Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – If there’s a Confederate flag flying in front of your house, chances are there may also be a Corey Stewart for Governor sign stuck in your grass. The Prince William County Board of Supervisors member is making preserving Virginia’s Confederate history one of his big campaign pledges as he runs in the Republican gubernatorial primary June 13.
“As governor, I will prevent, I will prohibit any locality from removing any statue of any Virginia war hero, whether they fought in the Revolutionary War, or during the Civil War. We must preserve our heritage and our history,” Stewart said.
In February, the Charlottesville City Council voted to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Lee Park. In 2016, the Alexandria City Council voted to remove the Appomattox statue, which remembers Confederate soldiers from Alexandria who died fighting in the Civil War, from a busy intersection in Old Town. The city’s representatives, however, wouldn’t put forward a bill to get permission from the General Assembly to remove the Appomattox statue because they believed the Republican-led legislature would veto it.
Stewart’s embrace of Virginia’s Confederate history comes as polls show him far behind frontrunner Ed Gillespie. A new poll from the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University found 38 percent of registered GOP primary voters support Gillespie, while only 11 percent support Stewart.
“Corey is a desperate candidate trying to salvage his flailing campaign and is clearly hoping to use the Confederate flag, which has become a divisive symbol, to somehow get him more support. Ed is focused on creating jobs, strengthening our economy – policies that benefit all Virginians,” said Gillespie spokesperson Abbi Sigler in a written statement.
Stewart said it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about doing what he feels is right.
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