The Democrat who declared “war” on Fox News isn’t actually a candidate running for Virginia’s 7th congressional district, at least not on behalf of the Democratic Party, according to a report Friday.
Mike Dickinson was described as a Democratic candidate challenging House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) during an appearance Thursday night on Fox’s “On The Record.” He sparred with host Greta Van Susteren over his credentials and the Tea Party, insisting that America needs politicians who don’t “sugarcoat” or “lie.”
But Mediaite reported on Friday that the Virginia 7th Congressional District Democratic Committee announced it had cancelled this year’s nominating convention because no candidate had filed to run for the seat before the 5 p.m. deadline Thursday.
The committee’s chair told Mediaite that Dickinson informed the party at the “last minute” that he wasn’t going to file to run for Cantor’s seat.
Dickinson appeared on Van Susteren’s show the same night the deadline passed, apparently without having filed any paperwork for his candidacy. He did not mention the deadline when he appeared on the show. Dickinson had also appeared on “Hannity” in February as a Democratic candidate for Congress, and got into a heated argument with the host.
Dickinson does not list a phone number or email address for his campaign on his website. TPM sent him a message seeking comment via a form on the site.
A short time later, Dickinson emailed back: “Happy to answer any questions over phone or email.” He did not provide a phone number, and a subsequent email did not get a response.
Is this an example of another created strawman by Fox or is he simply crazy?
The tell may lie with how Fox handles the continuing story. I hope someone else watches so they can let me know.