This vicious fight between Del. Chris Peace (R-HD97) and Republican challenger Scott Wyatt has gone on for months now, so it’s hard to believe it’s really over. But…according to this article and the following post from the Hanover Republican Committee, it sure seems like Scott Wyatt is (finally) the official Republican Party nominee in HD97 (65% Corey Stewart/68% Ed Gillespie district; Democratic nominee Kevin Washington).
P.S. For more background on this situation, see Vicious Virginia Republican Infighting Continues in HD-97. Is Tomorrow’s “Firehouse Primary” Still On? Is It Legitimate? Does Anyone Know?; No “Peace” for Virginia Republicans…at Least Not in HD97 Between Del. Chris Peace and Scott Wyatt and Where the Heck Do Things Stand With the HD97 Republican Nomination Fiasco? (Del. Chris Peace (R) and His Challenger, Scott Wyatt (R), Trade Barbs, Accusations, Narratives About Who Is the Nominee).
The GOP state central committee voted to declare Scott Wyatt the party’s nominee for the 97th House of Delegates District Saturday.
The senior-most state party committee, made up of GOP officials from across Virginia, voted 56-17 to tell to the state board of elections that Wyatt is the party nominee, having won the valid contest for that title, at a meeting in Richmond. The vote also affirmed a lower committee’s ruling to determine the convention that Wyatt won on May 4 the legitimate means of selecting a nominee for the general election.
The vote by the state central committee appeared to be the final battle in the fraught political war between Wyatt, a Hanover supervisor, and Del. Chris Peace for the nomination. Both sides had accused the other of gaming the process to select a nominee and misleading voters.
With today’s resolution at the State Central Committee meeting, every single level of the Republican Party of Virginia is in agreement: Scott Wyatt for Delegate is the official nominee in the 97th District. That includes the 97th Legislative District Committee, the First Congressional District Committee, the Executive Committee of the State Central Committee, and now the full State Central Committee. All decisions were by overwhelming margins.
UPDATE 6:15 pm – Christopher K. Peace has responded.
I look forward to returning to the Capitol for the Special Session on Gun Control and continuing my service to my constituents as always.
The SCC voted to violate the Party’s own corporate charter and governing rules. Attorney members voted in violation of their own ethical obligations. It is the culmination of a flawed process that was rigged from the beginning to produce a particular result.
Might should never make right in Virginia. The raw exercise of power while satisfying to those wielding it should never trump the will of the people. Nearly 2,500 people voted on June 1st. Libertarians have overthrown the will of real Republican voters. This should not stand, so I am evaluating all options on the table.
In the end, I am sad that the extreme in our party decided to marginalize these Virginia voices to accomplish short sighted goals that lead only to continued losses for our party. I am reminded of the biblical principal of what does it profit a man to gain the world but lose his soul. To win this nomination but possibly lose majorities in both houses makes this a Pyrrhic victory for the opposition.
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
