Corey Stewart, fresh off his loss at the Republican Party of Virginia’s weekend convention in Harrisonburg, will run for governor, according to the Associated Press.
Stewart, the Virginia Donald Trump state campaign manager, lost at Saturday’s convention in a tug-of-war with Cruz state director Ken Cuccinelli. In the end, Cuccinelli’s Cruz team wrangled ten Cruz delegates to attend the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, and Trump received three. In the battle, Stewart’s name was bumped from the list, something he did not take lightly.
“If this slate is put forward, it will be illegitimate, and it’s going to be very, very difficult to unify the party,” Stewart said on Fredericks’ radio show. “Cuccinelli has become so arrogant. He thinks that he controls the Republican Party of Virginia.”
Stewart, who is chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors and ran unsuccessfully three years ago for lieutenant governor, mirrors Trump’s hard line against illegal immigrants.
A Stewart run would pit him against Ed Gillespie who has announced his candidacy and has been making the rounds in Republican circles. In 2014, he surprised many when he narrowly lost his bid against popular Democrat U.S. Senator Mark Warner.
On Saturday unsuccessful 2013 gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, Stewart’s nemesis in the political arena during this presidential season, announced he would not do a repeat in 2017. There are widespread rumors that 1st District Congressman Rob Wittman may take a crack at governor but no decision has been announced.
