Virginia GOP 5th Congressional District Convention Wrap-Up
Crystal Ball moves VA-5 from Likely R to Leans R. 53-42 Trump district – lots of moving pieces going forward https://t.co/wmIvxmKVTM
— Kyle Kondik (@kkondik) June 14, 2020
And @RepRiggleman joins @EricCantor among the #Va Republicans dumped by their party because they were deemed insufficiently conservative. https://t.co/a3wicGeO79
— Jeff E. Schapiro (@RTDSchapiro) June 14, 2020
We have to understand that some on the far right are at war with the 21st century. They want to go back to the ‘50s—just not sure whether it’s the 1950s or the 1850s. https://t.co/cf7aVxV72z
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) June 14, 2020
There’s a lot to unpack, as the saying goes, from yesterday’s Republican 5th Congressional District convention between incumbent Congressman Denver Riggleman and far-right challenger Bob Good. Results were not announced until 1:30 a.m., long after many had given up after waiting hours for a winner including yours truly, and Senior Contributor Matt Hall who was on site with photos and commentary for Bearing Drift’s live coverage from 8:30 a.m. until 1:00 a.m. this morning.
However, Congressman Denver Riggleman’s tweet at midnight gave an alert to his supporters:
Voting irregularities and ballot stuffing has been reported in multiple counties in the #VA05. Voter fraud has been a hallmark of this nomination process and I will not stand for it. @VA_GOP needs to reevaluate their priorities. We are evaluating all our options at this time.
— Denver Riggleman (@Denver4VA) June 14, 2020
Congressman Riggleman’s loss could change the outlook for November’s election in Virginia.
The new VA Democratic General Assembly ought to consider mandating primaries as the regular method of nomination for both parties, except for compressed special elections. The GOP’s VA-05 process severely limited voter participation in order to stack the deck for one candidate.
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) June 14, 2020
Out of approximately 3,500 delegates who signed up to participate in yesterday’s convention, 2,537 delegates actually voted. Here are the results of congressional and all the contests as provided by Melvin Adams, chairman of 5th:
Congressional Race
Bob Good 58.12% (winner)
Denver Rigglemam 41.88%
5th District Chairman Race
Melvin Adams 59.48% (winner)
Daniel Rutherford 40.52%
State Central Committee Race
Nancy Rodland 21.02% (winner)
Renee Maxey 20.96% (winner)
Ed Yensho 19.
Barbara Hancock 19.42%
Eric Brazeal 13.83%
Rahul Maitra 5.35%
Nat’l Delegate Race
Renee Maxey 16.08% (delegate)
Richard Viguerie 14.52% (delegate)
Jim McKelvey 13.87% (delegate)
Nancy Rodland 11.49% (first alternate)
Velie Deitrich-Hall 11.04% (second alternate)
Mary Coran 10.56% (third alternate)
Matthew Hardin 9.13%
Wendell Johnson 8.44%
Rahul Maitra 4.87%
Elector Race
Richard Viguerie 50.47% (winner)
Jim McKelvey 49.53%
Watch for more about this race and where Virginia goes from here coming from Bearing Drift in the days and weeks ahead.
