DPVA v. PIPER Et. Al: REPLY IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR TEMPORARY INJUNCTION AND IN SUPPORT OF THE PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
DPVA v. PIPER Et. Al: REPLY IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR TEMPORARY INJUNCTION AND IN SUPPORT OF THE PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
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COUNT Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID
and Petition
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and Petition
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and Petition
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and Petition
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and Petition
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and Petition
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and Petition
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and Petition
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and Petition
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and Petition
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and Petition
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and Petition
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and Petition
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***For the purpose of clarity, the Party has relied on the State's most facially valid signature count, as reflected in its Response brief and attachments thereto, in the preparation of this chart.
***Lines 1192 and 1193 are labeled as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2, respectively, to resolve a discrepancy between the Board's most recent figures and the data available to the Party.
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Exhibit B
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 1 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 2 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 3 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 4 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 5 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 6 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 7 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 8 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 9 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 10 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 11 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 12 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 13 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 14 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 15 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 16 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 17 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 18 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 19 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 20 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 21 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 22 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 23 of 24
Petition # NAME SIGNED Circulator Notary REASON(S) INVALID VALID INVALID Shaun Shaun Cannot Not Invalid Wrong Invalid Circulator Affidavit Windmill Campus
and Petition Brown Brown Identify Registered Address County Notary Block with Obtained Drive Drive
Page # (Windmill (Campus Dr. Fraudulent Address Address
Dr. affidavit) affidavit) Signatures
Page 24 of 24
Exhibit C
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The accusation is a new addition to the state party’s lawsuit filed Aug. 13 against state
elections officials, seeking to remove Brown, an independent, from the 2nd Congressional
District ballot over claims that scores of signatures are fraudulent. State officials had
reviewed
Judith Loweryand approved
| Daily Press her petitions weeks ago.
Congressional candidate Shaun Brown speaks at a press conference in her attorney James Ellenson's office following a federal i
The suit
against her involves petitions
alleging fraud collected
and theft with by workers
her nonprofit for Rep.
JOBS Community Scott
Outreach Taylor’s re-election
Development Corp.
campaign; separate investigations by the Democratic Party and The Virginian-Pilot found
more than 80 signatures where the person listed as signing said they never signed the
petition and a handful of other individuals who apparently are deceased. That sparked a
criminal probe being conducted by a special prosecutor.
Attorneys for Democrats argued in a supplemental filing late Friday to the civil suit in the
Richmond Circuit Court that all of Brown’s petitions list one of two home addresses that
were not her residence. One location is a non-existent address and the other a townhouse
where the landlord said she offered to let Brown use it for her campaign but Brown never
did.
A third address used by Brown to register to vote in Virginia Beach is not her home or
place of business, according to the property’s owner. Brown acknowledged recently that
she has been living at her mother’s home in Hampton.
Noting that state law requires that each petition form include the candidate’s “residence
address,” Democratic attorneys noted that “not a single one of the pages submitted by
Brown in support of her petition identify that address of the candidate.”
State elections officials “have a legal duty to invalidate each of those signature pages and
rescind Brown’s qualifications for inclusion in the November ballot,” the filing states.
Brown’s petitions – those collected by Brown and Taylor’s workers – list her residence as
either 3683 Windmill Drive or 5887 Campus Drive.
The Windmill address is a townhouse managed by Doud Realty Services, where manager
Priscilla Horner said this week that their records show Brown has never rented or been a
resident at the property. Horner signed a statement that is part of the lawsuit.
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Brown, who said she knows nothing about possible forged signatures, acknowledged in a
phone interview that the Campus Drive address was a mistake on the petitions.
The Campus Drive address is similar to the address used by Brown to register to vote: 5587
Campus Drive. The owner of that townhome, Amelia Ross-Hammond, a Democratic Party
activist, said she offered the residence to Brown as a “staging location” for her campaign.
Ross-Hammond, a former Beach City Council member, said she’s done the same for other
candidates.
But Brown never took her up on the offer, she said: “She’s never lived there. She never
used it. Never.”
Brown contends she did live at 5587 Campus Drive at one point but has moved in with her
mother. Federal court records show that she stated she has been living with her mother
since Jan. 12 in her conditional release bond as she awaits a federal criminal trial in
October. Brown, a businesswoman, is awaiting retrial on charges she defrauded the
federal government through a summer meal program for children. Her first trial ended in
a hung jury.
Attorneys for state Democrats, election officials and Brown are scheduled to make oral
arguments before Richmond Circuit Judge Gregory Rupe next week. If the judge does not
make an immediate ruling, Democrats are asking that he issue an injunction blocking local
registrars from printing Nov. 6 ballots that include Brown’s name. State law requires the
ballots be printed by Sept. 21.
In addition to Brown and Taylor, a Virginia Beach Republican seeking a second term, the
ballot includes Democrat Elaine Luria, a Norfolk businesswoman making her first bid for
elected office.
The 2nd District includes all of Virginia Beach and the state’s Eastern Shore as well as
Norfolk’s north side and several localities on the Peninsula, including Williamsburg and
York County.
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4 dead people, 59 fraudulent signatures found on petitions filed by Scott Taylor's campaign
GOP says state election officials admit they didn't count all of Shaun Brown's petitions
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Bill Bartel writes about federal and state issues and politics for The Virginian-Pilot. After decades as a
newspaperman, husband, father of four and brother of nine, this native Midwesterner is no stranger to a
nice IPA and coarse language.
By Matt Shuham
August 29, 2018 2:02 pm
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The Virginia Democratic Party has sued the state’s top election
officials to get Brown off the ballot; Brown has fought back.
There’s a hearing scheduled for Wednesday. A state judge also
assigned a special prosecutor to look into potential criminal
violations.
‘Intimidation Factor’
“I got a phone call from a mutual friend,” Terry said, “who
basically said that Scott Taylor had called him, and that he was
very upset. I said, ‘I’m not taking it down. If he has something to
say, he can call me himself.’”
“He was insinuating that I should take it down,” she said. “I told
him I wouldn’t. I told him I’d re-word it and, basically, take out
me saying that she’d forged it. I did compromise with him on
that.”
“He even told me he had somebody drive past Eileen’s old house,
drive past my house, to verify that I was who I said I was,” Terry
said.
After her call and texts with Taylor, Terry, as agreed with the
congressman, edited out the direct accusation of forgery against
Guillot on her Facebook page. She deleted the tweet, which
couldn’t be edited.
She added: “If the facts are in your favor, and the information you
have is accurate, you don’t have anything to hide. So why
wouldn’t you call the person whose name is in question?”
Taylor has since deleted the tweet. When Terry asked him about
it on Twitter a few days later, he was dismissive:
For her part, Terry doesn’t seem to have been fazed by the
Taylor’s call on Aug. 3. Four days later, the Virginian-Pilot
published a brief letter to the editor she’d written.
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VIRGINIA BEACH
In his campaign for election in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Randy
Forbes and his wife are renting an apartment at the Oceanfront, but the legislator will
remain a resident and voter outside the district in his hometown of Chesapeake, his
spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.
State Del. Scott Taylor, his opponent in the June 14 Republican primary, called the rental a
“disingenuous
Kristen ploy” to feign
Zeis | The Virginian-Pilot a connection to the 2nd District, of which Virginia Beach is
U.S.
theRep. Randycity.
largest Forbes announces he will leave the 4th Congressional District and seek election in the 2nd District via a live Face
his campaign office in Virginia Beach on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016.
Forbes decided not to seek re-election in the 4th District where he resides after
redistricting this year dramatically changed its political makeup.
The Forbeses are leasing a unit in the Mayflower Apartments on 34th Street between
Atlantic and Pacific avenues, where monthly rents range from $905 to more than $1,300,
according to the complex’s website.
“They are looking forward to spending a great deal of time there, as well as to investing in
the community, attending even more local events, being in close proximity to our Virginia
Beach campaign headquarters, and of course enjoying the beautiful Virginia Beach
boardwalk,” Forbes spokeswoman Hailey Sadler said in an email.
Forbes will keep his residence in Chesapeake on Parker Road, in the Great Bridge area. It is
part of a tract of land he owns that includes an office building on nearby Johnstown Road
that is the site of his childhood home. State law requires that a voter use his or her
“permanent” residence when registering to vote.
“Retaining the property on which Randy grew up will most likely impact his ability to vote
in Virginia Beach, as he will remain a resident of Chesapeake – that just mean (sic) one
more vote that he looks forward to earning in Virginia’s Second,” Sadler wrote.
Taylor, a Virginia Beach resident, said the apartment rental is “worse than not living in the
district at all. Everybody knows that Randy Forbes lives in a big house in Chesapeake and
not a small apartment in Virginia Beach.”
As of Thursday, no Democrats have filed to seek their party’s nomination in the 2nd. If no
Democrat emerges, the GOP primary winner will be unopposed in the Nov. 8 general
election.
Forbes, who was elected to Congress in 2001, abandoned plans to seek another two-year
term in the 4th after a court-ordered redrawing of congressional district boundaries
converted his home district from a strong Republican region to one where Democrats have
a majority.
The GOP-leaning 2nd is an open seat because three-term incumbent Scott Rigell is not
running this year. Rigell has endorsed Forbes’ candidacy and is renting his former
campaign office to him.
The U.S. Constitution requires members of Congress to live in the state they represent but
doesn’t require House members to reside in their districts.
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Second poll shows Forbes and Taylor tied in 2nd Congressional contest
Randy Forbes has a huge campaign cash advantage in GOP primary election
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U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes isn’t the only candidate in Hampton Roads’ congressional contests
who wants to get elected in a district where he doesn’t live.
The Chesapeake Republican has said he will continue to live in the 4th District, which he’s
represented since 2001, but is running for election in the nearby 2nd District, which is
dominated by Virginia Beach.
Seeing the vacancy in Forbes’ home district, a Republican sheriff and a Democratic state
senator who don’t live in the 4th are among the three candidates seeking that seat.
Henrico County Sheriff Michael Wade and state Sen. Don McEachin, who announced their
candidacies in recent weeks, point out that while their homes are in another congressional
district represented by Rep. David Brat, they have close personal ties to the 4th.
“I’m going to end up moving … after I win,” said McEachin, who lives 2½ miles from the
district line.
Wade, who was elected sheriff in 1991, said “there’s a possibility” he’ll move into the
district should he be elected. “I’m going to look at it,” he said.
But it’s not required under the U.S. Constitution. A candidate for the House has to be at
least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least seven years and live in the state – no mention
of where in the state.
It’s unclear how the residency issue might affect this year’s elections.
Forbes’ decision to switch has drawn strong rebukes from his GOP primary opponent,
state Del. Scott Taylor of Virginia Beach, and his supporters. But Forbes has been endorsed
by the lawmaker he wants to replace – U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell – and several Beach elected
officials and business leaders.
If no Democratic opponent emerges, the winner of the June 14 primary between Taylor
and Forbes will run unopposed in November.
The race in the 4th is less certain. As of Friday, Wade is its sole GOP candidate.
The decisions by Forbes to run outside of his home district and others to replace him were
sparked by a redrawing of congressional district boundaries earlier this year in response
to a successful lawsuit.
Federal judges ordered new lines that converted the 4th from a reliably Republican-
leaning district to one that favors Democrats. A significant part of the change was
reassigning some larger cities in the region and shifting the population balance of the 4th
to favor the Richmond area rather than Chesapeake.
Richmond and Petersburg have been reassigned from the 3rd to the 4th. At the same time,
Chesapeake, Forbes’ hometown, was split with much of the city’s northern commercial
areas and neighborhoods joining the 3rd District and the remainder staying in the 4th. The
4th also lost part of Suffolk and Isle of Wight County.
Unlike the criticisms of Forbes’ district shift, McEachin’s and Wade’s moves do not appear
to have sparked much ire.
Both men stress they grew up in Richmond and still work or attend church there. They
each also already serve part of the new 4th District.
McEachin, a partner in a law firm, notes his state Senate district includes sections of the
4th, including Charles City County, parts of the city of Richmond and Henrico and Hanover
counties.
Wade makes a similar argument about how he won re-election four times as sheriff.
Running in the 4th was Wade’s second choice. He originally filed in January to compete
against Brat in the 7th District where he lives. But when Forbes decided to leave the 4th,
Wade changed his plans.
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Randy Forbes has a huge campaign cash advantage in GOP primary election
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Bill Bartel
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Bill Bartel writes about federal and state issues and politics for The Virginian-Pilot. After decades as a
newspaperman, husband, father of four and brother of nine, this native Midwesterner is no stranger to a
nice IPA and coarse language.
Del. Scott W. Taylor, R-Va. Beach, (left) defeated U.S. Rep. J Randy Forbes, R-4th, in the 2nd District GOP
primary.
BOB BROWN
Del. Scott W. Taylor, R-Virginia Beach, stunned Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-4th, Tuesday night
in the 2nd District Republican primary, thwarting the 15-year representative’s effort to stay
in Congress by switching to a more favorable district.
Two years after Dave Brat shocked House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a 2014 GOP
primary in the 7th District, another senior member of the Virginia congressional delegation
went down to an upstart rival.
Closer to home, in Virginia’s only two-party contested congressional primary, state Sen. A.
Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, and Henrico’s Republican Sheriff Mike Wade easily won their
parties’ nomination contests in the redrawn 4th U.S. House District, setting up a November
election battle to become the Richmond area’s new representative in Congress.
With all precincts reporting, Taylor — a former Navy SEAL who had only begun serving in
the stateVirginia House of Delegates in 2014 — had 52.55 percent of the vote to 40.64
percent for Forbes, and 6.81 percent for Virginia Beach attorney Pat Cardwell.
The win installs Taylor as a favorite in the Republican-leaning 2nd District when he faces
off in November against Democratic activist Shaun D. Brown.
“I am absolutely humbled that the citizens of the 2nd District chose me to fight for them,
speak for them and protect them,” Taylor said in a brief phone interview. “It’s a huge honor
and a huge responsibility that I don’t take lightly. People want a change in Washington —
they believe it’s broken and we need a fresh start.”
Taylor said he will spend the coming months crisscrossing the district and reaching out to
people all over — “black, white, brown, gay, and straight … to figure out what we need to
do. We’re going to unify this district and we are going to win in November.”
Rep. Scott Rigell, R-2nd, who did not seek re-election, backed Forbes.
“Obviously, we would like to win, but we’re not disappointed,” Forbes told TV station
WAVY in Portsmouth. “The sun will come up tomorrow.”
Forbes had abandoned a re-election bid in his home district to run in the 2nd District,
based in Virginia Beach, after a three-judge federal panel added Richmond and Petersburg
to the 4th District, making it much more favorable to Democrats.
The judges redrew boundaries as part of their effort to fix constitutional flaws with the 3rd
District, represented by Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, a Democrat.
Forbes touted his seniority on the House Armed Services Committee, saying it was vital to
defense-rich Hampton Roads. In additional to Rigell, he had the backing of Rep. Robert J.
Wittman, R-1st, and former U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va.
But Taylor criticized Forbes as a political opportunist who abandoned his district in an
effort to save his political hide.
Taylor said on Twitter in February: “Nothing in my DNA tells me it’s OK to leave your
people behind to save your own butt.”
Turnout in the congressional primaries was low. In the 2nd District fewer than 41,000 votes
were cast in the Republican primary, but that far exceeded the totals in the 4th District,
which drew fewer than 24,000 votes in the Democratic and Republican contests combined.
McEachin easily beat Chesapeake City Councilwoman Ella Ward in the 4th District
Democratic primary. With all but one precinct reporting, McEachin had 74.77 percent of
the vote to Ward’s 25.23 percent.
Wade comfortably topped Chesterfield County resident Jackee K. Gonzalez in the GOP
contest. With one precinct out, Wade had 64.19 percent of the vote to 35.81 percent for
Gonzalez.
“I’m just really humbled and pleased and ready to carry the message of hope and
optimism and inclusion, which is a Democratic message — throughout the 4th District,”
said McEachin who greeted supporters, including Gov. Terry McAuliffe, at his law office on
Nine Mile Road in Eastern Henrico.
“I’m excited about the support we got throughout the district and it’s going to be an
interesting next several months,” Wade said.
“I’m going to stress my experience and try to come up with common-sense solutions for
the problems in Washington and America.”
McEachin likely will have an edge in November in the newly Democrat-leaning district.
Virginia’s only other congressional primary Tuesday was in western Virginia in the 6th
District. Rep. Robert W. “Bob” Goodlatte, R-6th, who has served in Congress since 1993,
easily defeated Roanoke pilot and veteran Harry Griego. With all precincts reporting,
Goodlatte had 77.8 percent of the vote to Griego’s 22.18 percent.
Republicans now hold eight of Virginia’s 11 U.S. House seats while Democrats hold three:
Scott’s district and the Northern Virginia seats held by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-11th, and
Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr., D-8th.
Scott will face Republican Marty Williams in the 3rd District. Connolly has no Republican
challenger, while Beyer will face Republican Charles Hernick, an environmental consultant
and economist.
Rep. DaveBrat, R-7th, will face Democrat Eileen Bedell, a lawyer from Bon Air.
State Sen. Thomas A. Garrett, R-Buckingham, will face former Albemarle Supervisor Jane
Dittmar, a Democrat, for the right to succeed Rep. Robert Hurt, R-5th, who decided not to
seek re-election.
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-9th, faces a challenge by Democrat Derek Kitts, a retired Army
veteran and Purple Heart recipient.
Wittman, who plans to run for governor in 2017, will face Democrat Matt Rowe, a Bowling
Green councilman, in the 1st District.
In what may be the most contested congressional race this fall, freshman Rep. Barbara J.
Comstock, R-10th, will try to retain her Northern Virginia seat against Democrat LuAnn
Bennett, a real estate executive from McLean. Comstock has sought to distance herself
from presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the ethnically diverse
district.
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Twitter: @AndrewCainRTD
Andrew Cain