Centrist Republican leaders in Virginia are voicing questions and doubts about their party's ticket after the party's state convention nominated three stalwart conservatives for all the statewide offices on the ballot this fall.
In an interview with The Richmond Times-Dispatch, former Virginia Sen. John Warner said, "The strength of America’s political system rests in the strength of having two viable, strong parties in stiff competition. Today each person has to make up their own mind. I’m concerned about the relative competitive strength of the two parties."
Reacting to Lt. Gov. nominee E.W. Jackson's past statements that gay people are "sick" and "perverted," and that Planned Parenthood "has been far, far, more lethal to black lives than the KKK ever was," Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling told reporters "some of the things [Jackson] has said are indefensible" and "feed the image of extremism" about the Republican Party."
Jackson has insisted, "I do not retract anything that I said."
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the GOP gubernatorial nominee, said of the controversy surrounding Jackson: "We are not going to be defending our running mates' statements, now or in the future."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
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