Dave Brat’s courting of Democrats has been exhaustively documented by the Washington Post (not to mention the Democratic operatives who want their credit).
Safe to say, the furrows for Democratic invasion into our open primary system are well-trod and expertly used to swing Republican nomination methods… hence the reason for my absolute confidence in conventions for a method of nomination — as they not only exclude Democratic (or Libertarian) influence, but ultimately provide us with more conservative nominees.
Needless to say, the same tricks seem to be at play in SEN-11 where incumbent State Senator Steve Martin is fending off a primary challenge from Barry Moore — this one coming obliquely from Chesterfield County Sheriff Karl Leonard:
I mean, it worked once before… right?
Now obviously, Barry Moore can argue (and probably will) that his campaign shouldn’t be held responsible for such tactics — which is fair.
…but it does raise eyebrows.
UPDATE: Virginia Virtucon has more:
That’s right… Moore and his surrogates are now openly courting Democrats to cross-over and vote in the Republican primary. We’re grown-ups and we know this happens sometimes. And yes, everyone has the right to participate in Virginia’s electoral process under the current legal regime. But, for a Republican candidate to openly seek Democrats to interfere with the Republican Party’s candidate selection process is beyond the pale.
Fair play.
UPDATE x2: Having helpful readers is helpful:
Ouch.