In the wake of defeats of establishment candidates in recent Republican and Democrat primaries around the country, two Virginia Tea Party leaders are personally continuing that trend by endorsing non-establishment candidates in their respective districts.
Karen Miner Hurd, Founder of the Hampton Roads Tea Party, privately endorses Ben Loyola for Congress in the GOP primary (2nd district) and chooses not to endorse Scott Rigell, who has the endorsement of Governor McDonnell, Eric Cantor, Bill Bolling, and many others. Rigell donated $1,000 to Obama for President, $1,000 to Mark Warner for Governor, and $10,000 to support a sales tax increase referendum in 2000. You can read her full statement here.
Mark Lloyd, Chairman of the Lynchburg Tea Party and Vice Chairman of the VA Tea Party Patriots, privately endorses Jim McKelvey in the GOP primary to run against Tom Perriello (5th district) and goes against State Senator Robert Hurt, who has been endorsed by Congressman Cantor and many others. You can read his full statement here.
RTP isn’t taking a position on these races, but we want to keep you informed on the interesting electoral developments throughout our state. It seems Virginia (and the rest of the country) may be mounting a serious challenge to the establishment in both political parties.
