One of former President Donald Trump’s biggest boosters in Virginia is asking the State Board of Elections for a break after a local Republican party official submitted crucial paperwork two days late.
Del. Dave LaRock (R-Loudoun County) said a local party official submitted paperwork certifying him as the party’s uncontested nominee two days late, a move that currently means he won’t appear as the GOP candidate in a district that leans Republican.
On Tuesday, the Board agreed to take up the case by the end of the month after comments from Lee Goodman, an attorney representing the Republican Party of Virginia. The Board has granted reprieves before; in 2019, they allowed Del. Terry Kilgore (R-Scott) to stay on the ballotafter a similar paperwork lapse.
LaRock is one of three GOP delegates who wrote a letter to Vice President Mike Pence asking him to reject certification of Virginia’s presidential electors. LaRock also attended the Jan. 6 "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington DC but said he did not invade the Capitol, moves that caused Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) to strip him of a committee assignment. LaRock later drew flak for his subsequent comments urging Democrats to focus on “the needs of the colored community,” according to the Loudoun Times-Mirror. He later apologized for the phrase.
The controversial delegate didn’t face any primary opponents this year in his district, which he has represented since 2013. That made him the de facto GOP nominee.
The delegate said the head of the 33rd House of Delegates Republican Legislative District Committee tried to submit paperwork certifying LaRock as the nominee in March, when the state was not yet accepting the forms. The form was ultimately submitted June 18, two days after the deadline, Goodman told the Board.
LaRock said one of his staffers reached out to a representative at the Virginia Department of Elections on June 8 to make sure their paperwork was in order and was told everything was fine.
“I think it would be very clear to the Board that we did our due diligence and that we were misinformed by the representative,” LaRock said in an interview. “I’m sure it was unintentional.”
Goodman asked the Board to consider the matter by July 4. The Board unanimously agreed to hold a remote meeting by the end of this month to take up the issue.
