VIRGINIA BEACH
A gathering of 1,000 Republicans turned raucous Monday evening after party leaders used a procedural move not seen in 30 years to select those who will choose the head of the party's 2nd Congressional District.
Over shouts and boos, a slate of 32 mainstream party members supporting Sen. Frank Wagner was chosen to take the place of Virginia Beach's 552 votes at the party's district convention next month.
The procedure, called a slate, virtually guarantees Wagner will win the chairmanship and prevents supporters of Tea Party favorite Curtis Colgate from getting a vote at the convention.
Del. Chris Stolle led Monday's meeting and quickly ushered the vote for the slate, which included his brother, Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle, and Wagner.
"I'm certainly disappointed and regret that a small minority of individuals have decided to use parliamentary procedure to steal an election instead of working to unify and grow the party," Colgate said in a statement.
The announced outcome of 643-305 was greeted with skepticism, although most agreed that the slate had mustered enough votes to pass.
"What you are seeing is that the older party establishment is trying to cling to their positions, but the younger, true conservatives who believe in liberty are trying to bring change," said Tea Party supporter David Dull, who turns 32 this week. "They don't understand that if the mainstream party doesn't start standing up for principle, the party is just going to disappear in a few years."
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