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Jan. 6 guy Dave LaRock mounting campaign for Republican governor nomination

Chris Graham
virginia state capitol
(© demerzel21 – stock.adobe.com)

Election-denier and Jan. 6 apologist Dave LaRock is now formally mounting a campaign for the Republican Party nomination for governor.

LaRock, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, who was at the U.S. Capitol on the day of the Jan. 6 insurrection, and has claimed that the attack on democracy that day was instigated by “paid provocateurs sent in to taint an otherwise orderly protest,” will challenge the sitting lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, whose political sin is being insufficiently Trumpy, for the nomination.

Before you dismiss the idea that LaRock has any kind of decent shot, consider the case of Bob Good, the once-formidable Fifth District congressman – Good was elected chair of the House Freedom Caucus early last year, before Team Trump decided that he needed to be punished for initially backing Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential race.

TrumpWorld threw its weight behind the candidacy of State Sen. John McGuire, who went on to post a narrow win in a June primary, and is now a freshman congressman.

Earle-Sears has the same problem that Good had – she told Fox News in 2022 that she “could not support” Trump in the 2024 cycle, saying he was a “liability” and saying “it is time to move on,” though she has since made many efforts to recant and repent.

On top of the “Never Trumper” problem, there’s also another, more obvious one – Earle-Sears is a Black woman in a party that has made DEI the new n-word.


ICYMI


Winsome Earle-Sears
Winsome Earle-Sears: © Eli Wilson – Shutterstock

You have to wonder if that’s what’s behind LaRock saying, in an interview with radio station WTOP, that he “was approached by many conservatives from across the state who see the need for, perhaps, a different candidate.”

A White college dropout is certainly a “different candidate” from a Jamaican immigrant and U.S. Marines vet who once served as the director of a homeless shelter.

“I know Winsome, I like Winsome, but decisions that she’s made very publicly, I think will make it very difficult for her to unite the base that any candidate would need to be successful in running for this office,” said LaRock, who still needs to get on the ballot to force a primary.

The other blood in the water here: Earle-Sears is running well behind behind presumptive Democratic Party gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger in the early polling.

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

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