In an exciting convention battle with more than 1,000 participants, Del. Rob Wittman, a first-term lawmaker from the Northern Neck, won the Republican nomination to fill the congressional seat of the late Rep. Jo Ann Davis of Gloucester. Wittman, a state employee for the Division of Shellfish Sanitation, touted his experience in local government. He emerged as the winner of a free-for-all between 11 contenders, including Bacon’s Rebellion columnist James Bowden.
In the early stages of the convention, conservative Newport News businessman Paul Jost was deemed to have the edge. But his support eroded, and the momentum shifted to Wittman. Del. Harvey Morgan, R-Middlesex, told the Daily Press that there was a widespread concern that Jost was too conservative.”We’ve lost a number of elections because the candidates were too far to the right,” he said. “The forces that won here were the forces of moderation.”
Secular humanists can rest easy. Democracy is safe. Jim Bowden won’t have a chance to impose a theocracy on America after all. (To learn more about the Bowden menace, read the comments in “Jim Bowden: Not a Candidate for the Baby Kissers.”)
