Scoop: Anderson is running to lead Virginia’s Republican Party

A familiar face in Prince William County is running to lead the Virginia Republican Party.

Anderson’s statement | Today, former Virginia state delegate and retired 30-year Air Force Colonel Richard L. (Rich) Anderson announced that he is a candidate for election as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV). This year, Virginia Republicans will elect a state party chairman for a four-year term at the 2020 RPV Quadrennial State Convention on May 1-2 in Lynchburg.

Anderson’s entry into the race comes after he lost a bid to reclaim his seat in the House of Delegates in November. Anderson held the seat, representing the 51st House District in Prince William County from 2010 to 2017, and was unseated by the current seat holder Democrat Delegate Hyla Ayala.

Anderson’s statement | For 250 years, political life in our country has been a cyclical business that is marked by a political pendulum that swings back and forth between the two major parties. If elected to lead the Republican Party of Virginia, I will focus 16-18 hours every day, seven days a week, on swinging the pendulum as heavily and swiftly as possible back to the party of Lincoln. We will have but one goal: The sure election of Republican candidates and the swift defeat of Democrat candidates.

Anderson will contest current Republican Party Chairman Jack Wison who announced he is seeking reelection to the position.

Wilson’s statement | “Virginia and our nation are at a crossroads, and the year 2020 will be crucial in deciding what route our Commonwealth and our Country take. At this critical time, when our liberties and our Constitution are under assault, we need strong leadership, relevant experience, good judgment and new ideas at the helm of our Party to steer Republicans to victory. And that is why I am running for re-election as Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.

In November, the Republicans lost their majority in the House of Delegates and State Senate in Richmond for the first time in nearly three decades. Democrats now hold the Senate by two eight seats,  and the House of Delegates by 10.

Locally, House Districts 40 (Fairfax, Prince William) and 28 (Fredericksburg, Stafford) that were held by Republicans Tim Hugo and Bob Thomas, respectively, flipped to the Democrats Dan Helmer and Joshua Cole, respectively.

In the Senate, it was Democrat John Bell’s win in the 13th District in Loudoun and Prince William counites seat that gave Democrats the push they needed to win the majority, taking a seat that had been in Republican control under Senator Richard Black.

The other Senate District to flip was the 10th District seat in Richmond, from Republican Glen Sturtevant to Democrat Ghazala Hashmi.  Those losses for the GOP in 2019 came just two years after a blue wave washed out many Republican legislators in Northern Virginia, to include Anderson.

In recent weeks, Democrats in Richmond have introduced bills aimed at limiting the number of guns, and the amount and types of ammunition gun owners may own, and where they can and cannot carry their weapons. It has sparked a wave of Second Amendment supporters to pack houses of local governments across the state demanding they declare their jurisdiction as sanctuaries where gun rights will be upheld.

Prince William and Stafford counties are both sanctuaries, and just last night Virginia Beach officials declared that city a gun-rights sanctuary just seven months after a gunman shot and killed 12 people and injured four others in a mass shooting at Virginia Beach city hall.

Anderson told Potomac Local that he is heartened by the number of 2nd-Amendment supporters who have shown up across the state, and hopes that these residents remain energized to get involved in other important issues and show up at the polls to vote.