Via FacebookNow that Tareq Salahi is officially unhitched from ex-wife Michaele (who was seen last night hobnobbing with Republican National Convention at a Journey concert in Tampa, Fla.), he can focus on his next big project: That run for governor of Virginia.
Salahi announced in April that he was considering running—as a Republican—for the commonwealth’s top job in 2013, not long after he was hit with a consumer protection lawsuit by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. The Cooch is also seeking to be the GOP’s nominee to succeed Gov. Bob McDonnell, as is Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.
Both Bolling and the Cooch are already campaigning hard, with Bolling nabbing the endorsement of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney earlier this month. Salahi, meanwhile, has been enmeshed in divorce proceedings as he seeks to move on from Michaele and her new paramour, Journey guitarist Neal Schon.
But Salahi is laying the ground work to play some catch-up in the fundraising game with the official kickoff to his gubernatorial campaign scheduled for September 16. His debut campaign event will be a barbecue at his home at the Mosby Estates winery in Front Royal.
The “Crash the Candidates BBQ”—lulz on the name—will be Salahi’s debut opportunity to prescribe his solutions for the ails troubling the Commonwealth of Virginia. Salahi hasn’t established much of a platform just yet, but the news release for the party calls him “empathetic to the challenges faced by small business owners in agriculture, manufacturing, service, tourism and other industries, who are the foundation of our economic growth.”
His platform, such as it is, includes buzzy phrases like “more jobs,” “less taxes,” “less government” and “pro-military.” But no word yet if Salahi joins his fellow Republicans in backing, say, the mandatory transvaginal ultrasounds the current Virginia administration attempted to force upon women seeking abortions.
Whatever, it’s Tareq Salahi. He’s just here to party. And his campaign kickoff has the potential to be a real rager. There will be a raffle for a trip to a NASCAR event in Las Vegas (tickets start at $500, for which you could cover much of the cost of, you know, flying to Vegas, booking a hotel and going to a NASCAR race).
And fireworks! Salahi promises that there wil be fireworks over the vineyard as he celebrates his entry into electoral politics. Also, anyone who shows up might have to sign a waiver, because, obviously, Salahi is having a documentary crew follow him around on the campaign trail.
But does Salahi have any shot of knocking off two of his state’s top Republican officials in the chase for next year’s gubernatorial nomination? A poll released this week by Public Policy Polling found that 62 percent of Virginia voters have yet to form an opinion of Bolling, while 35 percent haven’t made up their mind on the Cooch. This is still anyone’s game.
General admission tickets to Salahi’s kickoff barbecue are $15, with active-duty military getting a 50 percent discount. Tables start at $250. You could pay up front. But we recommend just showing up and telling everyone you were invited.
