Bush’s stat sheet in Virginia continues to impress outsiders. With double the required signatures submitted a month earlier than most competitors and an immense amount of time in the Commonwealth, it’s pretty clear that Jeb Bush intends to run strong well past the SEC Primary.
According to reports from The Washington Post and LynnRMitchell.com and submitted here at Bearing Drift, Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is announcing a rather long and pretty deep list of Republican endorsements from the Commonwealth — and there is some notable firepower in these names:
Additional Jeb Bush Supporters in Virginia:
· Veronica Angulo, Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· Graves Anthony, Chair, Hampden-Sydney College Republicans
· Peggy Armentrout, Chair, Charlotte County GOP
· Barbara Bowie-Wittman, Grassroots Activist, Alexandria City
· Conrad Brinkman, College Republicans, Longwood University
· James Burton, College Republicans, UVA
· Victor Cabral, Business Leader, Arlington County
· Brenda Campbell, Fmr. President, Virginia Federation of Republican Women, Henry County
· Delegate Jeff Campbell, Virginia House of Delegates, Smyth County
· Senator Ben Chafin, Virginia Senate, Russell County
· Spencer Chaplain, College Republican, Ferrum College
· Maggie Cleary, Vice President, Federalist Society, UVA Law
· Linwood Cobb, Fmr. Chair, 7th District GOP Committee; Fmr. Member, State Central Committee, Henrico County
· Ray Connor, Commissioner of Revenue, Chesapeake City
· Chandler Crenshaw, Fmr. Chair, William & Mary College Republicans
· Richard Cullen, Business Leader, Richmond City
· Alex Owen Davis, Grassroots Activist, Radford City
· Tom Farrell, Business Leader, Henrico County
· Peter Finnochio, Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· David Fonseca, College Republicans, Liberty University
· Renee Fonseca, Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· Heywood Fralin, Business Leader, Roanoke City
· Dennis Free, Ret. Undersheriff Virginia Beach City; Ret. VBPD Police Captain, Virginia Beach City
· Marvin Gilliam, Business Leader, Washington County
· Bill Goodwin, Business Leader, Henrico County
· Barbara Greiner, Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· Marianne Horinko, Fmr. Acting Administrator of the EPA under President George W. Bush, Fairfax County
· Tyler Johnson, Fmr. Chair, William & Mary College Republicans
· Rear Admiral Jack Kavanaugh, Ret. USN; President, Downtown Norfolk Republican Club, Norfolk City
· Harry Kelso, Grassroots Activist, Henrico County
· Jay Lacano, Fmr. Chair, ODU College Republicans
· Caroline Lane, Ret. USN; Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· Ethan Lane, Grassroots Activist, Alexandria City
· Anna Lee, Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· Jorge Lozano, Grassroots Activists, Fairfax County
· Shirley Miles, Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· Elizabeth Minneman, Immediate Past Chair, College Republican Federation of Virginia
· Lynn Mitchell, Grassroots Activist, Augusta County
· Tim Nank, Grassroots Activist; Fmr. Candidate, Virginia House of Delegates, Fairfax County
· Sheila Noll, Member, Board of Supervisors, York County
· Nina Ovieda, Community Leader, Arlington County
· Eric Philipkosky, Grassroots Activist, Richmond City
· Susan Ralston, Fmr. Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, Culpeper County
· Dan and Sonia Runde, Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· Isabel “Izzy” Santa, Fmr. RNC Hispanic Communications Director, Arlington County
· Colin Sapko, Treasurer, George Mason College Republicans
· Don Scoggins, Fmr. Candidate for Occuquan Supervisor, Prince William County
· John Scott, Immediate Past Chair, Young Republican Federation of Virginia
· Kathy Simmons, Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· Gerrie Smith, Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· Mark Smith, Grassroots Activist, Loudoun County
· The Honorable John Snow, Fmr. Secretary of the Treasury, Richmond City
· Theresa Speake, Fmr. Assistant Secretary, Department of Energy, Fairfax County
· Phillip Stucky, College Republican, UVA
· Mauricio Tamargo, Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· The Honorable Nick Taubman, Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Romania, Roanoke City
· Breccan Thies, College Republican, University of Mary Washington
· Greg Thies, College Republican, UVA
· Tamara Thies, Grassroots Activist, Charlottesville City
· Thomas Turner, Chair, Western Tidewater Young Republicans; Vice-Chair, Suffolk City GOP, Suffolk City
· Rick Valentine, Grassroots Activist, Fairfax County
· Adam Washington, 1st CD Young Republican Representative; Fmr. Chair, Fredericksburg-Area Young Republicans, Stafford County
· Senator John Watkins, Virginia Senate, Chesterfield County
· Kristi Way, Member, State Central Committee, Henrico County
· Rick West, Member, City Council, Chesapeake City
· Fay Williamson, Fmr. President, Virginia Federation of Republican Women
· Neb Yegezu, College Republican, NVCC, Fairfax County
Past Endorsers
· State Co-Chair, Eric Cantor Fmr. Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
· State Co-Chair, Kay Coles James, Fmr. Member of the Virginia State Board of Education
· State Co-Chair, John Hager, Fmr. Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
· Jerry Kilgore, Fmr. Attorney General of Virginia
· Delegate David Yancey, Virginia House of Delegates
· Delegate Terry Kilgore, Virginia House of Delegates
· Delegate Will Morefield, Virginia House of Delegates
· Delegate Bobby Orrock, Virginia House of Delegates
· Sheriff Ken Stolle, Virginia Beach City
· Debbie Ritter, Member, City Council, Chesapeake City
· Stephanie Zemanek, College Republican, University of Richmond
There is no doubt that this an impressive list. It is imperative to commend the Bush campaign for not just solely focusing on the usual endorsements, but seeking out the endorsements of College Republican and Young Republican leaders. The younger leaders should never be excluded from the party, but included and encouraged. The CR and YR leaders of today will be the elected officials and party leaders of tomorrow.
This list does include a wide variety of elected officials and party leaders. In particular, it is surprising to see a large list of elected officials from Southwest Virginia. Former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, Senator Ben Chafin, Delegate Terry Kilgore, Delegate Will Moorefield, and Delegate Jeff Campbell all endorsed Governor Bush’s campaign.
In a statement to Bearing Drift, State Senator Ben Chafin had this to say:
“Jeb Bush is the leader this country needs, and the Commander in Chief I want in the Oval Office to protect my family and this nation,” said State Senator Ben Chafin, of Russell County. “Further, Jeb understands Southwest Virginia and the challenges our families are facing. He has an energy plan that embraces domestic coal production and will put people back to work.”
Due to Governor Bush’s poll numbers, it will be interesting to see how much work Jeb and other candidates are going to put into the Commonwealth’s March 1st primary. With the primary being held on the “SEC Super Tuesday Primary” day, candidates must strategically spend and campaign in states that they can win. Congratulations to the Bush team on assembling this list of endorsements.
Matt Hall is a Bearing Drift Senior Contributor.
@MattColtHall
Bush’s stat sheet in Virginia continues to impress outsiders. With double the required signatures submitted a month earlier than most competitors and an immense amount of time in the Commonwealth, it’s pretty clear that Jeb Bush intends to run strong well past the SEC Primary.