Spotlight on Prince William County

In 2010, when Republican Keith Fimian fell less than 1,000 votes short of unseating Gerry Connolly (one of the closest races in the nation!), Prince William County voters played a large part in selecting the 11th District's nominee and almost electing him to Congress.

2012 is shaping up to be a tougher year for the Prince William County Republicans. Redistricting has completely changed the parts of of Prince William County that are or are not in the 11th District.

The Virginia Senate lines drawn last year also carved up the county in such a way that, even though 57% of votes cast in Prince William were for Republicans in 2011, only 40% of Prince William County's Virginia Senators are Republican. The Prince William County Republican Committee passed a resolution last November asking the Republicans in the legislature to give them relief from this situation in the Congressional redistricting, which was completely ignored. Prince William continues to be split between 3 congressional districts, though many residents were shifted to a different district.

One of the 11th District candidates for State Central Committee this year is a magisterial district chairman from Prince William County: Bob Patten. I have gotten to know Bob on the campaign trail over the past couple of months, and we share the goals of refocusing the State Central Committee on winning elections and growing the party, and truly representing the views of Republican activists in the 11th District instead of our own private agendas. I also agree that Prince William County Republicans deserve representation on the State Central Committee. So I hope you'll join me in supporting Bob.

Remember, you get to vote for 3 people in the State Central race. In fact, because of the procedure set up by the incumbents, it is important to select three people when you cast your first ballot. Selecting only one or two will only ensure that there will need to be multiple rounds of ballots and drag the convention out all afternoon.

If you're not yet registered to vote in the 11th District convention, Prince William County and Fairfax City residents can still register through March 31. (Click here for more information about how to register.) Unfortunately, the deadline has already passed for Fairfax County residents, but you can still help by leaving an endorsement message, donating to the campaign, or volunteering to help hand out stickers and flyers at the Fairfax County Republican Committee convention at West Springfield HS the morning of March 24.