The Virginian-Pilot
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The field of Republicans who want to run against first-term U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Norfolk, is starting to get crowded.
Auto dealer and longtime GOP donor Scott Rigell is the latest entrant in a contest that is about 16 months away from an election.
Rigell, 49, shipped his paperwork to the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday. He said he is running to help Republicans regain control of Congress and restore fiscal discipline.
“The way I see it is there is a serious breach of duty taking place in Washington today. One that carries with it profound consequences that affect every American,” said Rigell, the founder and president of Freedom Automotive which has three dealerships in South Hampton Roads.
A married father of four, Rigell has the backing of Thelma Drake, who was defeated by Nye in her 2008 re-election bid. But he isn’t the only Republican who covets the seat.
Attorney and former Marine Chuck Smith, a GOP activist from Virginia Beach, has been campaigning for months. Republican officials said several other contenders are eyeing the race.
They are Beach GOP chairman Kenny Golden; Ben Loyola, a captain in the Navy Reserve and the owner of a Beach engineering firm; Ed Maulbeck, a retired Navy SEAL and defense contractor; and Hampton resident Bert Mizusawa, a brigadier general in the Army Reserve.
Maulbeck and Loyola say they have filed candidate paperwork with the FEC. Another candidate who had filed, Army reservist Thomas Wirges, said today he does not plan to run.
The high level of interest among would-be GOP candidates is one indication of the belief among party officials that Nye’s seat can be won back.
Nye, a former foreign service officer, in recent months has faced a barrage of attacks from the National Republican Congressional Committee. The group has funded a radio ad targeting the congressman and paid for an automated call critical of votes he’s cast.
The 2nd Congressional District consists of precincts in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton and Accomack and Northampton counties.
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Having Drake endorse you-
that is a positive thing?
If Drake is backing him...
that's reason enough not to want him. She of the Bush Lock-step school of thought. Who do they think created this mess?
Run Scott Run!
Scott Rigell is exactly the kind of leader we need in Washington; thoughtful, articulate, and a true common sense conservative. Washington needs someone that has actually balanced a budget, created jobs and understands the economic climate needed to grow the economy.
Great news for Hampton Roads voters!
I wish a Republican would at
I wish a Republican would at least run in my district. I'm part of that two-point-something percent who voted against Bobby Scott.
I'll second that.
I've always voted against him (even when he was unopposed) until this last time, where I have him a meaningless vote in appreciation for the one worthwhile he's done during his tenure in congress: opposing the original bailout bill.
Short Memory
It would seem that Scott Rigell has a very short memory, as it was less than a year ago that this nation faced its gravest financial crisis since the Great Depression. The stimulus plan was not just the idea of democrats, no, it was presented by republicans to forestall financial collapse brought on by the twin towers of greed and deregulation that were allowed to prevail during the Bush Administration. Rigell talks of restoring fiscal discipline, but of course, that once again reveals his short memory as the eight years of the Bush administration created the greatest increase in our national debt in the history of our nation. Of course, under the previous administration, pay as you go was instituted, and budget deficits were replaced by surpluses and the paying down of the national debt. Now Scott is a successful businessman, so I hope he will seek bipartisan understanding of the elements that led to our fiscal crises, and not rely on the divisive talking papers written by Rove, Gingrich, and Michael Steele.
You are right about
You are right about Republican fingerprints on the economy, but what the Democrats are doing now is repulsive. The problem was spending and so the Democrats answer was to escalate more spending far beyond any historical record and without any basis of certainty that it will even help. It's a free for all. They have passed a stimulus bill which is a farce and full of pork (some even for Republicans I might add). The health plan, social security overhaul and other things will drive us over a cliff, if we aren't already. The whole lot are mostly criminals, but the lesser of two evils right now are the Republicans, if they can EVER get back any semblance of fiscal conservatism.
Bush was atrocious, Obama has already spent more
You make a straw man argument that Rigell thinks that Bush's spending spree was appropriate and then rail against Bush et al. Bush spent like a drunken sailor. Obama has already spent more. You call the cause of the crisis "greed and deregulation". One of the primary causes was in the residential real estate sector where banks were required to make loans under the Community Reinvestment Act and others. That legislation was put in by the Dems, so get your facts straight. I think the republicans have been horrible; Obama is already worse. We need a guy like Ron Paul who will abide by the Constitution and not overstep the Executive Branches' powers. Bailouts, Stimulus, taking over GM, national healthcare options are all unconstitutional. Both sides have lost sight of the Constitution.