Virginia GOP Leadership Votes to Hold Unassembled Convention

After months of heated Zoom meetings, on Friday night the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) State Central Committee (SCC) finally voted to hold an unassembled nomination convention. Delegates to the May 8 convention will visit one of 37 drive-in locations and drop off a completed ranked-choice ballot, and then return home.

Read More

Virginia GOP Leadership to Vote on Unassembled Convention Again

The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) State Central Committee (SCC) will once again vote on amending the party plan to allow an unassembled convention. Chairman Rich Anderson called for the meeting on Monday, after last week determining that an in-person parking lot convention would not be possible at Liberty University. The agenda for the Friday evening meeting includes three potential amendments to party rules that would allow an unassembled convention.

Read More

Virginia General Assembly Approves Bill That Would Require Absentee Provisions at Conventions

The Senate and the House of Delegates passed HB 2020, a bill that, after it goes into effect in 2024, could effectively ban completely in-person nominating conventions like the one the Republican Party of Virginia is planning to hold this year. On Tuesday, the Senate passed their version of the bill, and on Wednesday, the House approved the Senate’s changes. Sponsor Delegate Dan Helmer (D-Check) said the bill isn’t meant to target any specific process, but rather to ban processes that don’t allow legitimate voters to participate.

Read More

Virginia GOP Leadership Votes to Hold Drive-In Convention at Liberty University

The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) State Central Committee (SCC) voted 37 to 31 to issue a call for an in-person drive-in-style nominating convention to be held at Liberty University (LU) on May 8 at 9 a.m. Before passing that vote, the SCC voted against changing party rules to allow an unassembled convention, and voted against holding a canvass. The nearly four-hour-long Tuesday evening Zoom meeting hit the same notes of exasperation as previous SCC Zoom meetings and again highlighted a sharp divide between the pro-convention faction, led in the meeting by Mike Ginsburg, and the pro-primary faction, led in the meeting by Jeff Ryer.

Read More

Virginia GOP Fights off Two More Attempts to Block a Nominating Convention

Two attempts to force the Virginia GOP to reconsider its decision to hold a convention failed this week, the latest scene in the ongoing drama among the party’s leadership.

The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) State Central Committee (SCC) has voted to hold a nominating convention. Because the SCC can’t muster the three-fourths approval needed to declare an unassembled convention, it is stuck with a default in-person convention. The SCC has spent months rehashing the decision in formal Zoom meetings and private discussions.

Read More

Virginia GOP State Central Committee Bypasses Chairman Anderson, Calls for Saturday Meeting to Vote on a Nomination Canvass

On Saturday more shots were fired in the ongoing battle between the pro-primary minority and pro-convention majority factions of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) State Central Committee (SCC). Over one-third of the 72 SCC members called for a meeting to vote on a party canvass this Saturday, February 20. By banding together to issue the call, the minority bypasses Chairman Rich Anderson, who had called for a meeting February 27, four days after a deadline to call for a state-run primary to nominate the party’s candidates for 2021.

Read More

Running Out of Options, Virginia GOP State Central Committee Might Choose 2021 Party Nominees

  The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) is headed towards the State Central Committee (SCC) selecting the GOP 2021 nominees for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. A majority of the party has voted repeatedly for an in-person convention, which is illegal under current COVID-19 executive orders. A minority of…

Read More

Virginia GOP Moves Forward with Nominating Convention Amidst Chaos and Intense Division

After another stalemate between pro-primary and pro-convention factions of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) State Central Committee (SCC), Chairman Rich Anderson said he will move forward with plans for a convention.

“The majority of the SCC voted today for a third time to conduct an assembled in-person Republican State Convention. Our hope is to get SCC buy-in in a later meeting on proposals to transform it to an unassembled state convention, like we did last summer,” Anderson told The Virginia Star.

Read More

John Fredericks Commentary: The Great RPV Hostage Caper

Susan Swecker, Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia is having the time of her life.

She cannot wait until Saturday’s Republican Party of Virginia’s weekly State Central  Committee clown car Zoom show to hit the Facebook live pages. In fact, rumor has it the VA Dems actually plan watch parties around it, with champagne and locally brewed beer to boot! They say the comments section is the best comedy show since Seinfeld.

For 10 years, I have railed against the folly of Virginia Republicans holding conventions over primaries to nominate state-wide candidates. In fact, I’ve maintained that conventions have ripped the heart and soul out of the Party, relegating it to the New York Jets style dumpster fire it is today. The RPV is broke, decrepit and rudderless.

Read More

Republican Party of Virginia Fails to Clarify Nomination Process

The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) State Central Committee (SCC) failed to clarify the nominating method for its 2021 candidates in a meeting Saturday.

SCC members voted again to approve a convention, making it contingent on passing an amendment allowing an unassembled convention based on Governor Ralph Northam’s COVID-19 restrictions. The convention nomination method was first passed by the SCC on December 6 by a 42-30 majority. On Saturday, the amendment got a 41-30 majority but less than the three-fourths approval required by party rules. The SCC tabled the issue until a future meeting, tentatively planned for next Saturday.

Read More