Stewart Rolls out Trump Staff Endorsements
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Corey Stewart today announced a list of former Donald Trump campaign staffers and leadership team members who have endorsed his campaign. The announcement comes on the heels of vocal criticism of Stewart from the Trump campaign’s Virginia Senior Advisor (former State Director and Northeast Region Political Director) Mike Rubino and Virginia State Director Mark Lloyd.
Stewart, who was relieved of his duties as Trump Virginia Co-Chair by the Trump campaign for arranging an anti-RNC protest in October 2016, has positioned himself as the Trump-style candidate in the race, and has used his early endorsement and work on behalf of Trump during the campaign as proof of his anti-establishment credentials.
In his press release, Stewart drew attention to the grassroots nature of this endorsement, noting that “[t]hese are the folks who made thousands of calls, knocked thousands of doors, and put their lives on hold for the President-Elect in Virginia, for no reward other than to take back the White House.” Most of the endorsers were not paid campaign staff, but volunteer coordinators who were tasked with grassroots organizing of voters across the Commonwealth. The list reinforces Stewart’s anti-establishment credentials by omitting any elected officials.
Some of those listed are Republican activists who are well-known within GOP circles in Virginia. The list includes Jack Morgan, Co-directors of the 9th Congressional district, Ron Hedlund of the 7th District, and Alice Butler-Short from Northern Virginia who led the Virginia Women for Trump organization. Also included are a number of field staff, district coordinators and one college Republican Trump chair.
Given the significant attacks launched by Rubino and Lloyd at Stewart over the last few days, responding with a list of Trump campaign figures who are endorsing Stewart is a good way to reinforce his campaign’s narrative that he’s the Trump candidate for Governor in Virginia. At the same time, putting out a list like this with so many other prominent Trump campaign names not listed is likely to invite the inevitable response from Rubino, Lloyd and others that this effort was merely an attempt by Stewart to use President-Elect Trump’s name to further his own ambitions, a charge they have already leveled against him publicly over the last week.
Notably absent from the list are any members of Trump’s Virginia Leadership team that was announced in October, which included a number of elected officials and now statewide office candidates like Glenn Davis, Bryce Reeves, Jill Vogel and Frank Wagner (who is challenging Stewart for both the Trump mantle and the gubernatorial nomination), among others. This was likely on purpose, given Stewart’s goal of painting himself as an outsider candidate.
President-Elect Trump himself has not yet endorsed in the race.
The full list is below.
Jack Morgan
9th District Chairman, Donald J. Trump for President
Lynn Rash
Co-Director for the 9th District, Donald J. Trump for President
Ronald L. Hedlund
County Chairman, Donald J. Trump for President and 7th District State Central Committee Member
Alice Butler-Short
Founder and State Director Virginia Women For Trump
Brian M. H. Landrum
Chairman of the Student Trump Coalition, Donald J. Trump for President
William I. Totten
Donald J. Trump for President Smyth County Volunteer Coordinator
Brandon Howard
Chairman, Republican Party of the City of Hopewell
4th District Coordinator, Donald J. Trump for President
Robin Richards
2nd District Regional Field Director, Donald J. Trump for President
Scott Knuth
National Pro-Trump Delegate
8th Congressional District
Michael Herzberg
Hanover County Volunteer Coordinator, Donald J. Trump for President
Joshua Rosene
Regional Field Director of Roanoke & New River Valley, Team Virginia
Zachary Dunn
Co-Chairman, Liberty University Trump Coalition
