Washington Post: Virginia’s GOP Gov Primary a “Trump Loyalty Test Among Republicans”

After Virginia’s GOP primary for governor exploded into a three-way race last week, a new column from the Washington Post highlights how the commonwealth’s GOP primary for governor is set to be a “Trump loyalty test” between Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, former delegate Dave LaRock, and former state senator Amanda Chase.

Already, the GOP candidates for governor are proving their loyalty to Trump by embracing his and Elon Musk’s attacks on Virginia jobs and workers and refusing to stand up to his harmful agenda of slashing Medicaid.

Read More About the “Menu of Mind-Numbing Sameness” in Virginia’s GOP Gov Primary:

• Things change fast these days, and now that two other Republicans have made late leaps into the race, this election is suddenly about something else: What happens when everyone in one party feels compelled to hew to one narrow perspective? Does conformity strengthen or weaken a party’s appeal? How can any group emerge from such a straitjacket to grow?
• Now, the Republicans are a virtually undifferentiated Party of Trump.
• So last week, when former state delegate Dave LaRock (Loudoun) and former state senator Amanda Chase (Chesterfield) challenged Earle-Sears for the nomination, Republican voters learned they would be offered this menu of mind-numbing sameness in the June 17 primary:
• Chase, who previously ran for governor pitching herself as “Trump in Heels” and wore a pistol on the Senate floor, spoke at Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, “Stop the Steal” rally that led to the insurrection at the Capitol and contends that Earle-Sears is a “Never Trumper,” even though she campaigned with Trump last fall.
• The big issue in the primary now is who shows the most fealty to Trump.
• LaRock wants Virginia to create its own DOGE, sacking workers and creating havoc. Chase also wants a Virginia DOGE…“I will do what President Trump is doing,” she said.
• A contest over who is most loyal to Trump, wrote Derrick Max, president of the conservative Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, “is an interesting strategy in a state he didn’t win.”
• So this spring, you Republican voters get to choose from two candidates who brandished weapons, two who sought to overturn a presidential election and three who love what’s happening in Washington. Enjoy!