On Tuesday, days after Virginia Del. Nick Freitas abandoned his bid for re-election because he hadn’t properly filed candidacy papers, a committee of local GOP leaders in the state’s 30th District voted to award the Republican nomination to … Nick Freitas.
The matter is hardly settled, though: An unfavorable ruling by the State Board of Elections or the courts could still force the GOP to run a write-in campaign to avoid forfeiting this reliably red seat at the same time that they’re defending their narrow 51-49 majority in the state House.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Graham Moomaw reports that Republican officials are hoping to take advantage of a provision in state law that allows political parties to replace a nominee who dies or drops out. The law explicitly forbids parties from renominating someone who was “disqualified for failing to meet the filing requirements,” but Freitas withdrew on Thursday—a day ahead of a planned meeting of the elections board where he could have been disqualified. Board officials met on Friday as planned, but they made no announcement about what course of action they’d decided on, if any.
However, it remains to be seen if the GOP’s maneuver will work. Moomaw writes, “If the case goes to court, the outcome could hinge on whether Freitas was or wasn’t a party nominee before he withdrew on Thursday.” The elections board never certified Freitas as the nominee, but Republican officials are arguing that he became the party’s official pick in March when no one else filed to take him on in the primary.
Whichever way the board proceeds, there’s very good chance this dispute will win up before a judge. The board will need to decide whether or not to accept Freitas as the new GOP nominee; if it doesn’t, Freitas could sue. However, board members rule in the incumbent’s favor, Democratic nominee Ann Ridgeway could go to court to try to remove him from the ballot.
Freitas is indeed aware that he may not ultimately appear on the ballot. The delegate told conservative radio host John Fredericks on Wednesday that, if he gets bounced, he’ll consider running a write-in campaign to keep his seat. Freitas did suggest he could step aside if the board determines that a different Republican can appear in his stead, but he didn’t commit to anything. Freitas’ campaign manager estimated that a write-in campaign could cost up to $150,000 but said that the campaign has $500,000 in the bank.
This seat backed Donald Trump 60-36 and supported 2017 GOP gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie 61-38, so a well-financed write-in campaign would have a good chance of success. Still, Democrats will count it a victory if the GOP has to divert resources from more competitive seats to hold this district, which Republicans shouldn’t have had to devote even a single thought to.
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