaign which will help get out the votes to “give Bob McDonnell a majority”
No, Josh. It isn’t. Please find another website.
I must admit I do not know Dr. Lapetina but I have heard from a friend she is a very nice lady that was recruited by another friend of mine.
I do know Ben. With enough support financially and with volunteers, Ben will make us all proud in serving our country once again. Ben is destined to make a difference. I’ve known it since I first met him.
@Tucker – as I mentioned in the post, Lapetina asked for the nomination to be given to Loyola by acclimation, so I don’t know the totals from the other communities as they were not made available. I got the Norfolk total from Pam Brown, the unit chair.
Regarding the delegates, I am merely reporting what Lapetina said to me afterwards. If folks are saying that is not credible, then you are calling her a liar. Which, in my opinion, is pretty bad form.
Yes, the Tea Party did well. They had a banner in the convention hall and produced Loyola’s video. In both my live coverage on Twitter and in a previous post, I mentioned Loyola’s endorsement from the Tea Party and their support for him.
That said, if “coming out in force” for Loyola in Norfolk means he only gained 43% of the vote there at a GOP convention….well, hopefully their enthusiasm will carry into the General Election.
I like Ben and am glad he won. We’ll have a podcast posted with him tomorrow.
Of course Allen didn’t bother to attend – are you kidding me? Donner comes all the way from Fairfax Cty, but Allen can’t ride down from Richmond? To discuss his campaign with the heart and soul of the Republican party in Virginia!
The problem is Allen is not taking the primary seriously. I hope it’s a mistake he regrets. The nomination is not his for the asking.
Lets hope Loyola kicks some butt in the 6th!
To say the Teaparty didn’t influence this election is a bold abd highly inaccurate statement! If I’m not mistaken, I believe all of Mathews vote were Teaparty delegates, and over half of Norfolk’s were as well. In addition to the delegate contributions, I’m quite sure they did more than an endorsement video throughout the course of this nominaiton. However, one would have to be more than a passive observer to undertand the influence they demonstrated in Hampton Roads politics. I give credit where it’s due, and the Teaparty is due its credit.
Furthermore, why can’t you give the Loyola campaign the credit that it’s due? Why write this scathing article about how Ben had no support? I don’t get it. They ran a great postive campaign while Joanne went negative, and clearly had plenty of support. I can’t believe they’re getting bashed by a conservative blogger the day after the election. Especially knowing we’ve got to go in and defeat Northam.
Ben Loyola won overwhelmingly every district, including Northampton, and made a strong showing in Norfolk. HE WON. People can quibble all they want, or they can work to get rid of No-No-Northam. The Tea Party (in this case the Virginia Tea Party Alliance PAC, and the Hampton Roads Tea Party) were instrumental in nominating Ben who is an excellent candidate and a Reagan conservative. Bob Brown and Pam Brown and their team did an *excellent* job making sure that the convention ran smoothly.
Josh, everyone did their part and a thanks to Jim for the Twitter feed during the convention. Now for some good news, Ben is already slapping Northam around in the VP poll that started on Friday. http://hamptonroads.com/polls/who-would-you-see-challenge-democratic-incumbent-ralph-northam-norfolk-virginia-senate
It is time to see if ALL Republicans support Ben Loyola. We desperately need this seat, so let’s stop the posturing and get to business together!
Nice Win Ben, good to see you in the Republican forefront again. Great days ahead, many smiles from your supporters!
Great job Loyola Team.
I am only making one point: Loyola has work to do in Norfolk.
I do believe the Tea Party did well, but they will have to continue their strong efforts. If “half the delegates in Norfolk” were from the Tea Party – how come Loyola only garnered 43% of the vote there?
This is not a post to “bash Loyola” – it’s a caution that there is a LOT of hard work still to do before November.
I did not notice Mathews County or the Middle Peninsula mentioned in the article except for eligible votes. None the less I want to express my pleasure at the hospitality Norfolk displayed to it’s rural cousins from Mathews.
Our vote was 88% Loyola and 12% LaPatina. An interesting correlation is that 88% of our delegation is Tea Party affiliated either through membership or attendance.
Ben Loyola won Mathews because he came to visit us on several occasions and asked what he could do to represent our needs in the Senate. Dr. LaPetina, a really capable and nice person, made no such effort. That was a big factor in Loyola’s win. I believe with a little more campaign experience and savvy, Dr. LaPetina will be a force in the future.
Now, let’s FIRE Northam and elect Loyola!
It was a pleasure to see Ben win but as I overheard another delegate from Norfolk say, ‘I wouldn’t have any trouble supporting either of these candidates.’ They were both good conservative candidates. We couldn’t lose!
@ Tim, I just voted for Ben in the poll
I think posters herein ought to listen to J.R.; frankly, importing a carpet bagger from Virginia Beach who politically criticizes government spending, but has attained his wealth participating in government contracting, and who is virtually unknown within the Norfolk business community, will present some challenges to his candidacy. Further, since the tea party is claiming it is they who won this for Loyola, how that will play in Norfolk in the general election is a legitimate question.
I think Mike makes my point well. The TP has enough liberals making recommendations and demonizing them. There’s no need for people on our side to do it.
It appears that if there’s critism to be done, it can be done of Northam, Loyola is who we have to work with. There were some vital bills that died in the State Senate last year.
First off, the name calling Mr. Barrett is a “Carpet Bagger” too. He is not “from here”. He is a Yankee. And … he is a Democratic Party operative. Leave it to “special Interest Mike” to think that because Ben Loyola “… is virtually unknown within the Norfolk business community” is what really matters in this election! Too funny. You see, in Mike’s world, only the “business community” matters.
Um, Mike … it is the VOTERS that matter. You business lobby elites always seem to forget that that annoying reality. I know the little people that get in your way annoy you, but citizens do have a right to choose their own representatives, even the one’s that don’t stroke a check to join Virginia Beach Visions and the Chamber of Lobbyists.
Mr. Hoeft writes, “This is not a post to “bash Loyola” – it’s a caution that there is a LOT of hard work still to do before November.”
Duh.
But Mr. Hoeft, would the work would be any less if Dr. Joanne Lapetina had won the nomination?
Not really. Norfolk is not a pro-GOP city. Whoever runs with a “R” next to their name will have a hard time in Norfolk.
What is needed now is the GOP machinery to do their best to support Ben Loyola. Just as ben did when Scott Rigell won the Congressional nomination in the 2nd District. This includes hard core old skool GOP party disciples like the good folks at Bearing Drift. Time to rally behind Ben Loyola and to welcome the TEA Party support.
As Josh was pointing out, the difference between the two fine choices in the GOP for the 6th Senate nomination this year is that the TEA Party supports Ben Loyola and the Republican Party will benefit from that support.
You can say that all you want, Brian, but you know the truth.
Ben is a great candidate, but even the convention weights greater than 50% of the vote to Norfolk – and in that city, even among Republicans – Loyola was trounced.
You all want to ignore reality then that’s a risk you will have to take.
Reid – I’m not here to defend Dr. Lapetina. Although, her being from Norfolk and being a doctor – the very same credentials as the incumbent – not to mention she’s a conservative woman – may have made her a very impressive challenger.
My only suggestion herein to republicans is to avoid taking advice from Reid Greenmun seriously. As one of the spokesman for the moribund VBTA, his candidate has polled only 15% more or less in the last few elections and that was in VB which is certainly more conservative than this District. His offering advice to the republican party, which he has bashed incessantly on many other occasions, is a bit hypocritical, and if some in the Party were to realize he is as much foe and friend, you would be correct.
Hey Mike, how is that $2.5M YES Campaign working for ya? : )
I know something about the 6th Senate District: I was a volunteer for Nick Rerras in 1999, 2003, and 2007.
Reid Greenmun shows his habitual ignorance in dismissing Norfolk. Having worked the 6th, I know there are precincts in northern Norfolk with a number of Republican-leaning voters. (How do you think Thelma Drake won HoD races there?) However, J.R. is correct: it’s going to take plenty of work in Norfolk. Lit dropping the Republican-leaning precincts there needs to be organized ASAP. Staff needs to get Ben in front of every group they can for retail politics.
Ben can absorb a moderate-size loss in Norfolk itself provided he can win the other jurisdictions in the 6th.
The author writes “Now, Loyola, who doesn’t have strong ties to Norfolk, will have to invest the next four months heavily in the city, trying to convince many Reagan Democrats that he is the right man to represent them in Richmond over Sen. Ralph Northam.”
Are you kidding me,,,Benito, who has a conceal carry permit, longtime member of VCDL is probably more conservative than Reagan. He does not intend to support Gov McDonell shenanigans such as borrowing money from the state retirement system, and then claiming he balanced the budget. He is a businessman that has to meet payroll every week, and has to deal with government bureacracy and regulation every day. He certainly would not have gotten tea party endorsement if he wasn’t a hard core Patriot. Like Scott Rigell he will attract conservatives that have been tired for years of the junky RINO’s that the Republican “Leadership” has pushed on us for decades.
And I close with my moniker familiar to all my Patriot friends in Mathews County…
Beam Me Up DEAR Leader, I’m Taxed Enough Already….
What Richard said. Especially “TAXED ENOUGH ALREADY”.
D. L.
Great points by a number of commentators here. The thing I find most interesting is the sudden move by the VATPP and Radtke to capitalize on Ben’s success. Some of us have not forgotten that the GOP and the VATPP offered little to no support for Ben’s run for Congress just last year. We also haven’t forgotten that the VATP PAC until just recently was committed to just 1 race–that of their leader emeritus. Sheesh. Now, the guy (Ben) goes balls to the wall for State Senate and it’s Ha-Ha-Hee-Hee, what a great guy we have?
Look, the botom line is, many who turned their back last year have suddenly gotten religion for Ben. I’m glad for Ben, but their shameful behavior is still just that. Shameful.
GO BEN GO!
Concur with you Mr. Hicks, and I was also in the class where Ben received the training for his concealed carry permit taught by Bob Starer who is from the Eastern Shore. I saw Ben the next week at Bob’s automatic weapon quarterly event where Ben was shooting a fully auto M-16, his AR-15, a tactical M4, and a full auto .50. Ben is a true Patriot, but I also recognize that he has to get the votes in Norfolk to win. I wish him well and hope he hammers the incumbent with the tax and spend and regulation votes that Northam cast against the people of Virginia and this District. Ralph Northam may be from the Eastern Shore, but he isn’t one of us anymore.
Senator Ralph Northam (D). Liberal. Progressive. Spend-a-holic. Leftest Democrat. Party line Obamacare supporter. Get to know him. He is our new focus and he deserves every single moment we can wrestle away from our jobs, families and leisure time. Why? Because we will methodically and with every ounce of calculated political know how remove him from that Senate seat and replace him with Ben Loyola. If you are really serious about flipping the senate in Virginia, log on to http://vateapartyalliance.org. It is now time to VOLUNTEER time, talent or treasure. Doing nothing is a choice.
Did Rigell carry the 6th Senate District in 2010? Did McCain carry the district in 2008? These would be decent indicators as to how good a chance we have in 2011.
I have been lurking here watching the comments and it appears as though Mr. Barrett is using BD to trial balloon some Dem talking points about “carpet baggers” in their coming attacks on Mr. Loyola.
In reviewing Loyola’s and Northam’s on-line info, Northam graduated EVMS in 1984 and Loyola was on the Saratoga, stationed in Norfolk, that same year. Northam left for the Army, and Loyola stayed in the area and over the years was stationed at Little Creek, USACOM, CINCLANTFLT, COMSUBLANT and other commands in Norfolk. So Loyola has been in the Norfolk area continuously since 1984, but Northam has been “here and there” over that same period of time.
Based on the info at VPAP, it looks like Ralph Northam has been busy and has done very well for himself and likes to “vacation” in North Carolina. He owns a vacation home and a rental in Manteo NC, a home in Virginia Beach, another home in Onancock, VA and another home in Modesttown, VA.
So Mr. Barrett, since Ralph Northam is heavy into investment real estate and rentals, are you and he going to play “let’s make a deal” when he is defeated? To celebrate your business relationship, you can both pull out the expensive cigars and toast with a “bruised martini” on his Manteo NC yacht.
hm
Good post Mr. Bale. : )
Greetings,
I am personally exhausted after this convention, but it’s a good tired! It is well worth the effort.
Having been the controlling vote on the 6th District Commitee for it, and the primary organizer of it, I think the decision for a convention has served us well. We have a candidate now instead of August 23. We also now have an excited cservative base ready to get out there & work for our candidate. A primary wouldnot have served this purpose.
Henry Ryto, I really appreciate your remarks. Everybody writes off Norfolk. Notice: Bob McDonnll wins in 2nd District part of Norfolk. Scott Rigell wins Norfolk for 2nd District!!! You are correct–The Repblican base is in the sections of Norfolk East of Military Hwy. The folks in the House & Senate screwed Norfolk when they split Tarrallton precinct. If they had not–Northam would be a gonner already.
Folks should educate themselves on Norfolk. It’s only the 3rd District Bobby Scott part of Norfolk where we are not competetive–IN THE GERRYMANDERED Minority sections. Even in downtown Norfolk, we have heavy Republican pockets like Chrysler Museum precinct.
Ben Loyola’s candidacy is the catalyst needed to help Norfolk Republicans find their groove again that we lost with Nick’s loss in 2007 and Thelma’s in 2008.
Now is the time when the Norfolk Republican Party will
meld with the Loyola Campaign and Hampton Roads Tea Party Alliance to do the door knocks and grassroots work it will take to get Ben Loyola elected and do our part to take back the VA Senate
Sincerely,
Pam Brown
Chair,Norfolk GOP
Pam,
Thank you. In 1999 I learned where Tarrallton was fairly quickly. It’s more Republican than many Republican-leaning precincts in Virginia Beach.
In 2003 we were already out litting friendly neighborhoods to fuel enthusiasm for Nick’s reelection. I myself got a neighborhood north of E. Little Creek Road. With Ben a newcomer this time, his volunteers need to be burning shoe leather yesterday.
When you move into a district to run for public office, the term carpet bagger applies. Of course, everyone herein knows that. When the hallmark on your campaign is to run against government spending, and you have become wealthy receiving government money as a contractor, you will accused of hypocrisy. Of course, everyone herein knows that. When J.R. writes that for a man with few ties to Norfolk, it will take hard work to win in a democratic district, everyone herein knows that. When a poster on this forum, known for bashing republican candidates in the past and for producing less than 15% yes votes in a district, offers advice to a candidate about getting elected, that advice will be discarded. Everyone herein knows that.
Mike that is mighty racist of you when you are cutting down a minority candidate who is a legal immigrant to this country, served and went in harms way for our country and worked hard to become a success using the programs your party put in place to help him. Hypocrisy isn’t the problem here for Loyola, but your racist hypocrisy along with the the racist kaka you and your Democratic friends are shoveling on top of Ben is going to play well to a lot of sympathetic voters.
Fortunately Tim J, saying something does not make it so.
Mike, back at you.
I was at the convention and had all the votes and I don’t see how 4 more people from either Eastern Shore County would have swung the convention. The fact is none of the votes were announced so the nomination was by acclimation.
About a third of the Norfolk portion has never seen Northern’s name on a ballot. His roots are on the Eastern Shore, not in Norfolk. McDonnald carried the new 6th.
This is a winnable race, if we stop siniping and start talking to the voters who were not at the convention.
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