Congrats to John McCain

I want to offer my congratulations to Senator John McCain. His sweep of the Potomac Primaries has cemented his status as the Republican nominee to be. Huckabee ran well in Virginia, winning the 5th, 6th and 9th Congressional Districts. If he’d had a few more days, I think think Huck could have won the entire state. The momentum was clearly on his side at the end. But it wasn’t enough.

According to exit polls, Huckabee won the very conservative vote. McCain won the moderate and somewhat conservative vote. To win in November, McCain needs the entire Republican coalition—moderates and conservatives. McCain must begin reaching out the conservative base now. Virginia will be in play in the fall and it’s imperative that McCain spend some time in Southwest Virginia. He will need big margins in this part of the State if he hopes to win.

I will continue to officially support Mike Huckabee as long as he is in this race. But I think the time has come to step aside and bring our party together. There is no question that Huckabee can help McCain solidify support among evangelicals and working class Republicans. He should start that process now.

We as Republicans have a daunting task ahead of us. Twice as many Democrats turned out in Virginia as Republicans. Democrats even outnumbered Republicans in the 6th and 9th Districts. Granted, they have more of a horse race. But we cannot ignore the level of excitement and enthusiasm on their side.