Who is Tim Anderson & Why is it Significant That He is Quitting Amanda Chase
You might be asking yourself, “who is Tim Anderson and why should I care what he thinks about Donald Trump or Amanda Chase for that matter?” It's gotta be important enough to make these my first Substack™ post. This represents a major shift in the appearance in Virginia Republican politics if you are patient enough to make to the end of this article, it’s appearance not substance.
Tim Anderson of Virginia Beach is only in his first term in the House of Delegates but he has already made a name for himself in the General Assembly. Anderson is an attorney with a specialization in gun rights. After Democrats won big in Virginia 2019, Anderson exploded in popularity with Facebook Live videos that explained gun laws and proposed bills for the upcoming legislative session.
Anderson got connected with a strange crowd of gun enthusiasts as a result of the giant rally that became of the lobby day for Virginia Citizens Defense League. One such person is Josh Macias, who was recently found guilty of unlawfully carrying guns outside of the Philadelphia Convention Center while the 2020 Election was still being counted.
Anderson had another key client before he was elected to the House of Delegates, Senator Amanda Chase. He represented her when she sued the Republican Party of Virginia over the 2021 Republican Primary and when she sued the Virginia Senate over her censured. Both were unsuccessful suits, but he was also successful in suing the (at the time) Speaker of House Eileen Filler-Corn over a FIOA violation of a Confederate statue removal.
Anderson had brought a bunch of attention toward himself in the summer of 2020 after protesters in Portsmouth brought down a Confederate statue. Anderson took to his Facebook to make a video that called for the arrest of Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas. Lucas was arrested a few months later along with other city officials, but those charges where dismissed and Lucas was able to successfully sue the City of Portsmouth and the police chief was fired. However Lucas also brought an unsuccessful lawsuit against Anderson.
All of these events (and more I left out like suing to ban books because I got tired of proving my point) lead Anderson to gain the reputation of being an active and die-hard conservative. This would be key in his primary against Chris Stolle. Stolle is a former Delegate who may be most known for losing his reelection by a mere 27 votes back in 2019. Anderson needed that name recognition to beat an opponent like Stolle and it worked, Anderson won his primary by 24 votes. Tough breaks for Stolle. Anderson would go on to win the general election by with a mere 663 votes. But what's even more amazing for Anderson is that he got out spent in all of these elections. Anderson has the ability to use Facebook to make quick and free videos that gained him notoriety.
As for Virginia State Senator Amanda Chase, I don't know where to begin with her. You could start with my appearance on the podcast I Don't Speak German. If I had to reduce it to one paragraph, I would say that she is the most Trump candidate in Virginia, the most Trumpest Trump that ever Trumped. If she reads this and makes that her new slogan just remember that her old one was “Trump in heels.”
Chase represents a district made up of south Richmond and neighboring counties. In the past few years, her concerns have been cultural war issues. Good news for her constituents who wants a bill about Ivermectin that will get laughed at as it dies in committee but bad news for just about anything else.
Chase does not get along with her Senate Republican Caucus. She withdrew from the caucus in 2019 and sits in the far right corner on the Senate. She has no committee seats and not involved in making legislation. This is a recipe for wanting Republicans to have her to be replaced with a more effective legislator.
That leads to Anderson moving away Chase. Chase has an upcoming primary next summer. Chase is confident that her brand of Trump loyalist will carry her to victory but Anderson can't engage in cultural wedge issues anymore when he lives in a district where a few dozen votes may make the difference.
After Election Night, Anderson went on the conservative talk radio show of John Reid. Anderson blamed Chase for charging up liberal voters by announcing her upcoming bill about banning abortion in Virginia. Here's the funny thing about that radio interview, it was not broadcasted in Anderson's district in Virginia Beach but instead on WRVA in Amanda Chase's district.
But make no mistake, this is not a pivot to the center from Republicans like Anderson. For example Youngkin has called for a ban on abortion after 15 weeks, but Anderson is not blaming Youngkin for Congressional election losses because of Youngkin’s policy proposal.
This is not a rejection of the policies of Donald Trump but instead a rejection of the brand of Trump. For example, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears says she could not support a Trump run in 2024. What she is really saying is that she doesn't have a problem with him accusing Jewish Americans being disloyal, but she would perfer if he wore a disguise and went by the synonym of John Miller.
This is by no means the final chapter of the Trump in politics, like flickering the lights at a bar during last call. Trump is ready to drag his rivals like this on his Truth Social post (they are called Truths.)
This does signal is the end of the unbreakable wall of Trump supporters in the Republican Party as many break away to find a new identity while others stay on board with Trump and just mudsling and call every other Republican a Rino. So expect to see die-hard Trump supporting politicans to stick around like Amanda Chase and accuse politicans like Tim Anderson and Winsome Sears of secretly working for the Chinese Communist Party.
And now to leave with a great visual
metaphor, the Trump Unity Bridge being towed.
