Candidate's withdrawal from Virginia Republican primary means registrars must redo ballots
Fairfax County Supervisor Patrick Herrity is dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination to be Virginia's next lieutenant governor, he told a Washington, D.C., television station Monday.
The withdrawal means that former Richmond radio talk-show host John Reid becomes the party's presumptive nominee. It also creates headaches for Virginia's voter registrars, who now must go back and get the ballots they set up for the June 17 primary redone.
'I wish the candidates would give forethought on their campaigns, as this aspect has already cost the offices whose ballot printing and envelope prep has been taking place for weeks,' Petersburg registrar Dawn Wilmoth told The Progress-Index Monday night after news of Herrity's withdrawal was broken by Washington station WJLA. 'Our offices cannot wait until two weeks prior to start getting ready.'
Wilmoth said she signed off on the final draft for Petersburg's primary ballot, and it already has been approved by the Virginia Department of Elections.
'We need to get logic and analytical testing of voting machines and electronic poll book media ready ahead to set those processes up,' she added. 'That's all needed to support that process and be done in advance to go live by May 2.'
Herrity pulling out of the race means all that has gone for naught. Wilmoth said.
There are still primary races to be run in Petersburg. Three Democrats are running for that party's nomination, and two others are running for the nomination for attorney general. Additionally, incumbent Commissioner of the Revenue Brittany Flowers is being challenged for the Democratic nomination by Mary 'Liz Stith' Howard, chair of the city's Redevelopment & Housing Authority Board of Commissioners.
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Herrity, 64, who recently underwent heart surgery, confirmed to WJLA that he was pulling out of the nomination race due to health reasons.
'I've kind of come to the conclusion you really have to be on all the time. You've got to be on the road all the time,' Herrity told the station. 'You've got to be at 150%, and I was at 150% until my surgery. But with the complications that I've had, I don't see myself being able to be at that 150% that it's going to take to win in November. And I think it's in the best interest of the party and the ticket to make that determination now, rather than wait.'
Those complications, he said, were not a heart attack or stroke, just setbacks from the surgery.
Reid's campaign issued a statement that said he was 'praying' for Herrity's health, calling Herrity a 'gentleman' throughout the primary process.
'With Pat's selfless decision [Monday], our party now has an early opportunity to unify behind a historic, solidly conservative, reasonable, and responsible GOP ticket led by Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares that will continue to build on Governor [Glenn] Youngkin's success,' the statement read.
Petersburg Councilor Marlow Jones has announced an independent bid for Virginia's second-highest statewide office. Normally a Republican, Jones told The Progress-Index he opted for an independent run because if elected, he would have to work with both sides of the aisle.
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Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Patrick Herrity removes himself from bid for Va. lieutenant governor
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