Norm Leahy posted earlier today [1] that former Governor George Allen announced that he had the support of “Virginia Tea Party Patriots.”
That actually is a the name of an organization, chaired by Mark Kevin Lloyd.
“The Allen campaign has listed one-hundred folks from across Virginia that claim to be Tea Party activists. Some are members of the VTPP groups. But the VTPP has approximately fifty Tea Party and Patriot groups across the Commonwealth, representing an estimated 45,000 Tea Party activists,” said Lloyd via email. “[The Allen campaign has] only come up with one-hundred to support their campaign, and a large number are from the Richmond Patriots – a group chaired by Laura Alcorn who is a big Allen supporter. There are several others listed that are long-time Allen supporters, so it’s no surprise to see their names.”
“The bottom-line is it’s not a really impressive number,” he said. “One-hundred out of 45,000 doesn’t show much.”
Of course, it is something though. And it was intentional by Allen to attempt to undermine any of the other candidates who might be eyeing Tea Party activists as a base of support.
To flip this around, when it comes to endorsements from the GOP, Allen’s list reads like a who’s-who of the party, beginning with Governor Bob McDonnell, but also including folks like Prince William County Supervisor and potential statewide candidate, Corey Stewart.
Allen’s closest competitor, Jamie Radtke, has a handful of Republican endorsements. She lists approximately 60 “Republican and Community Leaders” [2] who are supporting her campaign. The other candidates have even less GOP support.
So, based on what Lloyd said, the question still remains, despite Allen’s attempted inroads, what is Radtke’s – or any other candidates’ Tea Party support? And, will it be enough to convince Republican voters to give them the nomination?