One day after announcing his selection for Virginia’s new Secretary of Education (Aimee Rogstad Guidera), Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin (R) has now announced his pick for Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Caren Merrick. For everyone who’s been following Virginia politics – and this blog – for the past decade, you probably remember Merrick from her 2011 run for State Senate against Democrat Barbara Favola. For some stories posted about that race, see:
- Favola Accuses Merrick of Running ‘Stealth Campaign’ (Barbara Favola on Caren Merrick: “She is a very conservative Republican. She is not a moderate Republican. She is a Tea Party Republican…She also said Merrick would not directly answer questions about issues that affect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voters – except to say that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.”)
- Caren Merrick Dodges Presidential Choice Question
- Caren Merrick Goes Big-Time Negative Against Barbara Favola
- Caren Merrick Dodges Abortion Question
- Tea Party Republican Caren Merrick Still Refuses to Release Her NRA Questionnaire
- Video: Virginia Tech Mom Gets Door Slammed in Her Face at Caren Merrick HQ
- Caren Merrick Lies Again: This Time on Background Checks for Gun Purchases
- Republicans Go All Out for Caren Merrick in the 31st Senate District?
- Favola-Merrick Debate in Arlington Reveals Stark Differences, Despite Merrick’s Dodging and Weaving
- Social Issues Dominate State Senate Debate (Merrick: “I am pro-life”; “Merrick was asked about the A- rating she received from the National Rifle Association”)
Also, check out the FEC database for Merrick’s federal contributions, including thousands of dollars to former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA10), as well as thousands of dollars to Ed Gillespie, Mitt Romney, George Allen, Bush-Cheney 2004, etc. And see here for Merrick’s 2011 campaign website, in which she says she supports:
- “Reducing unnecessary regulations” and “comprehensive tax and regulation reform, including a pay-as-you-go regulatory environment”
- ” We also need to reform Virginia’s tax code to make it simpler, fairer and more conducive to competition and economic growth.”
- “Another key to growth is enacting a stronger R & D tax credit to promote innovation and job creation across our region and boosting industry sponsored research and collaboration with Virginia’s universities.”
- “Transportation – we must prioritize spending based on congestion relief.”
- “We need to have a predictable stream of revenue for transportation maintenance and to expand capacity, efficiency and modes of travel. One idea that has received strong bi-partisan support is to use a portion of revenue from off-shore oil leases.”
Finally, from Barbara Favola’s 2011 website, here’s what she had to say about Caren Merrick:
- “It’s no secret that the Virginia Tea Party supports Republican Caren Merrick, Barbara Favola’s hard-core conservative opponent.”
- “You can tell a lot about a person based on who supports her. Caren Merrick is supported by the Tea Party, the NRA, and anti-choice extremists who want to chip away at a woman’s right to choose in Virginia.”
P.S. Just as he flat-out lied yesterday – falsely claiming that Virginia needs to be “restoring expectations of excellence” (when, in fact, Virginia education is already excellent) – today Youngkin lied in claiming that “Virginia’s jobs machine has stalled out.” In fact, as Gov. Northam pointed out yesterday, “Virginia’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.4 percent in November, which is 2.4 percentage points below the rate from one year ago and well below the national rate.”
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