Thanks to my friend Chris over at Mason Conservative for the hat tip.
Steve Hunt has withdrawn from the Congressional race; from the list of names I mentioned two weeks ago, only Keith Fimian remains. Fimian also has the distinction of raising three times as much from individual contributors as Leslie Byrne, the heavily hyped but ultimately underwhelming presumptive Democratic nominee. Fimian also has the ability to donate some of his own funds into the race.
I don’t mean to take away from Mike Huckabee’s stellar performance tonight; he clearly had a huge night, and if anything has proven that he instead of Mitt Romney deserves the spot of the “second man” in a two-man race for the Republican nomination. However, the news has broken, so it deserves to be spoken of.
According to the Washington Post, Tim Hugo has wavered on his earlier statement of saying that he would not run for the seat. If Hugo is interested in running, I strongly implore him to announce now. Republicans need to coalesce around a candidate as soon as possible. Keith Fimian has already made tremendous in-roads with the party and has proven his ability to compete monetarily. The last thing we need is a scenario like the Democrats with two able candidates fighting at-length to the last possible minute to determine a nominee.
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Feb 06th by VA Blogger
No primary, no convention. Cool. The Gilmore folks should have thought of that.
NoVA Scout
on February 6th, 2008Vincent,
While no one else from your original list is in the race (I remain unconvinced Tim Hugo ever formally withdrew), Skip Dale, who had a hospitality suite at the Advance, remains in the race. He was the Fairfax County Republican Committee’s Super Tuesday Results Watching fundraiser last night sporting his “Dale for Congress” sticker, and he indicated he’s in the race. So Keith hasn’t cleared the field yet.
David C.F. Ray
on February 6th, 2008I saw Fimian at the Super Tuesday celebration and he looks like he’s getting into form. However, I also received a letter that was obviously written by him and not vetted by a professional. “First we need to get rid of all the lawyers” is not the type of thing to say is one of your core planks in the 11th. There are A LOT of lawyers who live and are active in the 11th. Every statement he makes is usuable by the opposition, and he can’t afford gaffes as he is getting off the ground against experienced campaigners.
Keith needs to get some experienced professionals on the payroll TODAY. He’s got the money raised for it and I know that people are available. Surely some of Tom’s people are looking…
Former Candidate
on February 6th, 2008[...] Posted by bwana on February 6, 2008 With the retirement of Tom Davis and the failure of a long list of potential candidates to post, many folks have decided Keith Fimian is The Man for the GOP nod to hold the Va-11 seat for the GOP this fall. Too Conservative has annointed him, as has Chris over at the Mason Conservative. [...]
Keith Fimian, Va-11, and the Millionaire’s Amendment « Renaissance Ruminations
on February 6th, 2008DCFR–
Point to note: Vincent and I are two different people. He posts under “Too Conservative”, while I post under “VA Blogger”.
VA Blogger
on February 6th, 2008Steve Hunt did the right thing, as usual.
Not Running
on February 7th, 2008Steve should run for Ken Cuccinelli’s seat after Ken wins Attorney General next year.
rtwng extrmst
on February 8th, 2008I’m going out on a limb here, but I am thinking that the idea of getting rid of all the lawyers will resonate pretty well anywhere…even among lawyers…
GOPete
on February 8th, 2008Is Ken Cuccinelli really running for AG, or is that just wishful thinking?
GOPete
on February 8th, 2008It is a rumored possibility at this point.
VA Blogger
on February 8th, 2008I went to Fimian’s site to get information. Unless I’m looking in the wrong place, there’s virtually nothing there about him. Anyone got a link? A friend in the district told me about some Fimian direct mail that seemed positively childish and guaranteed to drive away at least as many votes as it gains. Has this guy been in the public arena enough to have a sense of how to define issues and craft a program? Or is this a complete amateur hour production?
NoVA Scout
on February 9th, 2008