According to GOP Senate nominee Corey Stewart, Virginia made the right call to secede from the United States in defense of slavery.
CNN reports:
The Virginia Republican made the comments in April 2017 at an event in South Boston, Virginia, hosted by an unapologetic secessionist. A video of his remarks, given during his failed 2017 gubernatorial run, was posted on his Facebook account. He is challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a strong favorite to keep his seat, and national Republicans are worried that Stewart’s candidacy will turn off some GOP voters, potentially hurting Republican’s ballot races.
In response to a comment request from CNN, Stewart released the following statement: “Unlike Wimpy Tim Kaine, Virginians have a warrior spirit and a rebel heart.” Stewart has continually tried to downplay his past ties and praise of white nationalist figures like Jason Kessler, an organizer of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, and Paul Nehlen, the anti-Semitic Republican congressional candidate who took on Paul Ryan in 2016.
Quotes from the event are at the link.
NEW: This is something. At an event in April 2017, hosted by unapologetic secessionist Corey Stewart *praised* southern secession from the Union putting it on par with the American Revolution. https://t.co/3sF0VC8lHJ pic.twitter.com/66GmwXgmGz
— andrew kaczynski? (@KFILE) August 8, 2018
Presumably Dinesh D’Souza is available to explain that Stewart’s opponent is the actual Confederate sympathizer.https://t.co/ANFomJA7XZ
— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) August 8, 2018
“When you say you’re from Virginia, when you travel outside of this state and somebody asks where you’re from, you say with pride, ‘I am from Virginia. I’m very, very proud of it,'” Stewart said. (He’s from Minnesota) https://t.co/g5iyVyMC8E
— Trevor Metcalfe (@TrevorEMetcalfe) August 8, 2018
“If the established order is wrong, we rebel … we did it in the Civil War, and we’re doing it today. We’re doing it today because they’re trying to rob us of everything that we hold dear: our history, our heritage, our culture.” https://t.co/k6IgAGBMnF
— Charlie J. Johnson ? (@Charliemagne) August 8, 2018