Meanwhile, good news from the Second District

Republicans in the VA-2 District met Saturday and changed course, replacing Bruce Meyer with Gary Byler.  This is good news for two reasons (Bearing Drift).

First of all, the Hager monopoly on district chairs is now over.  The Hager-backing Meyer, according to BD’s Brian Kirwin (same link), had, “the endorsement of almost every Republican elected official in the district” - and he still lost.  That’s an excellent sign for Frederick’s anti-establishment campaign, and to a lesser extent for Bob Marshall’s as well (Marshall has more establishment support than Frederick, which makes the effect of the Second District race more unpredictable).

Secondly, and I think more importantly, was this tidbit (same link again):

Then John Welch stood up and laid down the story for change. 4 races in November that were lost, and we need to get the Party back to its roots.

That would be the John Welch who went down with the ship of HB3202 and lost his seat last year.  He had nearly every excuse to blame and excoriate the conservative activists who opposed HB3202.  Instead, it appears he’s joined us.  If he was willing to “give his head a shake” (as my Canadian friends put it) and see the need to change course, then there may be hope for much of the rest of the party establishment.

Either way, it’s ensured that the state convention will be a very entertaining affair.