Louisa man to lead Va. Republicans

The Republican Party of Virginia’s central committee yesterday elected Pat Mullins of Louisa County, a longtime GOP activist, as the party chairman.

Mullins will run again for chairman at the state convention May 29-30 in Richmond, when Republicans nominate candidates for statewide office.

Mullins, the Louisa County chairman and a former chairman of the Fairfax County committee, was unopposed yesterday but is likely to have opposition at the convention.

He was elected by voice vote among the more than 80 committee members present. However, a few dissenting members said they felt the position should have been left unfilled until the convention.

When the Pledge of Allegiance was recited at the beginning of the meeting, after “liberty and justice for all,“ one central committee member added, “born and unborn.“

Michael E. Thomas of Midlothian, first vice chairman, said party rules required the party’s governing body to act yesterday. He has been running the party since the central committee ousted Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick of Prince William County last month. Filling the position also will give the chairman a month’s head start on raising money, which has been lagging considerably behind the state Democrats, he said.

But Frederick, who was not present, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch the party should have waited until the convention to make the selection.

It showed “disdain for the grass roots,“ he said.

His wife, Amy, described Mullins on Facebook Mobile yesterday as “an old white guy.“

When another Republican responded that Amy Frederick should “let it go,“ she replied:

“This party attacked one of its own for power. We don’t care about winning in the Republican Party, we care about destroying each other. It’s sad, really.“

The central committee fired Frederick on a 57-18 vote because the party suffered losses in the 2008 election, he did not get along well with the party’s presidential candidate, John McCain, and he failed to raise money for the party.

Linwood Cobb of Henrico County, the 7th District GOP chairman, said last week that Mullins has “impeccable credentials.“ And, in a slap at the 33-year-old Frederick, he added that Cobb is “an adult.“

Supporters yesterday described Mullins as a longtime party activist who can reunite the party.

“He is a rock-solid conservative,“ said Kathy Hayden Terry of Roanoke, who placed his name in nomination. “He is a known quantity. There will be no surprises,“ she said.

Gary Byler, who supported Frederick last month, seconded the nomination, describing Mullins as a “movement conservative” who got along well with former U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III when Mullins was chairman in Fairfax County. Davis, who did not seek re-election as the 11th District congressman last year, is considered a leader of the small moderate wing of the state GOP.

“Pat is the right person, in the right place, at the right time,“ Becky Stoeckel of Fairfax said, noting that his experience in running suburban and rural committees will help him bring differing factions together.

Mullins promised to revive the party’s grass roots, reach out to ethnic groups and spend considerable time raising money.

“I am opposed to tax increases of any kind, I’m pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, for traditional family values, and staunchly pro-business and in favor of our free-enterprise system,“ Mullins said.

He has an unusual occupation: selling insurance policies on horses.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, who gave the go-ahead for Frederick’s removal, hailed Mullins’ election.

“I am confident he will unite the business and activist base in our party, bring in independent voters and help us win in November,“ McDonnell said.

Tyler Whitley is a staff writer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.