Apparently just getting rid of retiring Sen. John Chichester (R-28) this cycle wasn't enough for Virginia Republicans. They want to ensure that no Republican even remotely resembling Chichester ever replaces him in the State Senate. This year they will have a "firehouse" primary, whereby only Republicans can vote for the nominee. In years past Chichester has survived primary challenges with help in part from Independent and Democratic voters. The Democratic nominee, fmr. Del. Albert Pollard, may have more in common with Chichester than the eventual GOP nominee. John Van Hoy, Joe Graziano and Jon Myers are vying for the GOP nomination this year. If you haven't heard of any of them, that's no accident. Van Hoy may have the inside track, being a former Stafford County GOP Chairman, but who knows. Graziano ran for a seat on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors, and lost. Jon Myers at least is an Iraq War veteran. But here's an interesting fact: of the 11 Iraq War veterans that ran for Congress last year, only 1 was a Republican...and he lost to Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX).
UPDATE: The GOP is always finding new and exciting ways to hijack democracy. The polling places for this "primary" on May 19? Del. Rob Wittman's office in Montross and the Tabernacle Baptist Church on Rt. 3.
A common excuse given for holding elections in a church is that, "on election day, it's not a church." Yeah, I'm sure when people enter a church, religion is the last thing on their mind. Oy.