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Reflecting on Corey Stewart as He Takes a Political Break

‘Politics sucks!’ said Corey Stewart, as he announced he will not seek re-election as Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. This was said during his State of the County Address, bringing his 15-year career on the board to an end.

Stewart however, hasn’t completely ruled out a future run for office. The blue county Republican who most recently suffered a defeat to Tim Kaine in 2018’s midterm election cycle (despite receiving more statewide mid-term votes than any Virginia Republican since John Warner in 1984), will step away when his term expires in December. Unfortunately, Virgnia is stuck with another 6 years of Tim Kaine’s radical leftist policies as highlighted here.

Corey says he will focus on his career as an international trade attorney, and potentially fill a role in the Trump Administration at some point in the future.

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First elected as Occoquan District Supervisor in 2003, Stewart made waves in the community as he highlighted the infrastructure problems caused by the county’s rapid growth, making and keeping promises to bring relief to overcrowded schools and strained public safety departments. Stewart worked tirelessly to improve relationships between the board and community members including real estate developers, and in 2006 won a special election to replace outgoing Board Chairman Sean Connaughton

As Chairman, Stewart spearheaded the county’s fight against a massive uptick in violent crimes perpetrated by illegal aliens, leading Prince William County to become the first locality in Virginia to adopt ICE’s 287(g) program. This is an agreement between federal and municipal governments which allows local law enforcement to verify the immigration status of criminals suspected of being in the United States illegally and notify ICE of their arrest if necessary.

Despite accusations of racist authoritarianism by the left, Stewart stood his ground, something he would become known for throughout his career. In Prince William County, 287(g) was a massive success. Under the law, the county has turned over upwards of 9,000 criminal illegal aliens to ICE for deportation, and in its first year saw a 27% drop in violent assaults countywide.

Although Stewart earned his reputation as an immigration hardliner in Prince William County, his name was truly etched into grassroots political lore in 2017, as he took on establishment favorite Ed Gillespie in Virginia’s Republican Gubernatorial Primary. He lost that bid, but by less than 5,000 votes (a 1.2% margin). This was in spite of spending months barnstorming throughout the Commonwealth, shaking hands and kissing babies in small towns and rural counties long forgotten by the political class.

As a result of his hard work, Stewart dominated rural regions of the state due to a loyal base of supporters who never forgot the focus Stewart and his campaign staff placed on issues near and dear to their hearts. Additionally, he absolutely shellacked Gillespie in Virginia’s 9th Congressional District (also known as Trump’s Fightin’ 9th), situated in rural Southwest Virginia, a region with a storied history of rail travel and coal mining often ignored by candidates in statewide races.  

Central to the 2017 campaign due to national media coverage, Stewart joined the fight to preserve Virginia’s Confederate monuments which were once again in the crosshairs of contention due to the radical left. Demonstrating the intestinal fortitude his supporters so loved and detractors so despised, Stewart took to the streets with his fellow Virginians and appeared at a February rally in Charlottesville’s Lee Park, the epicenter of the left’s anti-history campaign led by then-Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy. As Stewart attempted to address the crowd, AntiFa militants pelted the event’s participants with debris, shouted down open debate, and even physically assaulted attendees.

SEE COREY STEWART BATTLE WITH LEFTIST CHRIS CUOMO ON CNN BELOW

Contrary to Stewart’s bold defense of Virginia’s history, his opponent Ed Gillespie, buckled under pressure from mainstream media and left-wing mobs, declaring state law should be amended to allow for the removal of monuments that some may find offensive. To the contrary, and in the face of pressure to flip flop and cries of racism, Stewart doubled down and refused to budge, once again displaying the courage and loyalty he has become so well known for.

Throughout the next year and into the midterm election season, Stewart continued to stand firm on the issues of illegal immigration and historical vandalism. He refused to shift his views, refused to give in to pressure from establishment figures and big money donors, and brushed off the ludacrous accusations of racism and even Nazism threw at him by not only the left but members of his own party. In 2018, after a long and at times ugly senatorial primary race against Nick Freitas and E.W. Jackson, Stewart came out on top.

He defeated Freitas by a margin eerily similar to that by which he lost to Ed Gillespie only a year prior. Following the primaries, many hoped the party’s base would come together and rally around Stewart as they had for Gillespie in support of the Republican ticket. Unfortunately, due to smear campaigns and flat out refusal to provide financial and infrastructural support from both state and national figures within the party, the campaign became bogged down. It was badly buried beneath Tim Kaine and the Democrats’ big money political machine and the ever left-leaning demographic shift in the state of Virginia.

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Image Source: YouTube
Stewart debates Nick Frietas and EW Jackson during the 2018 GOP Senatorial Primary

Ultimately, Corey Stewart’s political career should serve as a source of pride and inspiration to America first conservatives nationwide. Although the positions he took may not have always been popular with mainstream media pundits, spineless career politicians, and the radical left, Stewart stood his ground and refused to waiver. The same playbook used in attempts to take down Donald Trump was used by the same bad actors of Virginia’s political class, who were chomping at the bit in anticipation of the opportunity to knock off a young, energetic patriot and populist. Nevertheless, amidst relentless attacks on him and his family, Corey Stewart fought tooth and nail for what he and millions of his fellow Virginians believe in, and never gave up. His influence has positively encouraged and affected many, and will for years to come.

Thanks Corey!

About author
Frankie Stockes is a 26-year-old America first conservative from Culpeper, Virginia.
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