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Update: I referred to the “primary” below, but in fact, Virginia Republicans have switched to a nominating convention. National Review`s Jim Geraghty decries this as undemocratic and likely to produce weird results, adducing the case of the nomination of the somewhat off-message (and possibly slightly loony) Christian preacher E. W. Jackson as Lieutenant Governor.
As I`ve explained before, this is (drum roll!) coded racism on Geraghty`s part—unmentioned by Geraghty, E. W. Jackson was black. See E. W. Jackson, Dave Weigel, And The “Soft Bigotry Of Low Expectations”.
But a nominating convention may be harder for plutocrats to control than the primary process, because the ad money factor won`t trump Gillespie`s weaknesses.
