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January 20, 2014

Virginia General Assembly House Republican Caucus Senate Republican Caucus 1000 Bank Street Richmond, Virginia 23219 Dear Speaker Howell, Majority Leader Norment and Republican Legislators, Thank you for your service to our great Republican Party and the Commonwealth of Virginia. We, the below-signed members of the Republican Party of Virginia State Central Committee, greatly appreciate the efforts and sacrifices you make to advance the principles of our Republican Party in state public policy. We write to express great alarm regarding two pieces of legislation we understand you are considering: SB507 and HB194, and/or similar bills. These bills constitute blatantly unconstitutional interference with a political party's rights of free speech and free association rights that political parties have exercised in the Commonwealth for over 200 years. Whatever method of nomination Party members prefer Primary, Convention, Canvass or Mass Meeting we should all agree that decision should rest with the Party, not the state. How the Party organizes itself, conducts its business, and chooses its nominees is core to the Partys First Amendment rights to free speech and free association. These bills strip the Party of these important freedoms. Moreover, from a practical perspective, these bills eliminate the flexibility Party leaders and individual Units need to handle unique situations in a way that is in the Partys best interests. We strongly encourage Republican leadership in the House and Senate to withdraw these bills altogether. They are offensive to the Partys grassroots base of support, and create disunity in our Party when our focus should be on defeating Mark Warner and Obamacare. Should these bills become law, please be advised that we Members of the State Central Committee intend that RPV shall explore all available judicial relief so that we may vindicate the First Amendment rights of the Party and its members. We believe the relevant Supreme Court and 4th Circuit Court of Appeals precedent on these questions is abundantly clear. Further, irrespective of this unconstitutional legislation, we intend to proceed pursuant to our rightful authority to select our methods of nominations as we always have (including Conventions, Mass Meeting, Canvasses and/or Primaries), confident in our constitutional rights.

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& & Every Republican legislator needs to know in advance that SB507 and HB194 constitute an assault on the rights of our Party and its members, and that by voting for them you will be voting to invite Attorney General Mark Herring to litigate against the Republican Party of Virginia, costing the Party and the taxpayers considerable resources that would be better spent elsewhere. We will defend our First Amendment rights and, in the end, we will prevail in court. As Party Leaders seeking to be helpful to you, we urgently advise you to oppose these illconsidered and unconstitutional bills. We believe there are much more attractive and less restrictive alternatives for achieving the ostensible aim of these bills: greater military participation in non-primary nomination processes. We remain more willing than ever to help you achieve this aim in a way that does not interfere with the Partys free exercise of its First Amendment rights. Thank you for your service and your immediate attention to this most serious matter. We respectfully ask your written response to our request that you pull these unconstitutional bills immediately. Sincerely, The Following Majority of the Republican Party of Virginia State Central Committee:

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS Pat Mullins

CHAIRMAN

Morton Blackwell
NATIONAL COMMITTEEMAN

Kathy Hayden
NATIONAL COMMITTEEWOMAN

Kevin Gentry
EASTERN VICE CHAIRMAN

Juanita Ballenger
EASTERN VICE CHAIRWOMAN

Don Huffman
WESTERN VICE CHAIRMAN

Suzanne Curran
WESTERN VICE CHAIRWOMAN

Bob FitzSimmonds
TREASURER

Diana Banister
SECRETARY

Eric Herr
1ST DISTRICT CHAIRMAN

Christopher Stearns
3RD DISTRICT CHAIRMAN

Wendell Walker
6TH DISTRICT CHAIRMAN

Terry Wear
11TH DISTRICT CHAIRMAN

John Scott
YRFV PRESIDENT

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& & STATE CENTRAL REPRESENTATIVES Steve Albertson Carol Dawson John Salm Chip Muir Chris Shores Scott Sayre Anne Fitzgerald Rich Nilsen Marcy Hernick Heidi Stirrup Patsy Drain Jeff Wernsing Barbara Tabb & Larry Kile Curtis Colgate Stephen Thomas Rick Michael Renee Maxey Travis Witt Mickey Mixon Anne LeHuray Eve Barner Jo Thoburn Keith Damon Mark Kelly Allen Webb Roger Miles Carl Anderson Peyton Knight Sharon Jones Georgia Long Joe Sonsmith Susan Edwards Kay Gunter David Ray Heather Homan Jeanine Lawson