In a rural Virginia county that votes roughly 70 percent Republican, a long and fierce political battle for control is approaching its climax as a Catholic conservative candidate and accused RINO (Republican In Name Only) favored by Democrats have a final showdown for the chairmanship of the local GOP.
The results of this election, which is a culmination of several months of back-and-forth about who should be the rightful leader of the Warren County Republican Committee (WCRC), will determine whether the most conservative bastion in Northern Virginia will be held down by an America First leader or not.
David Silek is an attorney who won the first WCRC election of the year in a February meeting that was fraught with voting irregularities. He had the support of Democrats and local officials like Warren County Sheriff Crystal Cline and Warren County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Cheryl Cullers.
Former Trump administration official and previous WCRC secretary Scott Lloyd lost the chairmanship to Silek in what insiders called a “coup” in previous interviews with Breitbart News. The sheriff and her husband admitted to working the door in an unofficial capacity and turning away several registered Republican voters while allowing Democrats to vote for the new GOP leader, violating provisions of the Republican Party of Virginia’s (RPV) party plan.
Silek has defended making recent donations to Democrats.
Silek also openly supported Democrats being allowed to vote in his race to become leader of the WCRC.
Stephen Kurtz, who was head of the WCRC credentials committee for the disastrous overturned chairman election, admitted on camera to destroying the ballots after the official count.
The pattern of alleged sabotage and organization with Democrats revealed an infiltration strategy being exercised by radical leftists with the intent to disrupt right-leaning advances in the Republican Party in a place close to Washington, DC.
While the original February 12 election ended with Silek beating Lloyd 225 to 206, the voting process was so fraught with interference and irregularities that the results were overturned by Virginia’s Sixth District Republican Committee in a landslide 19 to 5 vote after hearing arguments from both candidates.
The full hearing, resulting in the election results being overturned, can be viewed here:
Even after the Sixth District committee had overturned the chairman election results, Silek appealed that decision and continued to hold WCRC meetings. During one of those meetings, Silek made changes to the bylaws, but refused to share the new bylaws with Matthew Perdie of Breitbart News when he asked to see them.
The decision to overturn the chairman election was even sustained by RPV’s Special Appeals Committee, giving control of the WCRC back to the previous conservative leadership until a new proper election can be held. This decision also nullified any changes made to the committee under Silek’s rule.
However, some concerned WCRC members allege that the official bank account Silek took over has still not been returned to the current committee, even after Silek’s rule was overturned.
When asked by Breitbart News about the bank account, Sixth District Republican Committee Chairman John Massoud responded, “I have been busy organizing the firehouse primary, making sure everything goes right. I’m not concerned about bank accounts when there’s not an election coming in about a month or two.”
Breitbart News documented the fight for leadership over the WCRC from the aftermath of the now-overturned February 12 chairman election in the following sequence of events:
“If our Republicans are governing like Democrats, that’s going to drive turnout down,” said Warren County Republican Committee chairman candidate Scott Lloyd on an episode of The Perdie Channel as he expressed the necessity for Republicans to govern as conservatives. “What is it that we’re getting when we’re voting Republican if our taxes are going up? If the budgets are constantly expanding?”
Lloyd, a devout Catholic father of nine, will again face off against the Democrat-favored Silek on the ballot this Wednesday, August 5, between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. in the “Old Gym” at the Warren County Health and Human Services at 465 W. 15th Street, Front Royal, Virginia.
Any Republican resident of Warren County will be allowed to vote.
Silek’s camp has been paying for people’s $50 application fees to join the WCRC if they support him, according to leaked emails obtained by Breitbart News. According to Massoud, this does not violate RPV bylaws.
Republicans — hopefully only Republicans this time — will cast their ballots and determine the future of the local GOP, as conservatives fight to uphold right-leaning values in the party.
The question now remains: Will enough conservatives show up to completely reclaim control of their local Republican Party, or will Democrats and left-leaning Republicans take over?
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
