Ohio Gov. John Kasich's GOP presidential campaign team Monday announced its Virginia team and several key endorsements from that state, including one from former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, who served as National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman from 1998 to 2002.
Davis, who has been named as Virginia State Honorary Chair of the Kasich for America campaign, will be joined on Kasich's leadership team by Virginia Delegates Glenn Davis, Chris Peace, and Ron Villanueva, and State Sen. Emmett Hanger, all of whom announced their endorsements and will serve as co-chairs for his Virginia campaign.
"In addition to having been an effective, respected member of Congress, Tom Davis is known around Washington and Virginia as a smart political strategist and an influential Republican voice, and I am thrilled that he has joined our Virginia team," said Kasich in a press release. "With Tom working alongside Glenn Davis and our team of experienced, influential legislators, I know we are going to be successful in Virginia, and I am humbled by the confidence these men and women have placed in me to get America back on track."
"I entered Congress just as John Kasich became Budget Committee Chairman, and saw firsthand how leadership and resolve can accomplish seemingly impossible tasks," Davis said in a press release. As NRCC chairman, Davis was widely recognized as a prolific fundraiser and gifted political strategist for House Republicans.
"While the naysayers said balancing the budget couldn't be done, that it wouldn't be done, and finally that it shouldn't be done, John Kasich helped lead a team that actually did it," Davis said of his former House colleague. "The fact that America has been swimming in red ink since John Kasich left Washington speaks volumes to how sorely his leadership has been missed."
In addition, Davis' wife, former senator and House Majority Whip Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, has endorsed the governor's presidential race, and is joining the Virginia Leadership Team, the campaign announced. She was first female House Whip in Virginia's government.
Glenn Davis was elected to the Virginia House in 2013 and chairs the Cybersecurity Subcommittee of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science.
"The first step to America's next economic boom is getting Washington's books balanced, and the last person to balance them was John Kasich," he said. "As the House Budget Committee Chairman and as Governor, John Kasich knows the economic powerhouse we can become if we unleash ourselves from the shackles of debt."
Peace was elected to the Virginia House in 2006 and is vice-chair of the Appropriations, Health Welfare and Institutions, and General Laws Committees. He also chairs the General Laws Subcommittee on Housing and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation.
Villanueva in 2009 was the first Filipino-American ever to be elected to a state office in Virginia. A small business owner and entrepreneur in Virginia Beach, Villanueva is recognized as an advocate for low taxes, pro-growth policies and economic prosperity.
Hanger has served for 19 years in the Virginia legislature, and has a reputation as a strong fiscal conservative and advocate for limited government. He chairs the state Senate's Health and Human Services subcommittee on Senate Finance and the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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