Former Virginia Governor, Bob McDonnell (R)
The Virginia Republican State Central Committee (SCC) is meeting again tonight to try and hash out differences in deciding the nomination process for their statewide candidates. The committee has already voted to hold a convention, but leaders fear that will be impossible to do under current COVID-19 restrictions.
A faction of the committee that has been pushing for a canvass in recent days, which is a party-run process where each locality typically has one voting location for people to vote.
Former Republican Governors Bob McDonnell, George Allen, and James Gilmore III decided to comment on the process by sending a letter to Rich Anderson, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, and the rest of the SCC urging the committee to support a canvass. “Given the current gubernatorial executive order in place, which could be further extended by this Governor, a large statewide convention will likely not be permissible in June in government restricted Virginia,” the former Governors wrote. “We strongly urge you to put aside differences tonight and select a canvass, which has been successfully used many times previously by our party. It would not require an amendment to the party plan, pre-registration or mass meetings, nor does it limit the number of Republicans who can participate in the nominating process.”
Anderson sent the letter from the former Governors to the committee on Tuesday afternoon, saying he received it shortly before 12 pm. He also said that he has communicated with the former Governors recently over the matter but he did not request this letter from them. “As we move to our meeting at 7pm tonight, I thank all of you on both sides of the question for hanging in there through some very tough deliberations,” Anderson wrote Tuesday to committee members. “Now is the time for civility in the face of firmness, unity in the face of varying views, and a commitment to prompt execution so that we give clarity to our candidates.
You can view the meeting that is happening at 7 pm here.
View the entire letter from the former Governors.
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