Is The DCCC Trying To Bum Rush Their Candidate Into The Nomination In VA-10 By Getting Rid Of The Primary?

VA-10 is one of the most flippable congressional districts anywhere. The district's PVI last cycle was R+2. This cycle the PVI is D+1. Obama beat McCain 51-48%, Romney beat Obama 50-49% and then Trump lost to Hillary by ten full points-- 52.2% to 42.2%. The DCCC contested the district last cycle with one of their unelectable garbage candidates, LuAnn Bennett, who was beaten by Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock, 210,791 (52.7%) to 187,712 (46.9%). Comstock spent $5,291,182 to Bennett's $2,821,082. Outside spending was gigantic-- $6,309,347 from the DCCC and Pelosi's SuperPAC and $7,547,250 from the NRCC and Ryan's SuperPAC.

There are at least 9 Democrats vying for the nomination for 2018-- Alison Friedman, Daniel Helmer, Dave Hanson, Deep Sran, Julien Modica, Kimberly Adams, Lindsey Davis Stover, Michael Pomerleano and the DCCC candidate, Jennifer Wexton. This evening, Politico reporter Kevin Robillard broke the story that there may not be a primary to pick the Democratic nominee. Robillard reported tonight that VA-10 "Democratic officials... are considering picking their nominee through a convention rather than a primary, a step opposed by all but one of the leading candidates: Virginia state Sen. Jennifer Wexton." The DCCC is nervous because the progressives in the race, Alison Friedman and Lindsey Davis Stover, plus Daniel Helmer, all outraised their conservative pick, Jennifer Wexton.

The Democratic committee in Virginia’s 10th District met on Sunday to discuss how to pick their nominee to challenge Comstock in 2018. Politico obtained an audio recording of a lengthy debate between committee members over whether to hold a regular state-run primary, a more limited “firehouse primary,” a caucus or a convention.

“We haven’t ruled anything out,” said Zach Prukowski, the chair of the 10th District Democrats, who said he was still meeting with candidates and activists to determine the best approach. The committee will make its final decision at a meeting in November.

Virginia law enables parties to pick their nominating processes, but Democrats have almost always held primaries in recent years.

...Wexton’s campaign was the only one of four contacted by Politico that didn’t explicitly favor a primary.

“The members of the 10th are political veterans of Northern Virginia and I'm sure they'll make the choice that's in the best interest of the district,” Wexton spokesman Ray Rieling wrote in an email. “Senator Wexton is looking forward to competing in whatever nominating method they choose. The number one priority here should be Democrats working together to beat Barbara Comstock so the district has real representation that doesn't hide in Washington.”

The three other top contenders all wanted to compete in a primary.

"Every voice deserves to be heard when choosing a nominee. Alison Friedman strongly supports allowing voters' voices to be heard in a primary election, where voters across the district can easily participate,” campaign manager Peter Dougherty said.

“We cannot be the party of the future if we stand for the politics of the past,” Stover said. “This is clear, we either trust the voters or we don't-- I do.”

“Anyone who’s afraid of a primary shouldn’t be running,” Helmer said in a brief phone interview. “Any candidate who’s running to represent Democrats should live up to our ideals and want a free and open primary.”

Several people are whispering that the DCCC is behind the move which is not likely to go over well with activists and will probably guarantee low turn-out and reelection for Comstock. One member of the committee said that "we’re Democrats, we want to make this more democratic, and less rigged. The way you do that is to go with the most participation you can possibly get. Which would be, in my vote, the state-run primary.”

Lindsey Davis Stover's campaign released a statement this evening calling for Wexton "to reverse her position and support a full and fair state-run primary to determine the Democratic nominee who will run against Barbara Comstock in 2018 " and launching petition website calling for a primary. “We cannot be the party of the future if we stand for the politics of the past. It is simple, we either trust the voters or we don't-- I do. If we can’t stand up for the basic notion that voters should have the right to vote, then we forfeit our right to lead on any other issue. Today I’m calling on Jennifer Wexton to put trust in the voters and reverse her stance. In this election, we have an opportunity to encourage record levels of participation that will help us defeat Barbara Comstock. The Democratic nomination should be earned, not anointed."