Shak Hill was not a serious candidate nor were the other two. They were just token candidates. Each has their own motivation for running. Some do it for business reasons, others for ego, and others to help build a resume. They had no money and no organization.
The Republican party in Virginia is a mess — I’m in the 7th district and there has been huge progress here. But there has been a serious dearth of activists and workers. That’s starting to change, now that some of the RINOs have been swept out of the house.
We need to defeat Cantor. Dave Brat is a great guy and a real conservative. The Dems want Cantor reelected. They don't even have a candidate running against him. That should tell you something. I have been helping Brat.
Yes - we’ve been working hard for Dave Brat, but people have felt ambivalent about the Senate candidates this year. If there had been a stronger, more articulate candidate than Shak Hill, that candidate would definitely have won. My five friends desperately wanted to feel confident in an alternative to Ed Gillespie, but in the end, they couldn’t.
No serious candidate emerged because the fix was in. The Establishment with Mullins and Shaun Kenney made sure of that. The Soviet Politburo would be proud of the Kabuki dance that went on. None of the other candidates went after Gillespie, especially on immigration where he is really vulnerable. Gillespie is the Insider's insider. He will still probably lose. Warner will rip him apart and the Democrat machine in NoVA will turn out big numbers.
I agree the fix was in for Ed. It was pretty obvious the GopE was going to put him in. One of the clips at the convention for Gillespie before he spoke was him getting along grand with Chris Mathews on Mathews show. Them laughing ect.