Corey Stewart (politician)

Elections

Stewart was first elected as Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors in a November 2006 special election to replace Sean Connaughton (who resigned to take a post at the United States Maritime Administration). Stewart defeated Democratic Party candidate Sharon Pandak with 53% of the vote. Stewart was elected to a full term in 2007 with 55% of the vote, re-elected in 2011, and re-elected to serve a third term in 2015 with 57% of the vote.

Immigration

In 2007, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution targeting illegal immigrants; the resolution ordered the Prince William County Police Department to check the immigration status of anyone who breaks the law and cuts off public services to those who are undocumented.

Gun control

Stewart led the successful effort to eliminate Prince William County's concealed-carry handgun permit fee, reducing the overall cost to lawful handgun owners from $50 to the state minimum of $15.

Spending cuts

Stewart has consistently advocated for significant reductions in government spending.

Campaign for Lieutenant Governor

Stewart unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in the 2013 election. In a seven-person race, Stewart was eliminated in the third round of voting in the Republican convention, losing to E. W. Jackson.

Virginia State Chairman for Donald Trump's Presidential Campaign

In December 2015, Republican U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump announced that he had chosen Stewart to chair his campaign in Virginia. Stewart has been an outspoken proponent for Trump in national media. Stewart continued to support Trump even as other Republican officials disavowed him after various controversies. In July 2016, Stewart blamed "liberal Democrats" and specifically Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Virginia Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam for the spree killing of police officers in Dallas, Texas.

On October 10, 2016, amid reports that the Republican National Committee was withdrawing resources from the Trump campaign to focus on down-ballot races, Stewart organized a pro-Trump women's demonstration in front of the Committee's Washington, D.C. headquarters, resulting in his getting fired from his position on the campaign. Stewart later blamed "establishment pukes" at the Republican National Committee for his firing. Days later, the RNC and the Trump Campaign announced that they were withdrawing from Virginia, drawing the ire of Stewart, who blasted the decision as a betrayal of the grassroots and "totally premature." Despite his firing, he continued to support Donald Trump.

Campaign for Virginia governor

At the Virginia State Republican Convention on April 30, 2016, Stewart announced his intent to run for Governor of Virginia. Quentin Kidd of Christopher Newport University called Stewart "on the very conservative end" of the Republican candidates for governor in 2017. In December 2016, Stewart announced that his campaign for Governor of Virginia would give away an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle for Christmas to highlight his support for Constitutional carry in Virginia, which would enable law-abiding citizens to conceal carry handguns without a permit.

In March 2017, Stewart admitted that his campaign, since at least May 2014, had been editing his Wikipedia page to remove unflattering information and add positive spin, through at least two registered accounts. On the same day, during a Reddit AMA, Stewart called his GOP primary opponent Ed Gillespie a cuckservative, agreed with a questioner that asked if Bill Clinton was a rapist, and wrote “CONFIRMED!” to a questioner who asked if Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe "is a cuck". Virginia GOP chairman John Whitbeck rebuked the remarks, calling some of Stewart's language "racist", and noting that the term "cuckservative" is “used by white nationalists.”

In a poll of GOP primary voters conducted March 16–26, 2017, Stewart had the support of 11% of registered voters, trailing Gillespie's 38%. State Senator Frank Wagner drew 10% in the same poll. A subsequent poll conducted between May 9-14 showed Stewart with the support of 18% of GOP primary voters, with Gillespie still showing 38% and Wagner moving up to 15%. 24% were still undecided while 5% chose none of the candidates. In the same poll, 7% of Virginia Republicans felt Stewart had the best chance of winning the general election, compared to 60% who felt Gillespie did.

On June 13, Stewart narrowly lost the primary to Gillespie, garnering 42.5% of the Republican votes to Gillespie's 43.7%.

2018 Campaign for United States Senator

On July 15, 2017, Stewart announced his intention to run for the United States Senate from Virginia in the 2018 general election. He promised a "very vicious, ruthless race." Stewart chided the Republican Party: “The party is going to have start waking up and realizing that constituents, conservative Republicans, are looking for a more aggressive populist candidate." Former Republican lieutenant governor Bill Bolling stated, “This is really a nightmare for the Republican Party.”

Personal life

Stewart is a native of Duluth, Minnesota. He transferred to Georgetown University after a year at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and was the first member of his family to graduate from college. He also graduated from the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, and afterwards settled in Virginia. Stewart works as an international trade attorney, and he and his family live in Bel Air, a historic colonial-era plantation house in Woodbridge that was regularly visited by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. He met his wife, Maria, who is from Sweden, after spending a year teaching English in Japan before law school. The couple has two sons.