It wasn’t clear to me until now who the new $1 million PAC Leadership for Virginia would be backing. News coverage had talked only about moderate Republicans. But the PAC has announced the first candidate donation: $50,000 to Democrat Paula Miller in the 87th district special election tomorrow, whereas two-thirds of her opponent’s money has come from other GOP politicians.
The PAC’s co-chairs are former Republican Del. Anne “Panny” Rhodes and James Hazel, a Republican who was a policy adviser to Gov. Warner. Among its major contributors is Frank Batten , chairman of the executive committee of the board of directors for Landmark Communications, which publishes The Virginian-Pilot. He donated $50,000 to the PAC, but did not have any say in its endorsement of Miller, said Patricia Hale, the executive director. Hale, a former Republican state senator in Washington, said her group is backing Miller because she “is focused on the future of our state. She wants the state to be economically strong.”