Corey Stewart's campaign for the Virginia governor seat has been Confederate-centric, and that controversial theme has just lost him a major endorsement, The Washington Post reports. Glendell Hill, Prince William County's sheriff, has had enough.
A longtime political ally of Stewart’s, Hill was so turned off by Stewart's Rebel pride that he has snatched his endorsement back, prompting four of the five Republicans who serve with Stewart on a county board to back his GOP rival.
Hill has announced that he is now backing former Republican strategist Ed Gillespie in the June 13 primary.
So far in his campaign, Stewart has participated in a Confederate-themed ball, showcased an airplane streaming a Confederate flag with a banner reading, “Vote Corey Stewart June 13” and has made the preservation of the state’s Confederate monuments a central theme of his candidacy.
“All that Confederate stuff — I don’t think that’s really necessary for a person that’s running for public office,” Hill said on Monday. “It’s something that divided our country and the races, and we just don’t need that. We want a governor that’s going to represent and serve all the people.”
Stewart went to Twitter to express his thoughts on the matter, implying that Hill’s “Yankee” views were problematic:
Nothing is worse than a Yankee telling a Southerner that his monuments don't matter.
— Corey Stewart (@CoreyStewartVA) April 25, 2017
Then, the plot thickened. Former NFL wide receiver and current Valens Global Strategy consultant, Donté Stallworth, called out his fake Southerness:
@CoreyStewartVA But weren't you born and raised in Minnesota? And you also graduated college in Minnesota before packing up for Virginia?
— Donté Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) April 25, 2017
@CoreyStewartVA Speaking of your home state Minnesota, which was a Union state. A state that was critical to the Confederates defeat at Gettysburg.
— Donté Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) April 25, 2017
@CoreyStewartVA So critical, in fact, the Gov signed a proclamation in 2013 honoring “Minnesota Courage at Gettysburg, Recognition Day.”
— Donté Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) April 25, 2017
@CoreyStewartVA You're no southerner, you are a Minnesotan. Respect your home state's sacrifice for helping the United States win the Civil War.
— Donté Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) April 25, 2017
Stewart clapped back with:
@DonteStallworth I respect and honor Minnesota's history. But Virginia is my adoptive state. I respect its heritage and history. You cannot erase history.
— Corey Stewart (@CoreyStewartVA) April 26, 2017
Even Soledad O’Brien had to chime in:
Dude–you're from Minnesota? https://t.co/xsWj4GKMCg
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) April 25, 2017
To which, Stewart responded:
@soledadobrien I am a Virginian now and am proud to be one
— Corey Stewart (@CoreyStewartVA) April 25, 2017
With a fight surrounding a Charlottesville City Council vote to remove a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee from a downtown park already ratcheting up tensions, and Stallworth’s southern version of “what’s good?” adding heat to the fire, it seems cooler heads will prevail in the end: last month, a straw poll conducted by the country’s Republican Party resulted in 62 percent of participants choosing Gillespie, while 24 percent backed Stewart.
