This is a nasty, NASTY race to crown the Republican candidate in Virginia's 33rd House District.
Here are the horses:
Joe T. May, 67 years old, 12-year incumbent and local entrepreneur (EIT, Inc., a company providing full contract electronic design and manufacturing services to OEM's from product concept through distribution and aftermarket support). His campaign's web presence is severely lacking (IOW, severely sucks ass), but in this area, retail politics is the order of the day. Painting himself as the "moderate" yet "rock-ribbed conservative" in this race for the nomination. Folksy and down-home. May's big financial supporters include Microsoft and lobbying firm Powerstrategies (who gave General Electric $160,000 in 2002). Your run-of-the-mill Republican.
His opponent, though, is a "real doozy"...
Chris Oprison, 34-year old attorney associate for mega-law firm
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meager & Flom, ex-Marine lawyer. Only has been a resident in the area for about two years. Being supported greatly by ultra-conservative fundamentalist theocrats (you know, the ones, that DNC Chairman Howard Dean was referring to as the "white Christians") Walter Curt (who lobbied against state colleges distributing the "morning-after pill", who lives outside VA-33), fundies from Louisiana...here is the
list of Oprison's major contributors.
Additional information on Oprison's backers:
Excerpt from "House Race Leads Ballot; Local Republicans Rally Around Embattled Incumbent May" - Leesburg2Day.com
On June 3, challenger Oprison received $15,000 from Harrisonburg entrepreneur Walter Curt, who sold his 19-year-old Shenandoah Electronic Intelligence Inc. earlier this year for $75 million. Curt has taken a special interest in the Loudoun-Clarke Frederick primary race by contributing $35,000 to Oprison's campaign, while giving Jerry Kilgore $50,000 to support his bid for governor, $25,000 to Attorney General candidate Robert F. McDonnell and giving hometown candidate Matt Lohr $1,000 in his campaign for the 26th District House seat representing Harrisonburg and part of Rockingham County.
Curt is Oprison's largest contributor, with the Richmond based Virginia Conservative Action PAC second, giving more than $20,000 in cash and in-kind services. The VCAP is led by R. Jerry Parker Jr., founder of the Chesapeake Capital Corp hedge fund who has targeted Republican delegates who supported tax increases in 2004. The PAC has given nearly $20,000 in cash and in-kind services to Craddock.
The VCAP, too, has seen a large influx of cash in recent weeks. Since May 1, the American Tort Reform Association has given VCAP $260,000. Since March, when PACs were required to disclose within three business days any donations received of $10,000 or more, Parker has pumped $120,000 into the operation, according to information in the Virginia Public Access Project (www.vpap.org) database of disclosure reports.
Theocratic dominionist, money-grubbing hedge funder and wealthy government-trougher ex-defense contractor Norquististas. You just gotta check out the Oprison campaign site for the "Who's Who" of wackadoo wingnuts:
Grover Norquist (previously mentioned) and Chris hold the "No New Tax" Pledge Chris has signed (in blood, no doubt, all the Faustian being equal)...
Chris with the President of the Family Research
Council, Tony Perkins (Dobson's younger sibling in the theocratic dominionist movement)...
and last, but not least:
Chris and his wife Jennifer with columnist Anne Coulter (my eyes! MY EYES!)
Oprison is also pledged support in the way of volunteers from Patrick Henry College, a ultraconservative institute of higher "learning" fed by home-schooler types in VA-33.
Get this:
Oprison's campaign manager, himself under fire for being a registered voter in Florida while collecting signatures to put Oprison on the ballot, is affiliated with Patrick Henry College founded by one-time lieutenant governor candidate Michael Farris in part to provide political science training to home-schooled Christian teens.
So much for "values-based" modes of living.
Read about more of the accusations and mud-slinging between the Replugs:
33rd District: How do you spell 'liberal'
and here is where I come to the "money shot" from the article:
So far, there is no Democratic candidate declared to run for the seat in November. If Oprison wins on Tuesday, Democrats may see an opportunity to win the seat back with a moderate candidate.
Should one pray for the wingnuts to stream out of the woodwork to tip the tide for Oprison? Virginia is an open primary state so anyone can vote. Turnouts in a June primary are traditionally low (only about 10% registered bother to participate).
So every vote counts. Every vote counts.
Should a few of the "loyal opposition" decide to turn out for Oprison...should a few VA-33rd Dems, throw their "sabots" into the Republican primary machine?
Perish the thought!