Dear friends, Several weeks ago I informed you of my intention to endorse a candidate for Governor of Virginia. Today, I am ready to make that endorsement public. Over the past few years I've gotten to know Ed Gillespie, met with him privately and had some heart to heart conversations. I believe Ed is a solid conservative, that his faith is sincere and his desire to serve is real. Ed is pro-life, believes in the Constitution and religious liberty, supports school choice for parents, opposes gun control, supports secure borders and believes that government should balance its budget just as you and I have to do. Ed is working with every constituency in the Republican coalition - economic conservatives, social conservatives, Tea Party activists, evangelicals and members of the business community. He has also been reaching out to voters who are often ignored by Republican candidates. He has had several effective meetings with leaders and activists in the black community, and with other minority groups all over the Commonwealth. The response has been very encouraging. Ed is truly running a campaign for ALL VIRGINIANS. And he is focused on making this a better Commonwealth for ALL VIRGINIANS. Ed is the best candidate to unify the diverse elements of the Republican Party and bring in new voters as well. He is the candidate with the best chance of performing well in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and other areas that are critical to a statewide victory in November. Remember, in 2014, even after being outspent 3-1, Ed won Loudoun County and Chesapeake City. Those are crucial localities in a statewide race. With his broad base of support, Ed can beat either Northam or Periello at fundraising and outdo them when it comes to mobilizing the grassroots to vote as well. I have looked at this race every possible way, and I am thoroughly convinced that Ed Gillespie is by far the candidate with the best chance to bring home our first statewide victory since 2009. He came within a hair's breath of pulling it off in 2014 against the strongest Democrat in Virginia - Mark Warner. I believe that with our help, this time he will take it all the way. The moment I began to contemplate an endorsement I knew that some people would be disappointed. Others would be thrilled. It would have been safer for me to stay out of it, but I could not do that. There is too much at stake. The failure to take back the Governor's office will have disastrous long term implications. It would allow "progressives" to become so entrenched in Virginia that it might take a generation to dislodge them. In the meantime, the Commonwealth and our citizens will suffer under the yoke of far left control of the most powerful office in our state. We must not let this happen. We cannot afford to prolong the internal battle. The sooner we turn our attention to the general election, the better off our candidates are going to be. If my endorsement of Ed Gillespie hastens the end of the primary competition and helps galvanize Republicans to fall in behind him, I will consider it a service to the Commonwealth. I am urging all of my friends and supporters to start working for Ed, and on June 13, vote for Ed. That is what I am going to do. It is going to take unity and discipline to win in November. We must all be pulling in the same direction. I suggest we start now by falling in behind Ed Gillespie. As far as I am concerned, we have our ticket: Ed Gillespie for Governor, Jill Vogel for Lt. Governor and John Adams for Attorney General. Let's get behind them now, and defeat the Democrats. God bless you, and may He bless our Commonwealth and give us victory in November. For God & Country, E. W. Jackson | 
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