Republican leaders in Virginia’s 6th Congressional District have voted overwhelmingly to challenge a new state law they say strips political parties of their right to control their own nomination process. On March 1, members of the district’s GOP committee by a 22-1 margin agreed to file a lawsuit seeking to overturn what has been dubbed […]
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Voters at a polling station in Buckingham County. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce for the Virginia Mercury)
Republican leaders in Virginia’s 6th Congressional District have voted overwhelmingly to challenge a new state law they say strips political parties of their right to control their own nomination process.
On March 1, members of the district’s GOP committee by a 22-1 margin agreed to file a lawsuit seeking to overturn what has been dubbed Helmer’s law, named after Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, who sponsored the legislation in 2021. The law effectively forces parties to nominate candidates through state-run primary elections rather than their own party-run contests.
