Time to write off Virginia's lone GOP Senate seat

Former Gov. Jim Gilmore narrowly (66 votes narrowly) won the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate at the VAGOP convention this weekend, and he's got a special message for pro-life conservatives (emphasis mine):

By less than 70 votes, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate yesterday.

Gilmore squeaked past Del. Bob Marshall at the Republican convention held here, winning 50.3 percent of the vote, or 5,222 votes to Marshall's 5,156. He will face Democrat Mark Warner, also a former governor, in the November election.

[...]

Speaking to reporters afterward, Gilmore conceded that the narrowness of his victory "was a surprise."

"We did not put resources into the convention that maybe we should have to get a larger margin," Gilmore said.

He said he has focused his campaign on Warner, and believes the issues important to general voters are different from the social issues driving Marshall's supporters.

Republican activist and Marshall supporter Shaun Kenney, a former spokesman for the party, said Gilmore "needs to reassure values voters that he's with them."

But the nominee said he's not going to change his principles to win political support. While he's anti-abortion and opposes late-term abortions, Gilmore said, "I've never believed we should impose a strict law on women that don't agree with us."

He also said Marshall's supporters aren't likely to back Warner.

"We believe they're going to be supportive of us," Gilmore said. "The things they believe in are things Mark Warner never supported."

Ah. There's a time-tested GOP strategy: "Vote for Me! Because, seriously, who else ya gonna vote for?"

(h/t The Corner)