Cuccinelli GOP AG, Adnan's speech

Charlottesville, Va.—On Saturday May 30 at the Richmond Coliseum, Virginia Republicans selected state senator Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General in the November election. Cuccinelli won 57% of weighted votes of 7,000 delegates and was opposed by former federal prosecutor John Brownlee and former Arlington School Board Chairman Dave Foster.

If no candidate had received a majority, there would have been a second round of voting between the biggest vote-getters to ensure majority support of the party. If a county/city has fewer delegates attend than allocated based on the previous Republican presidential votes in the district, the delegate votes are weighted so the district has a full vote.

This year, the sitting attorney general is running for governor. Bob McDonnell was unopposed at the convention. But Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling was opposed by Patrick Muldoon, who picked up 16% of the weighted vote. Bolling will run for a second term.

The office of state party chairman has been controversial in recent years. No chairman has served out his 4-year term in recent memory. On Apr. 4, Jeff Frederick was ousted by the state central committee on a 57-18 vote (76%-24%), after being elected last year with 63% against John Hager.

On Saturday Pat Mullins won 70% and was endorsed by temporary chair Mike Thomas, who led the ouster of Frederick. The protest vote went to Bill Stanley who garnered 30% of the delegates.

Democrats elected their candidates in a June 9 primary with 6.4% of 5 million registered voters. State Senator Creigh Deeds won for governor against Terry McAuliffe and Bryan Moran. Deeds lost to McDonnell 4 years ago in the attorney general race by about three hundred votes in a recount. Jody Wagner won against Mike Signer for lieutenant governor.

Delegate Steve Shannon was unopposed and will face state senator Cuccinelli in the general election Nov. 3. Shannon and Cuccinelli both represent Fairfax and surrounding areas in northern Virginia.


Republican Convention

The format of the convention was typical: parade of speeches. Sean Hannity was the keynote speaker. There were no nominating speeches. Each candidate had ten minutes and loud music played a couple seconds if you ran over. McDonnell for governor, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Patrick Muldoon for lieutenant governor, Ken Cuccinnelli, John Brownlee and Dave Foster for attorney general, Pat Mullins and Bill Stanley for party chairman.

Out of the three contests, I voted for the winner once. You might say I was a Cuccinelli delegate because of my interest in eminent domain and his work in the legislature even before the 2005 Kelo decision brought this issue into the news. In the other two competitions my vote was a protest vote. Muldoon had the most enthusiastic and vocal supporters. Muldoon blamed all the party’s problems on the only incumbent seeking reelection.

The most flamboyant speech was Ken Cuccinelli with the yellow DONT TREAD ON ME snake flags, big and small, waving throughout the coliseum. The flags were passed out moments before the speech.

After the eight speeches came the voting. Instead of leaving early, many people stayed in case there was a run-off in the attorney general race. While the results were counted, filler speeches and music from the UVA Glee Club played on. People were socializing and moving around and having lunch. Congressman Eric Cantor was booed and dismissed. Cantor voted for the initial $700 billion bailout in 2008.

The most memorable speech was from a naturalized US citizen from Kuwait, Corps of Cadets commander at Virginia Tech, Adnan Barqawi. When he began speaking, people were still chatting. Halfway through, everyone was listening and applauding the statements. When Adnan left the stage, there was a standing ovation that went on and on. Thanks to Rick Sincere for the footage.






Eminent domain stars reveal legislative agenda, Jun. 29, 2006

Goode Republicans elect chairman, marriage amendment resolution, Apr. 29, 2008

Va Republican Chairman Frederick faces ouster, Mar. 18, 2009

Va Republican Chairman Frederick purged, Apr. 7, 2009

Weighted Vote (from RPV Chairman Pat Mullins Jun. 4 2009)

Lieutenant Governor- Weighted Total: 10522.69
Bill Bolling: 8799.08 (84%)
Patrick Muldoon: 1723.61 (16%)

Attorney General- Weighted Total: 10521.38
Ken Cuccinelli: 5980.31 (57%)
John Brownlee: 3861.46 (37%)
Foster: 679.61 (6%)

State Party Chair- Weighted Total: 10524.01
Pat Mullins: 7346.77 (70%)
Bill Stanley: 3177.24 (30%)














The June Albemarle-Charlottesville GOP Breakfast will be on Saturday, June 13 at 8:15am, at the Golden Corral (1185 Seminole Trail 29N). Our guest speaker will be Jeff Horgan, Virginia State Director for Americans for Fair Taxation.