Rebel Republican Fails to File
Steve H. Chapman, a 28-year-old conservative Republican from Prince William County who failed last year to unseat state Del. Harry J. Parrish, is having trouble again campaigning.
This time, Chapman made an error that cost him a race in an instant: He missed the deadline Friday to file as a candidate in a special election Nov. 7 to replace Parrish, who died in March. Chapman was hoping to win the GOP nomination for the House of Delegates' 50th District, which encompasses Manassas, Manassas Park and parts of Prince William.
The last time Chapman ran for office, he had to fend off a felony charge of election fraud, based on accusations that he lied about where he lived when he registered to vote in fall 2004. The charge was later dropped.
In an interview, Chapman said he took responsibility for not checking the filing deadline; he said he had received an e-mail last month from a Manassas City Republican Committee member explaining that the deadline was approaching and that "there would be more details to come." But Chapman said that he never heard anything again about the deadline and that he has been distracted recently by a blogger's criticisms of his candidacy.
[comment: worst local candidate ever?]