The Manassas City GOP hosted a social event at the Old Towne Sports Pub to celebrate George Ellis' election as its new chairman. Sharon Ashurst was recognized for her 25 years of service to the party, including her tenure as Chair and her unwavering support in the city. She received a standing ovation.

Attendees included Heather Rice from the Virginia Republican Party; Chris Harnisch, 10th Congressional District Chair; Ben Hazekamp, 7th Congressional District Chair; Jacob Alderman, Prince William County Republican Committee Chair; and Former Manassas Mayor Hal Parrish.

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According to a press release, Virginia 7 Congressional District candidate Derrick Anderson will turn in more than double the required number of signatures to get on the Virginia ballot today.

The state requires 1,000 signatures to enter the June 18, 2024 Primary Election Ballot. Filing begins at noon today and ends at 5 p.m. on April 4.

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Fresh off a win for a second term as Prince William County School Board Chairman, Dr. Babur Lateef announced his campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia today.

Lateef, an ophthalmologist in Woodbridge and a Democrat, is seeking his party’s nomination for Lt. Governor, a position now held by Republican Winsome Sears.

Lateef announced his candidacy in a video, highlighted his service as both a doctor and Chairman of the school board, and enumerated the many accomplishments of the Prince William County school system. Dr. Lateef called particular attention to the public’s vital role in shaping policy by celebrating the Public Comments portion of every school board meeting as “one of the few places where citizens are guaranteed the right to speak directly to their elected representatives.”

Since the pandemic, the Board’s public comment policy has been the subject of debate. The board has moved to limit the number of speakers who may address the board and cap the length of time during which residents may speak.

Over the last year, the school board has capped the number of public speakers, and Prince William Education Association members of the teachers union have monopolized the spots, urging the School Board to adopt a collective bargaining agreement for higher pay.

“The challenges we face are now in Richmond,” Dr. Lateef says in the video. Glenn Youngkin has done real harm to the spirit of partnership within our communities.”

Lateef’s dig on Youngkin comes as 53% of Virginians approve of how Youngkin is handling his job as governor, according to a Roanoke College poll.

“I believe the rhetoric he uses when he speaks about schools, school divisions, and school boards are not helpful. His representation that boards don’t listen to parents is completely off base,” Lateef told Potomac Local News. “I am a parent, and I have been Chair for six years. And every move our board and most boards make is responsive to their local families, students, and staff. That has been my record. Parents know I listen to them and know that they matter to me. The evidence is that they have re-elected me with wider margins each time.

Lateef beat Carrie Rest, his Republican-endorsed challenger in 2023, by 10 points, winning 50% of the vote across Prince William County. He won in 2019 by nearly the same margin, beating the Republican-endorsed Allison Satterwhite, who served on the county School Board.

In each race, Lateef handily outspent his opponents. Last year, Lateef spent $263,000 to Rist’s $39,297. In 2019, he spent $131,000 to Satterwhite’s $31,000.

Lateef was appointed School Board chair in 2018 to replace Ryan Sawyers, who resigned. He later won a special election to complete Sawyer’s term, beating Satterwhite and Stanley Bender, who never campaigned for the job.

Lateef took heat from fellow School Board members and other Democrats when, in December 2020, he ordered the return of some students to the classroom when most other public school systems in the Washington, D.C. area were still requiring students to work remotely.

Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam was the first in the nation to shutter public schools in light of the coronavirus in March 2020. Lateef told Potomac Local Northam that it was correct to close schools at the onset of the pandemic but added that schools should have been reopened by the summer of 2020.

Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe endorsed Dr. Lateef today.

“I am honored to be Dr. Babur Lateef’s first endorser for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “I have called upon his counsel many times over the last 15 years. I saw how Babur fought the backward policies of the Prince William County Supervisors in 2011 when few others stood up. Babur helped ensure his County turned blue from top to bottom in 2019,” states McAuliffe in a press release.

McAuliffe lost his re-election bid for a second, nonconsecutive term as governor to Youngkin in 2021 by two percentage points.

Lateef is the first and only person to announce his run for the seat for the 2025 General Election. Meanwhile, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va. 7th), and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, a Democrat, have announced her run for governor to replace Youngkin, who cannot seek a second term.

So far, no Republicans have announced their intentions for statewide office. However, all eyes are on Winsome Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares, both considered potential gubernatorial candidates.

Lateef considered a run for Lt. Governor in 2020; however, decoded to stay out of the race to focus on his school board duties.

Donald Trump won his first victory in Prince William County during a dual Presidential Primary on Super Tuesday, March 5, 2023.

The presumptive nominee won handily in the county, with 60% of the vote, 18,768 votes. His Republican Primary opponent, Nikki Haley, won just three of the county’s 84 election precincts, 11,313 votes.

Republicans, or those who voted in the Republican Primary (Virginia law allows anyone, from any party, to vote in a Republican or Democrat Primary Election) in Precinct 615, dubbed “Commons,” at the Neabsco Commons neighborhood flanked by the Northern Virginia Community College Woodbridge Campus and Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center, thought the former South Carolina Governor would be a better choice.

Voters in the Antietam Precinct, number 514 in Lake Ridge, and the Potomac Shores Precinct near Dumfries also supported Haley.

Trump’s win in Prince William County marks a shift in the country’s electorate. In 2016, the U.S. Senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, won the county with 15,540 votes to Trump’s 15,348.

“There was little chance that the Republican Primary was going to be close, and Haley’s campaign was on life support going into Super Tuesday. The circumstances were good news for Donald Trump in northern Virginia’s outer ring suburban communities and elsewhere,” said Professor and Director, Center for Leadership and Media Studies at Mary Washington University Stephen Farnsworth. “Trump’s stronger performance in the suburbs in this primary, compared to his weaker performance in 2016, demonstrates that Virginia’s suburbs remain competitive.”

Prince William and Loudoun counties bucked the trend in Northern Virignia, which saw voters in Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax choose Haley over Trump. A total of 30,030 votes were cast in the Republican Primary in Prince William, compared to 18,608 votes cast in the county for the Democrat primary.

In 2017, one year into Trump’s presidency, Democrats came out in droves and flipped Prince William County’s reliably Republican Virginia House of Delegates and Senate seats from red to blue, electing a wave of new Democrats. While the trend has primarily contained, Republicans showed signs of life in the 2023 Elections, with wins for Delegate Ian Lovejoy (R-22, Bristow) and Erica Trendinnick, a Republican who flipped the Brentsville District seat on the county school board overseeing the second-largest school division in the state.

House Districts 21, held by Democrat Josh Thomas, and Distirct 22 held by Lovejoy, are considered competitive districts, according to VPAP.

“While only a sliver of Virginia voters participate in primaries Trump’s strong showing demonstrates that the most motivated Republicans continue to support him,” added Farnsworth.

South of Prince William in Stafford County, Trump won handily with 67% of the vote, winning 10,002 votes to Haley’s 4,488. Haley won zero precincts in Stafford County.

In the region’s cities, Trump won Manassas, Manassas Park, and Fredericksburg with 64%, 63%, and 50% of the vote, respectively.

Trump won Virginia, one of many states he picked up during the Super Tuesday contest. Haley is expected to drop out of the race.

“Voters are upset with the direction our country is heading in; for example, a recent Roanoke College poll showed that more than 60% of Virginians disapprove of the way Biden is handling the Presidency,” said Josh Quill, a 2023 candidate for the House of Delegates in Prince William County. “Republicans want lower taxes, safer communities, and stronger immigration enforcement, all things they experienced during the Trump Administration. President Trump enjoys an incumbent-like status that is difficult to overcome.”

Democrats came out in force for President Joe Biden, who won Virginia over primary challengers Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips, who won zero precincts in Prince William and Stafford counties, Manassas, Manassas Park, or Fredericksburg.

Prince William County Republican Committee Press Release: The previously scheduled March 2nd Prince William County Republican Committee Biennial Convention at Osbourn Park High School has been canceled. Chair Jacob Mosser called the Convention to select a new Chair for the Prince William County Republican Committee, as well as to vote on delegates to the 7th and 10th Congressional District Conventions and the State Convention.

Vice Chair Jacob Alderman with no opposition, and with the support of leading local Republicans and the acclamation of the Committee, will become the new Chair. All individuals who filed to attend the conventions were accepted as delegates.

Chair Jacob Mosser declined to run for a full term. He received the heartfelt thanks of the Committee at its February 26 meeting for his service. Jacob Alderman will officially take over as Chair on March 2.

Jacob Alderman, a lifelong resident of Prince William County, has served on the Committee for 10 years. His first leadership role was serving as the executive director of the Prince William Republican Committee from 2016-2019. He was the Chair of the Prince William Young Republican Club and Operations Chairman for the Committee. He has worked on multiple campaigns, advocating for conservative values and promoting strong Republican leadership.

Chair Alderman’s goals will be to recruit strong Conservative leaders to run for office, and to train candidates and volunteers to communicate our values effectively to the community in order to elect more Republicans to local, state, and federal office.

DeShundra Jefferson, chair of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, answered resident and media questions about housing, data centers, and the future of the county at the Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, town hall event.

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Stafford County Sheriff David Decatur has endorsed Derrick Anderson, a Republican candidate vying for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District seat. Anderson, a former Special Forces Green Beret, has gained traction in his bid to replace Abigail Spanberger, who has opted out of seeking reelection in favor of a Virginia gubernatorial run in 2025.

Sheriff Decatur expressed his support and emphasized the importance of partnering with individuals dedicated to combating crime. "In law enforcement, identifying partners committed to combating crime becomes essential," stated Decatur. "Derrick Anderson unequivocally stands with law enforcement and has my full support. With Derrick's backing, our collective efforts will continue to enhance the security and safety in Stafford County."

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The Prince William County Republican Committee is poised for its Biennial Convention on March 2, 2024, set to convene at Osbourn Park High School in Manassas. Registration will commence at 8:30 a.m., and proceedings will start at 10 a.m. The event will assemble delegates from the county’s seven magisterial districts.

At the forefront of the convention’s agenda is the election of a successor to outgoing Republican Chairman Jacob Mosser. Additionally, delegates will vote to determine Prince William’s representatives for the Republican conventions of the 7th and 10th Congressional Districts and the state convention.

Mosser expressed his enthusiasm for the forthcoming elections. “We have an exciting year ahead of us with the 2024 Presidential and Congressional Elections. If you would like to be part of electing conservative leaders who will represent you in Congress, sign up to be a delegate and attend our convention on March 2,” he said.

Interested Prince William County voters can register online at pwcgop.gop or download the Delegate form from the website for submission by mail. The deadline for delegate filings is 5 PM on February 21st, accompanied by a $20 registration fee to offset convention expenses.

Each magisterial district delegation holds the privilege of dispatching five delegates per vote, with a total convention vote limit of 283 and a delegate limit of 1,415. The magisterial districts represented include Brentsville, Coles, Gainesville, Neabsco, Occoquan, Potomac, and Woodbridge.

Individuals aspiring to the position of Chairman must submit a written statement and a nonrefundable $500 filing fee to the Temporary Nominations Committee Chair by 5 p.m. February 21, 2024.

All eligible residents of Prince William County who are voters and aligned with Republican Party principles may partake in the convention. Participants must express in writing their commitment to endorse all Republican nominees for public office in the ensuing election.

In addressing inquiries about the political climate in Northern Virginia and President Trump’s aspirations to sway traditionally blue states such as Virginia, Mosser underscored the potential for the Republican Party to make headway. He cited recent triumphs in local elections and voiced confidence in the party’s message resonating with voters, particularly concerning family values, education, and security.

‘It is not a bottomless blue in Northern Virginia. While the last elections did not give us all the results we wanted, I note that with Ian Lovejoy, we sent a Prince William Republican delegate to Richmond, we added a [Prince William County] School Board member Erica Tredinnick, we held our seats on the County Board of Supervisors and County Chairwoman Anne Wheeler was toppled,” Mosser told Potomac Local.

The one-term Wheeler lost her re-election bid to Deshundra Jefferson in a June 2023 Democratic Primary Election. Jefferson beat Jeanine Lawson, the Republican running for county Board Chair-At large, in the November General Election.

Mosser acknowledged the prospect by responding to President Trump’s remarks regarding flipping Virginia red, citing past surprises in Virginia’s political dynamics. He stressed the significance of competition in shaping the state’s political trajectory, asserting that failure to engage could perpetuate Democrat-progressive dominance.

The GOP’s push comes as the number of Democrats vying for the 7th District Congressional Seat grows. Prince William County Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey announced her candidacy this week and joins a notable roster of candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for the 7th District seat, including former U.S. Army Col. Eugene Vindman, a key figure in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, along with Del. Briana Sewell, Del. Elizabeth Guzman, and Prince William County Woodbridge District Supervisor Margaret Franklin.

Although election analysts consider the 7th District to lean Democratic, many Republican contenders have also thrown their hats into the ring. Among them are former Special Forces soldier Derrick Anderson, Navy SEAL combat veteran Cameron Hamilton, former Marine Corps officer Jon Meyers, entrepreneur Bill Moher, minister and author Terris Todd, businessman John Prabhudoss, and retired Lt. Col. Jeff Sacks.

Eastern Prince William County, Stafford, Spotsylvania counties, and Fredericksburg lie in the 7th District.

Manassas City Councilwoman Theresa Coates Ellis provided insights into the ongoing search for a new city manager and discussed the results of a recent city employment satisfaction survey.

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