This is hilarious.
Six candidates for the Republican Party’s nomination to oppose Rep. Tom Perriello said Wednesday they want 5th District Republicans to use the convention method of selecting the party’s candidate rather than a primary election.
The seventh Republican candidate, state Sen. Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, prefers a primary, said his spokesman, Chris LaCivita.
Translation: Hurt is terrified that he'd lose in a convention comprised of the core Republican "base," as opposed to a primary in which there might be a more ideologically diverse electorate. This reminds me of the Virginia Republicans' decision in 2007 to select their U.S. Senate nominee via a convention, not a primary. That decision prompted Tom Davis - who many conservatives considered a "Republican in name only" - to drop out of the race. In turn, that led to a showdown between two right wingers, Jim Gilmore and "Sideshow Bob" Marshall, and Gilmore's eventual crushing defeat at the hands of Mark Warner. We'll see if history repeats itself here, this time with Hurt playing the role of Tom Davis - another "RINO" in many conservatives' eyes.
