So much for the Richmond Times Dispatch nonsense about the 55th District being embarrassed by Delegate Buddy Fowler’s record. Did those crooked-glasses “Einstein’s” at the Times miss the mark or what? At the end of the day, the race for Delegate came down to the issue of Medicaid Expansion. Virginians simply do not want to bankrupt our State by expanding a program that has been achieving disastrous results across the country. I spoke with Toni Radler at the Madison precinct yesterday and told her that I thought her campaign really helped to make this is a single-issue race. If you are for Medicaid Expansion, you should vote for Radler. If you’re against Medicaid Expansion, you should vote for Buddy Fowler. Cut and dry, black and white, easy enough for everyone to decide who to vote for.
Delegate Buddy Fowler won reelection overwhelmingly with over 60% of the vote. In Spotsylvania, Buddy won an overwhelming 75%. In Hanover, Delegate Fowler won 64%. Both Spotsylvania and Hanover have a strong Republican Party presence. Only in Caroline County, where there is no real county Republican Party, did Buddy struggle. This highlights the importance of strong county Republican Parties able to get over their differences and come together to support their Republican candidates. In fact, Independent candidate for Board of Supervisors, Clay Forehand, helped Buddy’s cause a great deal at the Madison Precinct in Caroline County, as he was able to get previously unregistered Republicans out to the polls. Hopefully, the days of depending on Independents to get out the Republican vote in Caroline County are coming to an end; but I think Forehand adequately demonstrated that the registering of new voters in Caroline will be key to strengthening the Republican cause in future elections.
Despite our problems in Caroline County, it is important to note that Buddy Fowler actually gained ground over the last 2 years. In 2013, Buddy won with 56.8% of the vote, compared to 2015 where he won with over 60%. Those anonymous voices and whispering malcontents in our District hoping for a weak showing by Fowler were horribly disappointed last night as Buddy demonstrated that he has overwhelming support from his constituents. Yesterday’s results should broadcast loud and clear to the Democrats in the 55th District that spending money on a Democrat challenger in 2017 will not be a wise allocation of funds.
I would also like to note that Buddy Fowler was one of only two candidates able to warrant an official Virginia Right Endorsement. Any candidate that can get Tom White, Sandy Sanders, and I all on the same page is definitely a candidate with an edge. The other Virginia Right endorsed candidate, Amanda Chase, also experienced a blowout victory yesterday. Congratulations to Amanda, a welcome addition to our State Senate!
Article written by: Steven Brodie Tucker
About Steven Brodie Tucker
Graduated with a degree in Philosophy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Also studied economics and political science at George Mason.
