With the election of Republican Bob McDonnell as Virginia governor, party members view their recent victories as a platform to build upon instead of the heights they could hope for.
At the climax of the luncheon, McDonnell presented the “#1 Unit Chairman in the State” award to Caroline, Loudoun’s LCRC Chair. Selected from among 95 county and 39 city committees, only one award is presented each year.
In a year where the gubernatorial candidate won 88 of 95 counties, Caroline certainly had competition. However, few jurisdictions saw the level of improvement in GOP results.
In 2006, Jim Webb won Loudoun, beating out the Republican incumbent George Allen for U.S. Senator. In the 2007, only 2 of Loudoun’s 6 Republican supervisors were reelected. In 2008, Loudoun voted strongly for Barack Obama (53 percent) and Mark Warner (61 percent).
Having been elected in late 2007, the hyper-focused and organized Caroline was able to improve the LCRC’s grassroots efforts—being at least partially responsible for the tremendous success the GOP achieved in 2009.
In 2009, Loudoun voted Republican by a strong margin in every race, displacing 2 incumbent Democrats in the House of Delegates.
Marking the LCRC’s success, Committee member Candace Strother said, “We turned back the tide from just a year ago, McDonnell did 3 points better in Loudoun than he did state-wide and we’re proud of that.”
Strother accepted a separate award earlier at the annual Advance, when the LCRC was awarded outstanding Unit Committee in the 10th District.
With his recent success and goodwill among the Loudoun GOP, Caroline could likely remain as LCRC Chairman for longer, but on Dec. 7, he announced his intention not to run for another 2-year term in an open letter to his friends among the LCRC.
Without recommending a successor, Caroline seemed unworried that there was additional leadership material within the organization, writing, “We have a number of current and rising stars in our midst, who are equally, if not more, capable than I to serve as your next Chair. I hope this Committee elects a leader with the judgment, passion, acumen, skills, integrity, desire, and principles we need to continue to further build upon our successes.”
Glen has been the lifeboat that many were looking for. His steadfast approach to the resolution of past problems, and his outstanding direction to where we needed to be will not be forgotten. Caroline has indeed endorsed Candace Strother to run as his replacement in the Chairman position. He will lead us to the last day of his elected duties.