Does the Republican Party of Virginia need a complete overhaul?
In 2018, The Virginia GOP lost seats in Congress in historically right-leaning districts and then in 2019 lost control of the majority in Richmond. The Republicans have failed to control the Executive in Virginia since election of 2009.
As it stands, the 2020 crop of Republican candidates are an impressive combination of diversity. This diversity however does that appear to be something that the Republican Party of Virginia seeks to highlight or use to change the narrative regarding the party that is constantly being portrayed by the opposition as non-inclusive. This diversity should be the very thing that the Party highlights in its campaigns to change the image of the Party that the Virginia Democrats have owned for the last decade.
The Republican Party of Virginia has not recovered in truth from the optic disaster of Charlottesville in 2017 placed sqaure at its foot and President Trump's. It has ceded the narrative to the Virginia Democrats crafted by former Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) that that event was representative of the Virginia GOP. Few arguments were made of course by the GOP in large part due to the fact that party consultants feared alienating those groups that ultimately would be funding campaigns with contributions. Something proving harder to come by.
One thing is clear is there is no unifying message with the Virginia GOP from the top down. Each campaign underway in 2020 appears to have its own identity while having to contend with a heavily funded message coming from Virginia Democrats seeking to hold the gains won in 2018. It further does not help that the messaging coming out of the campaign for the only declared Republican for Governor in 2021 at the same time is taking shots at the GOP Leadership on a weekly basis unwittingly doing the Demcorats job for them. It recently even took a shot at former Lt. Governor Bill Bolling (R).
It also does little help to any of the 2020 Congressional candidates that the only Republican declared thus far for the Governor's race next year is aligning with the very alt right groups behind Charlottesville in 2017. Reviewing the official pages of those running for Congress and the declared candidate for Governor it is easy to identify that the Virginia GOP has real issues centered around identity. While the Congressional candidates are speaking to policy, the Chase for Governor campaign is speaking to divisions and blame. The latest fundraising efforts of the latter are targeting fringe groups of the alt right for support and the old Corey Stewart coalition of hard liners who can only be described as nativists. Some have claimed that Chase is forming a "Tactical Vest" Army.
Its a dictomy that is lost on the lone GOP candidate for Governor. While the Congressional candidates in places like the Virginia 10th need to attract support from minorities, immigrants and suburban women, the Chase for Governor campaign is alienating them by the week. It is clear that the Chase for Governor campaign has made a strategic determination not to condemn the alt right groups but instead fundraise off them. This in effect places the entire Republican platform in 2020 in jeapardy.
The initial contribution reporting likely will demonstrate the small donor base of the Chase for Governor campaign thus far in 2020 and while the campaign very well may characterize it as a grassroots support the devil will be in the true details concerning where those donations are coming from. Known alt groups on social media are aligning with the messaging of the Chase for Governor campaign.
The impact of the divisions with the Virignia GOP will not really be fully understood until November. Losses by Congressional candidates will simply just embolden those that support Chase and her campaign by misunderstanding they have contributed to the very losses due to poor alignment with those seeking Congressional seats.
Aliscia Andrews (R) is one such Virginian running for the nomination in the Virginia 10th to face Jennifer Wexton (D) who defeated Barabara Comstock (R) in 2018. Andrews is a former Marine and has a strong Second Amendment supporter base but her base in the 2A movement is not the fringe alt right that often times may align with it. Andrews supporters are Constitution loving Virginians; not anarchists. There is a difference. The 2A movement is much broader than how it has been characterized in the media. Its more than merely those that will rally in tactical gear and armed. Its farmers, hunters, rural families and countless others in Virginia that simply want to get back to embracing liberty and freedom. These Virginians are not alt right wingers or Corey Stewart followers. This is easily demonstrated in the results of the 2018 Virginia Senate race in which Stewart lost handily to Tim Kaine (D) by almost 600,000 votes. Four years prior Republican Ed Gillespie lost to Senator Mark Warner by less than 20,000 votes in 2014.
Does the Republican Party of Virginia want to repeat that performance in 2021? Does it wish to suffer a third straight Executive "trifecta" loss in Virginia? This summer will be a critical crossroad for the Virignia GOP. It must prove to Virginians that it can pivot.
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