VA-05

Tea Party Fail: Moderate GOPer Heading To Nomination In Hot Central Virginia Race

Christina Bellantoni | June 2, 2010, 10:56AM

VA State Sen. Robert Hurt (R)

A few months ago it seemed the towns around Lynchburg, Virginia would be ground zero for a political shift -- Republican voters scoffed at an establishment favorite candidate as they set their sights on the fifth district. Now, the conservative favorite Laurence Verga has deflated, losing campaign staffers who say the more moderate Republican state Sen. Robert Hurt is all-but-certain to handily capture the party nomination for the central Virginia district on June 8. That would pit Hurt -- who drew ire for backing a 2004 state tax increase but is otherwise a pretty standard Republican -- against freshman Rep. Tom Perriello, a Democrat who won a GOP seat during the 2008 Obama tidal wave. He's vulnerable but has amassed a campaign war chest of more than $1.5 million.

But the GOP isn't free and clear yet of an intraparty battle, with yet another "true" conservative threatening to run as an independent in the general election if Hurt clears the seven-candidate field. Jeffrey Clark says he'll make a third party run if Hurt wins the GOP nomination, according to the Washington Post. Clark told the Lynchburg News and Advance that he views Hurt as a "situational conservative."

There are few polls and Republican sources on the ground say it's possible something would surprise them next Tuesday, but even former Verga loyalists told me privately that he's toast and Hurt will win.

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VA-05

Top GOP Candidate Plays Tax Enemy As Tea Party Rivals Say He's Too Moderate

Christina Bellantoni | January 13, 2010, 3:26PM

Congressional candidate Robert Hurt (R-VA)

The frontrunner for the Republican nomination in Virginia's fifth congressional district is shoring up his conservative credentials - criticizing tax increases and making sure his Web site includes no mention of his vote for the biggest tax hike the state has ever had.

During the legislative session this month State Sen. Robert Hurt will be carrying legislation for the state's new Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell and Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and his bills are likely to earn plaudits from conservatives.

As his six opponents attack him for voting to raise nearly $1.4 billion in taxes during the 2004 legislative session under then-Gov. Mark Warner (D), Hurt's new Web site portrays the candidate as a champion of tax cuts.

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VA-05

Laura Ingraham Picks Sides In VA-05 - Against Primary Candidate She Says Is Too Moderate

Christina Bellantoni | December 22, 2009, 1:36PM

Laura Ingraham

Talk radio personality and darling of the right Laura Ingraham has a message to deliver in the intra-party feud in Virginia's fifth district: Republicans can't defeat Rep. Tom Perriello with a "middle of the road" candidate.

"Republicans on Capitol Hill still haven't gotten it through their heads," Ingraham said on a recent show before introducing her guest, Republican candidate Laurence Verga.

In the Dec. 7 interview the radio host called Verga "the man who is the conservative in this important primary."

TPMDC told you this month there are seven contenders vying for the nomination to challenge the embattled freshman Democrat.

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