Are Chichester's Days Numbered?

By: Chris Guy
Published On: 2/11/2007 2:50:45 PM

Later this month, GOP leaders in the Senate's 28th district will meet to seriously discuss challenging Sen. John Chichester in a primary this year. Conservatives have been trying for years to replace Chichester, but things may have really reached a boiling point now. Here's Mike Wade, chairman of the 3rd Congressional District Republican Committee:
"To me it is the last straw," Mr. Wade told The Times. "You have to get rid of the problem at its core, and Senator Chichester is the core."
If it were up to the GOP, Chichester's re-election this year would be DOA. However the 28th has an open primary. The bulk of Chichester's support comes from Independents and some Moderate Democrats, not Republicans. They tried to replace him in 2003 to no avail, and so far all the talk of challenging Chichester has been just that, all talk. If he were effectively replaced it could be a potential Democratic pickup opportunity this Nov. if someone like fmr. Del. Albert Pollard (D-99) wanted to run for the seat.

Comments



So Republicans don't like him? (Teddy - 2/11/2007 5:21:37 PM)
I guess the rigid no-tax ideologues can't stand a Republican of the old sschool--- where does the new Virginia Republican Party Chairman Gillespie enter into this? Dpes {p;;ard rea;;u jave a chance?


Most of the responses.. (Terry85 - 2/11/2007 6:10:17 PM)
I got on Kos about this yesterday were to the effect of "well isn't this what the Democrats did to Lieberman?" Absolutely ridiculous considering Lieberman supported (and still supports) the illegal war in Iraq and one of the worst Presidential administrations in US history, while Chichester merely supports a more Progressive tax code, and spoke out against the atrocious GOP transportation bill - further proving (along with the quotes below) that in the Republican party these days, party loyalty trumps doing the right thing.

These excerpts from the article are worth repeating too, if for nothing else than for the comedic value of them:

Robin DeJarnette, president of the Virginia Conservative Action PAC, told The Washington Times that conservatives are looking for someone who would focus on the Stafford County Republican's record of abandoning the conservative tenets of lower taxes and less government. Republicans tried to oust Mr. Chichester, who has been a state senator since 1978, with a conservative challenger in the 2003 primary.

"He is not loyal to the party, he is not loyal to principle, he is not loyal to the transportation crisis, he is loyal to himself," Mrs. DeJarnette said. "Without a doubt any conservative candidate that runs against Chichester, we will be behind them 100 percent, [and] after this week, absolutely he would be the No. 1 target."

Then this one:
Over the past week, Republicans accused Mr. Chichester of "taking a baseball bat to the Republican Party," being a "RINO" (Republican in Name Only) and "Virginia's most liberal state senator."

HAHAHAHAHAAHA!! Enough said.



Yeah, apparently (Chris Guy - 2/11/2007 8:08:56 PM)
balancing a budget makes you a liberal.

You want to know one of the main reasons they hate Chichester so much? They think he single-handidly made Mark Warner's political career. Let's see how much they still hate him when they nominate some wingnut who gets his butt handed to him in Nov.