Area Candidates Out of LG Race as Delegates Pick Winners

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Updated

By URIAH KISER

In the heated race for the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor, it wassn’t meant to be for candidates in our area.

Two from Prince William County – Delegate Scott Lingamfelter and Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart – lost their bids for the number two spot. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chairman Susan Stimpson was also forced to bow out of the race at Saturday’s Republican Party of Virginia Convention in Richmond.

Chesapeake Bishop E.W. Jackson was the victor over the field of seven candidates by the final round of balloting, beating out Pete Snyder of Fairfax County who hung in there for three rounds of balloting, beating out Stewart and Stimpson, before falling to Jackson.

He will join Republican gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli, of Prince William County, and Attorney General Candidate Mark Obenshain, of Harrisonburg, on the ticket to run against Democrat Terry McAuliffe and selected company this fall. Virginia Senator Ralph Northam, of Norfolk, and Aneesh Chopra, of Arlington who served at the Chief Technology for the U.S. appointed by the president, will face off in a Democratic primary next month.

Prosecutor Justin Fairfax, of Northern Virginia, and Virginia Senator Mark Herring, of Loudoun County, both seek the Democratic Attorney General Seat, and who will take it will also be decided in next month’s primary.

Back in Richmond on Saturday, after GOP candidates bowed out, there some confusion if any of them lent their endorsements to those left standing in the competition. Scott Lingamfelter immediately lent his support to Peter Synder, passing over Stewart or Stimspon from nearby Stafford County. Synder’s campaign was quick to capitilze on the short-lived momentum by printing fliers distributed to delegates still on the floor noting Lingamfelter was now on their side.

But Snyder’s campaign reportedly messed up when they then printed fliers noting Corey Stewart had joined their side as well. Not true, as Stewart, after bowing out of the contest, was seen on the convention floor shaking hands with and endorsing the ultimate winner of the Lt. Governor contest, E.W. Jackson.

Stimpson did not endorse any other candidates and reportedly challenged the results after delegates were led to believe she did poorly in the second round of voting.

The convention ran into the late hours of the night. There were multiple problems with technology and vote counting machines. A lack of food vendors at the venue, the Richmond Coliseum, made for long chow lines.

The energy in the room, while palpable during the candidates speeches early in the day, was fleeting during the mid afternoon hours as delegates waited for more than two hours for first-round balloting results.

As the evening wore on and the results of more balloting rounds came in, many supporters took to the convention floor to cheer and hold up signs for their respective candidates. About 7 p.m., signs for Stimpson were pulled from the floor, and a signs for Lingamfelter was quickly covered with those of Peter Snyder.

Saturday 

RICHMOND, Va. –– E.W. Jackson, of Chesapeake, has emerged as an early leader in the race for the GOP nomination for Lt. Gov, handily beating out challengers Susan Stimpson and Corey Stewart in only the first round of balloting.

Delegates at a statewide convention in Richmond today began voting about 1:30 p.m. following speeches from all seven Lt. Governor candidates. With 8,149 delegate ballots cast in the first round, the initial breakdown was:

E.W Jackson 3,732 votes

Susan Stimpson 1,798 votes

Corey Stewart 1,769 votes

Peter Synder 1,739 votes

Scott Lingamfelter 1,375 votes

Jean Marie Davis 861 votes

Steve Martin 662 votes

Both Davis and Martin bowed out of the race once they learned of the final first round numbers, a Republican spokesman said.

Delegates who remain on the floor went back into the voting process to cast votes for the remaining five contenders.

Technology problems have plagued this convention and slowed processes here considerably. During the first round of voting, an optical scanner that reads ballots stopped working. As the second round got underway, a receipt printer used to confirm ballots were properly received quit operating.

A Republican spokesman also said voter ID rules that required delegates to pull out convention credentials from a plastic holder attached to a lanyard before their vote could be cast also slowed the process.

After the second round of voting is complete, a third round will commence. Once a Lt. Governor is chosen, Republican Govenor Nominee and current state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, of Prince William County, is expeted to join Attorney General nominee Mark Obenshain, of Harrisonburg, on stage for remarks.

Jackson, a minister, electrified the crowd during his speech by recounting portions of the U.S. Constitution, and reminding attendees is a sovernig state

“We do not need to ask the government’s permission to get our coal, our oil, and our gas… we do not need permission to sell our products, and we do not need their permission to have a pond on our property or a party in our house,” roared Jackson.

Stimpson followed his comments and drove home her message of grass-roots policitcs, and a connection with conservatives who support Congressman Rand Paul.

“… I will passionately defend women and their unborn children because all life is sacred,” said Stimpson.

Stewart walked on stage with his wife and family with a theme song: the final countdown. During his seven minutes, he spoke about leading Prince William County – which went for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 – and called it larger than most congressional districts in the state.

He also talked about his signature issue, immigration, that won him national attention when he fought crackdown on illegal immigration in Prince William in 2007.

“It was not easy. 3,000 people protested my office, my Board meeting… people from across the United States labeled me a racist, a bigot, and, yes, even a third world despot, but I did not back down,” said Stewart.