Ed Gillespie formally jumped into the Republican primary to defeat Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Thursday, unveiling his candidacy with a new campaign website and video.
In the video, the former Republican National Committee Chairman touts his family’s history immigrating to the United States from Ireland. Prior to announcing his run, Gillespie’s old consulting website was interestingly scrubbed of clips featuring his support for comprehensive immigration reform.
“My father came to this country from Ireland because his father found work as a janitor here,” Gillespie said in the video. “My parents never went to college but they were two of the smartest people I’ve ever known and the hardest working.”
“I’m running for Senate because the American dream is being undermined by policies that move us away from constitutional principles of limited government and personal liberty,” he added.
He goes on to say that he and his wife “have raised our family near historic Mt. Vernon. And if our nation doesn’t change our course our children, yours, and theirs will not enjoy the prosperity of previous generations.”
Gillespie adds that his platform will focus on policies “that will grow the middle class” and allow people to lift themselves out of poverty.
You can watch the whole video below:
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was quick to attack Gillespie right after he unveiled his website. DSCC Deputy Executive Director Matt Canter hit the former RNC chairman on his background as a lobbyist and “ultra-partisan Washington spin doctor,” a theme Demcorats are likely to repeat in attacks against Gillespie throughout the campaign. Read the DSCC’s statement below:
Ed Gillespie’s campaign is based on a false and dishonest premise – not surprising given Gillespie’s background as a Washington special interest lobbyist and ultra-partisan Washington spin doctor. The truth is that Mark Warner is recognized by both Democrats and Republicans as a leader in the Senate in working across party lines to achieve common sense solutions, and Virginians won’t be fooled by the negative campaign of Gillespie and his special interest allies.
When Virginians get to know Ed Gillespie, they won’t like what they see. He was Enron’s go-to guy in Washington, and the paid lobbyist for other special interests whose agenda was out of step with the interests of Virginians. He is a hypocrite on health care reform who was a lead lobbyist for an individual mandate. He was the mouthpiece for the Bush Administration policies that turned a surplus into a deficit and left our economy in shambles.
The last thing Virginians need in Washington is a career lobbyist with a partisan history of slash-and-burn politics that divides Virginians.
This story misquoted part of Gillespie in his campaign video. We regret the error.
(Photo credit: Ed Gillespie for Senate)
