Virginia Republicans Prefer Wacky Trumpist, Amanda Chase for Governor in New Poll
Virginia will elect a new Governor this year and the state may provide an early indication of Donald Trump's hold on the GOP. A new poll released this week by Christopher Newport University found that a Trump acolyte, State Sen. Amanda Chase, leads in the race for the Republican nomination for Virginia's highest office. Many Virginians remain undecided, but Chase leads with 17% while 10% back former Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox and 6% support businessman Pete Snyder. Wealthy retired businessman Glenn Youngkin is also in the race.
Del. Cox has the support of the GOP establishment who fear that Chase would align the Party too closely with the conspiracy theories and white nationalist legacy of the former President.
Washington Post: "A senator since 2016, Chase has been at odds with her own party’s leaders for cursing out a Capitol Police officer over a parking spot and claiming on Facebook that Virginia Democrats “hate white people.” With an AR-15 strapped across her chest, Chase appeared at a gun rights rally in July with “boogaloo boys,” a far-right anti-government group pushing for a second civil war. Chase said she didn’t know who was in the crowd."
After the November election, Chase, who bills herself as "Trump in heels," called on the former President to declare martial law to remain in office and has often repeated "stolen election" conspiracies.
Washington Post: "Under martial law, she [Chase] said, troops would “go and seize these [voting] machines and voting equipment to find the voter fraud. There needs to be a national audit.”
Sen. Chase also supported the individuals who attacked the Capital on January 6th and seems to buy into at least some of the right-wing's Covid nonsense, refusing to wear a mask in the state Senate.
New York Times: "There is little establishment support for Ms. Chase, who last month was censured by her State Senate colleagues and stripped of committee assignments after she called the rioters at the Capitol “patriots.” She has recently been required to sit in a plexiglass box after refusing to wear a mask during Senate sessions. Ms. Chase has called it her “square of freedom.”
Virginia Mercury: "Chase has touted her stance on face coverings during campaign events. During a rally late last year, she told cheering supporters, “I don’t do COVID. … I’m the only legislator in the General Assembly who does not wear a mask.”
The Republican state committee has yet to decide how its candidate will be chosen this year. Sen. Chase prefers a primary as the Democrats will have, but Republican Party elders are apprehensive about letting the voters have the final say. They fear that Chase could win the primary with as little as 30% support in a four person race and then lead the Party to an epic defeat in November.
By: Don Lam & Curated Content
_JPG.jpg)
.jpg)