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We have a date for the Republican mass meeting to choose a nominee in the 10th District race. We just don’t have a location yet. The 10th District Republican Committee met on Tuesday, Nov. 19 to decide both the method of choosing a candidate and the date. 

First of all, let’s go through a couple details. This is a special election, needed to fill the soon to be vacant 10th District seat in the Virginia State Senate. Currently, John McGuire holds that position, but he’s headed to Washington in January, as a newly elected representative in the U.S. Congress. Both parties need to choose a nominee in the race, then a special election will be scheduled for residents to vote. A date for that special election has not been chosen as of yet, because McGuire has not resigned. Once he does, that’ll set the wheels in motion and a date will be set by state officials. 

Details on 10th District candidates

So now let’s focus on the Republican side, because that’s the one with a race. For Democrats, there’s just one person running, Jack Trammell. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because this would be his second state campaign in the last 10 years. In 2014, he ran against Dave Bratt and lost in the District 7 race. 

On the Republican side, things are a bit more difficult. There are six candidates competing for the Republican nomination. That includes current Cumberland County Board of Supervisors member Bryan Hamlett, current Louisa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Duane Adams, former State Senator Amanda Chase, Chase’s former staffer Shayne Snavely, Prince Edward County business owner Luther Cifers and Gannon Appraisals owner Jean Gannon. 

Five of those six will take part in a debate, set for this Friday at Cumberland’s Spruceberry Farm. That’s located at 94 Cartersville Road in Cumberland and the debate starts at 7 p.m. Now 

I say five of the six because Amanda Chase refuses to take part. In both an email and radio interview with John Fredericks, Chase said she would not participate “in sham debates like the one coming up in Cumberland County, which I never ever agreed to. I will not be there. The chair is supporting another candidate and isn’t neutral. I’m not going to be strong armed into doing something I feel is rigged.”

Choosing a date and time 

As for how the Republican nominee will be chosen? That will be through a mass meeting, set for Thursday, Dec. 12. Registration starts at 5:30 p.m. and you must be in line no later than 6:30 p.m. in order to get signed in. Unlike some of the other options, a mass meeting goes through several rounds of voting. Each round removes the last place candidate, until it gets down to one final choice, who wins at least 51% of the vote in the final ballot. 

There had been some discussion about holding it on Saturday, Dec. 14, but hunters in the group and across the region had asked for that not to take place, as that’s the day you’ll most likely find them up in a tree. Of the six candidates running for the Republican nomination, only one so far has raised concerns about voting on Dec. 12. 

“My concern is that most working people will be driving home from work on a weekday and unable to participate in the (vote),” Amanda Chase said in an email to her supporters on Wednesday, Nov. 20. “The Senate 10 District Committee chose a Republican Mass meeting instead of a Firehouse primary. So now, instead of simply casting your vote and then leaving, you have to stick around until your candidate wins with 50 percent plus one. With 6 candidates in the race, this is going to take awhile, folks. My experience is that most of these mass meetings last hours, unless a candidate wins on the first ballot.” 

While that Dec. 12 date for the mass meeting has been decided, a location has not. The 10th District Republican Committee could not agree on one during Tuesday’s meeting. That will continue to be discussed in the coming days, with an announcement expected around the end of the month. 

What happens next in 10th District? 

The debate, as we mentioned, will happen Friday at Spruceberry Farm, located at 94 Cartersville Road. It is open to the public, with doors opening for general admission at 6:45pm. The Republican Committee says a $5 donation is requested but not required. A cocktail social and dinner with the candidates (for a fee) will be from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.