OK. Polls open in almost twelve hours for the primary campaigns.
That means it’s time for the goodies!
Unfortunately, it’s not that salacious, but there is still some stuff to consider in two races.
First, in the 22nd:
Why is Tom Garrett the sole benefactor of Louisa County largesse?
According to the Republican Party of Virginia Plan, Article VII, Official Committees; SECTION I. Endorsement of Candidates states:
An Official committee shall not endorse, nor contribute to from its funds, any candidate who is running for a Republican nomination for public office unless that candidate is unopposed for that nomination. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent an Official Committee from endorsing a candidate running for public office where there will be no Republican nominee, nor to prevent a member or officer of an Official Committee, as an individual, from endorsing a candidate in a contested nomination.
Yet, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, the Louisa County Republican Committee has made three donations:
$500 to Bryce Reeves, $382 to the 11th District GOP Committee, and $500 to Tom Garrett
Two of the three donations are totally cool. Reeves is unopposed and nothing stops one committee from supporting another.
But donating to one candidate in the state’s most competitive GOP primary?
That’s a little odd.
Why would Tom Garrett even accept the money? He knows the rules, right? Well, as the one claiming to be the “law and order” candidate – one would at least expect that.
Let’s move onto the 39th.
Over the weekend, Miller Baker decided not to sign the American Tax Reform’s “no new taxes” pledge. This has given Scott Martin some decent ammunition and he’s jumped all over it:
This past Saturday, Americans for Tax Reform’s President (ATR), Grover Norquist himself sent out a recorded call, chastising Miller Baker, a State Senate candidate in the 39th District for refusing to sign the No Tax Pledge, and Reserving the Right to Raise Your Taxes.
Scott Martin, Miller Baker’s opponent in the 39th Senate District, signed the pledge to never raise your taxes over 8 months ago, and handed his pledge to Mr. Norquist himself, and stated, “I abhor taxes, and in our current economy, so damaged by Obama/Keynesian flawed economic policies, for someone to reserve the right to raise your taxes is equivalent to Obama?s liberal tax policies, and shouldn?t title themselves a Conservative, let alone a Republican. Miller Baker is no Republican.”
According to ATR’s website, in the neighboring 37th State Senate District, both candidates Jason Flanary and Steve Hunt recently signed the pledge not to raise taxes, as well as most of the elected Conservative leaders in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
But that’s not all.
In the 39th, each candidate is fighting over the “Tea Party” endorsement, but only Martin received it.
The Virginia’s Tea Party and the Northern Virginia Tea Party totally disavows itself of Miller Baker:
“To be clear, Miller Baker is not endorsed by Northern Virginia Tea Party or its organizational affiliates and Miller Baker is admonished to refrain from such false claims in the future.”
We’ve also received some hard-hitting criticism over endorsing Baker:
Miller Baker has run the dirtiest race I have ever witnessed. He has accused Scott Martin of campaign improprities and taken him to court twice to try to get his name off the ballot (these were both thrown out) just to name one example. He has embraced politics of personal destruction that we see far too much but he is very well-connected to people with deep pockets and that seems to be what really matters in politics these days. Scott Martin is a decent man who doesn’t resort to dirty politics, preferring to take the high road. He has been a bastion of integrity throughout this whole ordeal.
So, we’re not reconsidering our endorsement of Baker, but it’s clear that Martin is willing to fight this to the finish.
