Forbes endorsed by two important former 2nd District chairmen

Randy Forbes’ campaign today got a boost today with the endorsements of two of the most consequential chairmen of the 2nd district in recent decades, Gordon Robertson and Dave Hummel.

Before gaining national fame and acclaim as a host of the 700 Club with his iconic father, Pat Robertson, Gordon Robertson in the late 1980s served as chairman of the 2nd District Republican Committee.  Those were turbulent times with enormous tension within the party between evangelical Christians, who were still a fairly new part of the Republican coalition, and then-more-traditional Republicans.  Robertson proved to be a steady hand who managed a deeply divided committee without deepening the divide.  In endorsing Randy Forbes, Robertson said,

Randy Forbes is the same man of faith and of sterling integrity today that he was when I first met him over 25 years ago. His character and leadership are unparalleled, which is why he is hands down the best choice for the 2nd District and the person I trust to represent our region.

Dave Hummel arguably is the most consequential 2nd District Republican chairman in the last half-century.  Hummel succeeded Robertson and, like Robertson, came from the evangelical faction of the party.  At the same time that Hummel became district chairman, Ken Stolle, a traditional Republican, was elected chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia Beach.  Hummel and Stolle quickly reached an accord that united the party, and in 1991, Virginia Beach Republicans went from having only two out of five delegate seats in the city and neither of the two senate seats to winning six of the seven delegate seats (after redistricting) and one of the two senate seats (with Stolle defeating incumbent Democrat Sonny Stallings).  The unity resulting from the good works of Hummel and Stolle in the 2nd district held until the last couple of years and resulted in Virginia Beach becoming and remaining the most reliably Republican city in Virginia and one of the most reliably Republican cities in the country.  In endorsing Randy Forbes, Hummel said,

Randy Forbes is one of only 17 lawmakers to vote against every single government bailout under both Bush and Obama. I have known Randy since he first served and have always been impressed with his willingness to put the people first. We can have no stronger nor more trusted voice on behalf of our conservative values in Congress than Randy.

The Forbes campaign today also announced the endorsement of former 2nd District chairman Bruce Meyer.  Delegate Scott Taylor (R-Virginia Beach) and Virginia Beach attorney Pat Cardwell are also seeking the Republican nomination in the 2nd District.