By Taylor Boyd
Patrick County Republican Committee Chair Lynne Bogle is seeking the interim chair position of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV), becoming one of four candidates vying for the role.
Bogle is running against Mike Clancy, of Loudoun County, Cameron Hamilton, of Orange County, and Nicholas Proffitt of Hampton Roads.
The interim chair will be elected by the Republican Party of Virginia’s State Central Committee in January to complete the remaining two-and-a-half years of a four-year term.
“Which is how interim replacements are done,” Bogle said.
Rick Anderson, who was elected to a second term as chair in 2024, resigned earlier this year to accept a position as assistant secretary of the Air Force under the Trump administration.
State Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, was elected in April to complete the term but is stepping down at the end of December to focus on his legislative duties.
Bogle said the State Central Committee is composed of roughly 80 members who are elected by the congressional districts.
While she said she never anticipated seeking the position, Bogle said frustration with how Southwest Virginia was treated during the last election cycle motivated her to run.
“I spent a lot of time begging campaign managers to come to Southwest,” she said. “I tried to explain to them I lived 31 years in Northern Virginia and now five years in Southwest, so I understand in Northern Virginia you’re not going to leave one county and go to the next county to go to an event — you expect them to come to you.”
She said the expectations are different in Southwest Virginia.
“People will drive 100 miles just to meet a candidate and won’t think anything of it,” Bogle said. “But they didn’t come, and when they did come, they didn’t announce it in such a way we were able to let people know, and that drives turnout down.”
“People feel disrespected when they don’t feel seen,” she said. “It’s critical, we can’t be successful in a statewide election unless Southwest turns out better than 50 percent, and we can’t keep losing because candidates ignore us.”
When Peake announced his decision to step down, Bogle said she saw an opportunity to advocate more strongly for Southwest Virginia than she can in her current role.
“As far as I’m aware, the RPV’s never had a chair from Southwest Virginia,” she said. “I think it’s important to recognize this part of the state. They usually come from farther north.”
Bogle said her top concern is communication within the party.
“We need much, much better communication across the state,” she said. “I think I have an advantage because I’ve lived in both areas, so I understand that we communicate for our audience, and it’s not the same.”
If elected, Bogle said her second priority would be improving support from the RPV for local party committees.
“Every county has a committee, but we’re all sort of on our own,” she said. “When I took over the committee four years ago, there was not much to help me, and we don’t have any guides, we don’t have any best practice information, we don’t have anything to help a committee get started.”
She said resources on fundraising, member recruitment, and voter engagement are lacking.
“That’s not available, and that’s something that I think is important,” Bogle said.
In Patrick County, Bogle said the local committee implemented a “Vote Your Values” campaign at the annual agricultural fair.
With the campaign, the committee does not tell people who or what to vote for. Instead, it asks voters questions about what is important to them and encourages them to vote for candidates who align with those priorities.
“That has really resonated,” Bogle said. “I’ve gotten a lot of tremendous feedback now that we’ve done it for two years. People are catching on, and I’ve started hearing people say, ‘Vote Your Values’ back to me.”
To enter the race, Bogle said she announced her candidacy to all State Central Committee members.
“So I sat down and did a very heartfelt letter and sent it out,” she said. “Then my phone hasn’t stopped since. Between messaging, emails and phone calls, I’ve been answering questions for the last two weeks.”
Because only committee members vote in the race, Bogle said most of her campaigning has focused on outreach to them directly. She has also shared information on Facebook and other social media platforms and encouraged the public to contact their state central representatives.
“I’ve also been doing a few posts and answering questions on various discussion groups on Facebook,” she said.
Bogle also attended the 6th Congressional District meeting on Dec. 11.
