Walter Curt Heads Up GOP Fundraising
Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick (Prince William), the newly elected chairman of the Virginia Republican Party, continues to shake up the leadership of the state party.
Since defeating former lieutenant governor John H. Hager for the chairman's job last weekend, many of the state party's senior staffers have resigned or been dismissed.
Frederick plans to announce today that Walter M. Curt, owner of Power Motors Inc, a Harrisonburg-based technology firm, will be the party's new finance chairman. Curt replaces Fred Malek, who resigned from his finance role at the state party last week. Malek still serves as the deputy national finance chairman for Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign.
Curt, an anti-tax activist with close ties to the conservative wing of the party, has given nearly $800,000 to GOP candidates in Virginia since 1997, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks money in state politics.
During the 2005 governor's race, Curt donated about $305,000 to Republican Jerry W. Kilgore, who was defeated by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D). Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling also received $50,000 each from Curt during their campaigns in 2005. Curt donated $50,000 to former governor James S. Gilmore III's state political action committee last year, before Gilmore was a U.S. Senate candidate, according to VPAP.
Some moderate Republicans in the state Senate may be a bit apprehensive of Curt.
In 2007, Curt and his company were the single biggest donor to Robert Sayre in his bid to unseat Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr. (R-Augusta) in the GOP primary. Curt and PMI gave Sayre $100,000 for his race, which became a referendum on Hanger's support for some past tax increases, but the incumbent narrowly won reelection.
By Tim Craig |
June 9, 2008; 12:09 PM ET
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Posted by: SWAC Girl | June 9, 2008 7:13 PM
http://roanokeredzone.blogspot.com/2008/06/curt-new-rpv-finance-chair.html
Sounds like K Street is filtering down I-95
Posted by: pay to play | June 10, 2008 9:10 AM
YAY for spam.
Where are the admins? Jacking off in the coat closet?
Posted by: Anonymous | June 10, 2008 8:18 PM
To Pay To Play:
No, it sounds like somebody finally got smart and decided to do some housecleaning, since Republicans lost the Governor's mansion the last 2 races, lost the Senate, and lost seats in the House. The McCain wing of the Party just suffered a huge defeat in the Old Dominion - thank God. When the Republicans stuck to their principles and recruited good candidates during the 90's, they swept the state. But, like the national party, as soon as they get power, they contract "the virus" and become parasites and big government liberals. Another good argument for term limits.
Posted by: Richard Williams | June 11, 2008 12:18 PM
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"Robert" Sayre is better known by his middle name as Scott Sayre.