Politics & Government

Republican Announces Bid to Oust 'Irrelevant' Sen. Mark Warner

Howie Lind is the former chairman of Virginia's 10th District Republican committee.

This article was written by Mary Ann Barton.

Republican Howard R. Lind, a McLean resident, announced in a letter sent Friday to Republicans that he plans to make a run for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Democrat Sen. Mark Warner.
 
The election is Nov. 4, 2014.

Warner confirmed in March that he plans to run again. Warner, a former governor of Virginia, won election to the U.S. Senate in 2008 in a matchup with Republican James Gilmore, winning with 65 percent of the vote. Warner has about $4 million in his campaign war chest, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
 “Mark Warner looks like a pretty safe bet for reelection,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “No high profile Republicans have stepped up to run against him and even if they did they would start out at a considerable disadvantage.”
 Lind is the former chairman of Virginia's 10th District Republican committee. He describes himself in his letter sent out Friday as a former Naval officer and a father of four. He made an unsuccessful run in 2003 for the state Senate, District 32, losing the Republican primary to David M. Hunt (Hunt took 65 percent to Lind's 35 percent in the primary). Hunt lost the general election to Democrat Janet Howell.
 Lind's most recent political contributions include $250 to the campaign of Republican Mark Obenshain for Attorney General. The May 10 contribution lists Lind’s occupation as sole proprietor businessman.

The following is the letter Lind sent out Friday making his announcement that he plans to run for office.

Dear Fellow Republican:

I’m writing to ask for your support for the Republican nomination to defeat Senator Mark Warner in next year’s election.

Senator Warner’s 100 percent pro-Obama voting record – support for ObamaCare, Cap and Trade, Dodd-Frank, Amnesty for Illegal Aliens, Gun Control, unrestricted abortion, higher taxes, weakness on defense, and the assault on our Constitutional Freedoms – does not represent Virginia values.

People say that Mark Warner’s war chest and alleged “popularity” makes him “safe” – I don’t buy that. I know that a strong conservative opponent who draws a line in the sand and stands up for what we believe will win.

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I will be that candidate, and I hope you will consider joining my team today.

Mark Warner and Barack Obama do not scare me. What scares me is their agenda for America. No one else has stepped up to take them on. I am the only candidate who has filed to run for this office.

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And with your help, I will win.

I’m starting now nearly a year before the convention that will pick our nominee because this campaign needs to get going now. I’m hoping that besides committing your personal endorsement for my candidacy, that you also consider an individual contribution of $100, $250, $500, or even $1000, or even joining the Finance Committee with your maximum allowable contribution of $2600 per person.

Mark Warner has deep pockets. I don’t ever expect to match him dollar-for-dollar. But I do expect to raise enough money to expose his radical left agenda for every Virginian to see.

Senator Warner has remained silent and disgracefully indifferent while four brave Americans, including a U.S. Ambassador, were abandoned and died in the field of battle at Benghazi, Libya. And he stood idly by while the White House covered up this atrocity. He has stood silent while the military has failed in its most basic obligation to support the widows and children of the 13 dead soldiers killed by a radical Islamist in Fort Hood, Texas. And he has watched helplessly while the defense budget is cut to ribbons both on the battlefield and right here in Virginia.

As a 20 year military veteran, a former Naval officer, a father of four, and a proud Virginian, I simply cannot – I will not – sit by while one of the most irrelevant and inconsequential senators in modern Virginia history seeks to do even further damage to our nation.

I am a liberty-loving, constitutionally-grounded conservative. Many of you who know me from my leadership in the Republican Party of Virginia, and you already know I don’t back down from what I think. I’m ready to take the arrows, because I’m going to fire right back. This is going to be the most exciting U.S. Senate race of our lifetimes. It’s an election too important to lose.

I look forward to working with Republicans across Virginia as we support and work for victory this year. I also hope to be in every county and district in the Commonwealth this year and next, and I look forward to seeing and visiting with you personally.

Please feel free to contact me anytime at howie@howielind.com if you have any questions about my candidacy or want to pledge your support.

Sincerely,

Howie Lind

Republican for U.S. Senate

P.S. I refuse to accept that Mark Warner “cannot be beat.” I cannot believe Virginians when given a clear choice will support a 100 percent pro-Obama liberal over a strong conservative who speaks out loudly and boldly for the values you and I hold dear. I look forward to your support. Thank you.

P.P.S. Contribute by donating online or by check made out to: Howie Lind for Senate; and mailed to: Howie Lind for Senate, P.O. Box 878, McLean, VA 22101.

P.P.P.S. Please visit my website at www.howielind.com to sign up for campaign updates and to contribute to my campaign


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