Delegate Nick Freitas just cannot seem to avoid controversy when it comes to elections. He has failed to file paperwork on time for his last two races, causing massive issues both times. The most recent controversy seems out of his control, though.
Like in some other districts, the Republican Party in the 7th district had a convention this year for their primary races. While it did go smoother than the 5th district’s convention, where Bob Good unseated incumbent Denver Riggleman, it had its share of issues. Many results were contested, mainly for the state central committee.
What’s Going On?
Recently, Virginia journalist Brandon Jarvis revealed that 43 extra ballots were tallied for the state central committee race. All races for the convention were on the ballot, which has caused other campaigns to consider challenging the results. This does not seem like Freitas’s fault, but it does raise suspicions. The 7th district GOP chairman has also not yet given the ballots to the Virginia Republican Party. Lawsuits are expected to come if the ballots are not delivered soon.
Elections Daily was able to get some comments from a source who has knowledge of some of the proceedings within the 7th district. This source stated that “They (the committee) seemed dead set on hosting a convention, even in these times”. Our source also commented on the challenges to the ballots that “most of them came from Chesterfield and Henrico”. Those two counties are the most populous in the district.
Finally, on the question of Freitas’s candidacy, our source said that they did not believe the ballots in question would be enough to overturn results. This means Nick Freitas will likely remain as the nominee to take on Democrat Abigail Spanberger in November. There still is more to come with this story, however, especially with possible impending lawsuits.