Aide says Newman and Peake will not run against each other

The two Republicans were drawn into the same district. They held a joint fundraiser last month.

Dec 5, 2022

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Aide says Peake and Newman will not run against each other

Republican state Senators Steve Newman and Mark Peake will not run against each other during next year's nomination elections according to an aide for one of the senators. Newman and Peake were put into the same district when the legislative boundaries were redrawn last year.

Newman and Peake held a joint fundraiser last month in Forest to raise money for the 2023 election. “The fundraising event was held not so much for the benefit of one candidate, but for the benefit of quality representation for our entire region,” said Sarah Owens, the legislative director for Newman.

Owens says Peake has agreed to support Newman if he runs for reelection. If Newman decides to not seek reelection, he will support Peake.

“Senator Newman and Senator Peake have been close friends for decades,” Owens said. “With the newly drawn Senate District 8 including both gentlemen in the same district, Senator Peake has agreed to support Senator Newman, should he decide to run for re-election. And likewise, Senator Newman has agreed to support Senator Peake should he himself not run.”

According to Owens, the decision from Newman as to if he will run for reelection will be made after the 2023 legislative session. Peake’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The joint fundraiser from the two senators last month was hosted by Newman’s PAC.

Newman has been in the General Assembly since 1991 serving first in the House before moving over to the Senate in 1996. He was President Pro Tempore of the Senate from 2016-2019.

Peake has been serving in the state Senate since 2017.

Rumors have been circulating this past year that Newman is interested in retiring. He was the co-chair of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s transition team last year which led to Republican operatives believing that he was planning on joining the administration —but those rumors never panned out.

Peake and Newman were drawn into the new SD-08.

SD-08 encompasses Lynchburg City, Bedford County, and Campbell County. The district is 75% White, 16% Black, 5% multiracial, and 2% Asian. There are two incumbents in this district: Sen. Mark Peake (R-Lynchburg) and Sen. Steve Newman (R-Forest.) Source: VPAP.

According to an analysis from VPAP, Republican Glenn Youngkin won this district by 45 points in 2021.
Newman serves on the Commerce and Labor, Education and Health, Finance and Appropriations, Rules, and Transportation committees.
Peake serves on the Education and Health, Judiciary, Privileges and Elections, and Transportation committees.
Newman is the vice president and is a member of the Board of Directors for Delta Star, Inc. which is located in Lynchburg.
- He attended Lynchburg College and Central Virginia Community College
Peake is a lawyer in Lynchburg.
- He attended Virginia Tech and Washington & Lee Law School

Youngkin responds to Lake not accepting election results

Youngkin answered a question from WRIC‘s Jackie Defusco on Friday as to whether Republican Kari Lake should accept the election results in Arizona where she lost the race for governor. Lake has refused to accept the results and is expected to file lawsuits this week challenging them.

Youngkin said that after the results have been reviewed, which happens today, “folks need to go ahead and accept the results and move on with it.”

Jackie DeFusco @Jackie8News

Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is continuing to fight the election results despite a projected loss. She filed a lawsuit alleging election laws were broken. I asked Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who campaigned for Lake, if she should concede. @8NEWS

Jackie DeFusco @Jackie8News

Governor Youngkin continued… “Once all this process is complete in Arizona they will understand that. By the way, processes should be checked to make sure they are correct. We did the same thing with post election audits in Virginia. By the way, Virginia’s elections were fair.”

List shows who provided input on Youngkin draft history standards - RTD

by Anna Bryson

The draft history standards written largely under former Gov. Ralph Northam, which will be replaced by Youngkin administration standards, summoned hundreds of people and institutions.

“Superintendent Balow said she felt that there were some additional voices and the different and additional perspectives that really ought to be included that weren’t [before],” said Virginia Department of Education spokesman Charles Pyle.

Youngkin pushing for more control over state's purchasing - RTD

by Michael Martz, Dave Ress

An approach from the corporate world is sparking a push by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to take control over a key state government task: buying goods and services. The Youngkin administration has posted an opening for a “chief procurement officer” and has commissioned a nearly $2 million consultant’s study to come up with recommendations for changing the way state officials buy things.

“The administration is exploring a variety of ways to make government more efficient and effective. This includes revisiting state procurement and how that operates and may involve the hiring of specific staff at a future date,” said Youngkin press secretary Macaulay Porter.

Richmond restaurant refuses service to Family Foundation - Virginia Business

by Kate Andrews

A German-inspired restaurant in Richmond canceled a reservation for a conservative political organization’s private event last week, saying in a statement posted online Thursday night that the decision was made to protect their staff, many of whom are women and/or part of the LGBTQ community. The Family Foundation, the organization that had made the reservation, opposes same-sex marriage and abortion, among other positions.

Metzger Bar and Butchery, in Richmond’s Union Hill neighborhood, posted a statement Thursday night on Instagram about the decision to cancel the Family Foundation’s reservation Wednesday. “Metzger Bar and Butchery has always prided itself on being an inclusive environment for people to dine in,” the restaurant said in the statement. “In eight years of service, we have very rarely refused service to anyone who wished to dine with us. Recently we refused service to a group that had booked an event with us after the owners of Metzger found out it was a group of donors to a political organization that seeks to deprive women and LGBTQ+ persons of their basic human rights in Virginia.”