With several GOP-held House seats up for grabs in Virginia, former White House adviser Steve Bannon said Tuesday he plans to swoop into the commonwealth in the coming days to try to drive pro-Trump voters to the polls on election day.
He described the 2018 midterms as President Trump’s “first re-elect” and that anyone who supported the president in 2016 needs to turn out.
He said GOP Reps. Barbara Comstock, Dave Brat and Scott Taylor are all in “real, real tough fights.”
Mr. Bannon, the former Breitbart News chief, recently founded the non-profit advocacy group Citizens of the American Public and is promoting a new movie, “Trump at War.”
He said he’s planning to screen the movie in the state and will try to whip up support among pro-Trump voters, and that any candidates would have to pay to attend events if they choose to do so.
Citizens of the American Public is a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, meaning it’s not supposed to directly advocate for or against specific candidates.
“We are here to draw Trump supporters,” Mr. Bannon told radio host John Fredericks. “The entire Trump agenda is on the line if we lose the House of Representatives.”
He said he could drop into Virginia and North Carolina this weekend.
“We’re going to have a real feel for where this is going to go by seeing those results from those congressional districts,” he said. “All of them are tight, and that’s why every vote’s going to count on this.”
He said Corey Stewart, the Republican challenging Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine this year, has had a “tough run” in Virginia so far.
“Without a lot of top of the ticket support, these congressional candidates have really got to grind it out,” he said.
Other states Mr. Bannon said he’s visiting or considering visiting include Nevada, Kansas, Iowa, North Carolina, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
He said the idea behind the group is to get Trump supporters “off their duff” and start driving the midterm agenda.
In addition to Virginia’s close 10th, 7th, and 2nd congressional district races, Democrats are also eyeing the 5th district as a potential pick-up. They need to net about two dozen seats to re-take control of the House.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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