Confederate Flag Hurts Stewart's Support In Governor's Race

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA -- Five elected Republican officials in Prince William County have endorsed Ed Gillespie for Virginia governor over colleague Corey Stewart, chair of the county's Board of Supervisors.

Supervisors Ruth Anderson (R-Occoquan), Pete Candland (R-Gainesville), Jeanine Lawson (R-Brentsville) and Martin Nohe (R-Coles), as well as Sheriff Glendell Hill, endorsed Gillespie. Two of the supervisors told WTOP Stewart's stance on the Confederate flag and use of the symbol at campaign events cost Stewart their support.

Anderson and Nohe told WTOP that constituents had expressed concerns over Stewart's positions, particularly on the Confederate flag.

“I honor one flag and that is the Stars and Stripes,” Anderson told WTOP. “The Confederate flag is very painful for many people and it needs to be respected as part of our history, but certainly not celebrated as a main priority of a gubernatorial campaign.”

Stewart, who had been fired as Virginia chair of Donald Trump's presidential campaign in October, has spoken in support of preserving Confederate symbols. He has made the debate over removing a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville a focal point in his campaign. In a March Roanoke speech, he vowed to defund localities that remove Confederate statues.

In Danville earlier this month, Stewart spoke to a crowd with a Confederate flag hanging in the room. "Virginia is the state of Washington and Jefferson and Madison and Monroe," he said in the speech posted through Facebook Live. "But it’s also the state of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Let me tell you something. That is our heritage. It's what makes us Virginia."

Gillespie has said he doesn't think Confederate monuments shouldn't be taken down, but the issue should be handled locally.

The supervisors' endorsements come after Gillespie won the Prince William County straw poll in March.

Image via Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons, used under Creative Commons