Scott Lloyd Makes His Case for Warren GOP Chairman Ahead of Aug. 5 Revote

Local attorney Scott Lloyd is seeking the chairmanship of the Warren County Republican Committee, saying he wants to expand participation, improve voter turnout, strengthen conservative policy discussions, and restore openness and trust within the local party.

The election will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 5, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the former 15th Street School gym, now part of the Warren County Health and Human Services complex at 465 W. 15th St. in Front Royal.

The vote follows a disputed February mass meeting in which David Silek was declared the winner. That result was later set aside after an appeal.

In an interview with the Royal Examiner, Lloyd said he challenged the February outcome after learning that some people who had arrived to vote were unable to enter the crowded meeting.

“There were people who were trying to get in and couldn’t,” Lloyd said. “They made arrangements. They took time out of their day. They should have the dignity of their vote.”

Why Lloyd appealed

The February meeting drew a larger crowd than organizers expected, creating capacity problems inside the building.

Lloyd said he and Silek agreed that people waiting outside would be admitted after others had voted and left. After the election, however, Lloyd said he began hearing from people who claimed they were never allowed inside.

He said that concern made it impossible for him to simply concede the race without first reviewing what happened.

Lloyd and his supporters then prepared an appeal that focused on the excluded voters and on whether the party’s credentialing safeguards were followed.

He also argued that some participants may not have been affiliated with the Republican Party and should not have taken part in choosing local Republican leadership without going through the proper process.

Those claims reflect Lloyd’s account of the meeting and the reasons behind his appeal.

The Sixth District Republican Committee reviewed the matter and voted 19-5 in favor of the appeal, according to Lloyd. Silek’s side then challenged that decision through the Republican Party of Virginia.

Lloyd said a special state-level committee unanimously supported his position, and the State Central Committee took no further action. The result was a new election ordered for Aug. 5.

A different voting process

Unlike the February mass meeting, the Aug. 5 election is expected to follow a simpler process.

Participants will not be required to remain for speeches, committee reports, rules debates, or other business. Instead, voters will be able to register, cast a ballot, and leave.

“People are going to be able to show up, register, vote, and leave,” Lloyd said.

The Sixth District Republican Committee will oversee the process rather than the Warren County Republican Committee.

Lloyd said preregistration materials are available online and can be submitted in advance, so voter eligibility may be reviewed before Election Day.

Because Virginia does not register voters by political party, participants may be checked against party records and voting history. Lloyd said that voters who are strongly affiliated with another party may be required to complete additional paperwork or sign a statement renouncing that affiliation before being allowed to participate.

He encouraged anyone planning to attend to review the official instructions from the Sixth District Republican Committee.

Expanding local participation

If elected, Lloyd said one of his first priorities would be keeping committee membership open to as many interested Republicans as possible.

He criticized a proposal during Silek’s brief tenure as chairman that would have reduced the committee’s membership cap from 250 to 102.

Lloyd said limiting membership would reduce participation, narrow the range of ideas being discussed, and create the appearance that the committee was being controlled by a small group.

“If you limit it, you’re limiting your ideas,” he said.

He said the committee should instead welcome Republicans with different views and allow those disagreements to be debated openly.

“The purpose of the committee is to come to a single place where we can hash it out, and the better ideas can win,” Lloyd said.

Openness and transparency

Lloyd said he wants openness, honesty, integrity, and transparency to become the committee’s guiding principles.

He connected that goal to the community’s experience with the Warren County Economic Development Authority scandal, which damaged public trust in local government.

“So much of what came out of that is people weren’t watching, people weren’t being transparent, and things were happening behind closed doors,” Lloyd said.

He said the local Republican Party should present itself as the opposite of that kind of conduct.

“I want the Republican Party to be a brand that speaks to the fact that we’re not going to allow that in our party,” he said.

Increasing Republican turnout

Lloyd also emphasized voter turnout, particularly in elections that do not coincide with presidential races.

He said Warren County is reliably Republican in national elections, but small improvements in local turnout could influence statewide contests.

He referred to comments from state Sen. Mark Obenshain, who has argued that even a modest increase in Republican turnout in each locality could make the difference in a close statewide election.

Lloyd said county committees should focus on practical ways to increase participation and share successful ideas with one another.

“There’s a lot that we could do that we’re not doing to drive participation by voters, especially in off-year elections,” he said.

He added that local elections often have a more direct effect on residents’ daily lives than federal races.

Local officials influence taxes, land-use decisions, road conditions, business rules, and other matters that residents encounter regularly, Lloyd said.

“In a lot of ways, the locals are a lot more important than the federal, and they have more impact on your daily life,” he said.

Supporting Republican candidates

Lloyd was also asked about criticism that the local committee failed to support some candidates who had won Republican nominations.

He addressed the case of a candidate identified during the interview as Mr. Carter, whose name was not marked on a party sample ballot.

Lloyd said his initial view was that the committee should fill in the candidate’s name because he had won the nomination.

However, he said some committee members raised concerns about the candidate’s background and connection to earlier local controversies. When the committee later voted on whether to change the sample ballot, Lloyd voted against the change because he believed the candidate had not appeared before the committee to answer questions or ask for its endorsement.

Lloyd said he wants a clearer process going forward.

Under that approach, candidates seeking the committee’s support would appear before members, explain their positions, and answer questions before an endorsement vote.

“If you want the endorsement, come to the committee, make your case, and then we’ll have a vote,” Lloyd said.

He argued that such a process would help the committee determine whether candidates reflect Republican values, especially in open primaries where voters from other parties could influence nominations.

Policy discussions inside the party

Lloyd rejected the idea that the committee should function only as a turnout organization without discussing policy.

He said policy choices affect Republican enthusiasm and can either help or hurt turnout.

“When Republicans support bad policies, that drives Republican turnout down,” he said.

Lloyd pointed to the Republican Creed of Virginia as a guide for those discussions, emphasizing limited government, free enterprise, fiscal restraint, and personal responsibility.

He said the committee should invite officeholders and candidates to explain how their positions fit those principles.

“We need to have the discussion as a party,” he said.

Taxes and local government

Lloyd described himself as a supporter of lower taxes and limited government.

He questioned how a strongly Republican county could experience repeated tax increases or higher tax bills due to reassessments.

“How is this happening in a conservative Republican area?” he asked.

He said the committee should be willing to discuss tax policy and hold Republican officials accountable when government growth appears inconsistent with conservative principles.

Opposition to data centers

Lloyd also repeated his opposition to locating data centers in Warren County.

He said he has spoken against them before the Front Royal Town Council and Warren County Planning Commission and has argued publicly that localities may have legal authority to ban or tightly restrict them.

“They don’t fit in this community,” Lloyd said.

He argued that large data centers would conflict with Warren County’s natural setting and tourism economy.

“Nobody’s going to come from a data center to visit another data center,” he said.

Lloyd said he supported a local Republican committee resolution opposing data centers, but the measure did not pass.

He argued that such issues demonstrate why the committee must take positions on local policy rather than limiting itself to campaign work.

Professional and political background

Lloyd said he believes his legal, government, and policy experience would benefit the local committee.

He began practicing law in 2008 and previously worked on pro-life, religious liberty, and family policy issues.

He later served in the first Trump administration, where he worked on immigration and border-related matters.

Lloyd said he also spent years working in Washington and with a Fortune 1000 company, giving him experience with government, policy, and large organizations.

“I’ve worked in the swamp for 15 years, and you learn some things,” he said. “You learn what to do and what not to do.”

He also served on the Front Royal Town Council and has worked in private legal practice.

Lloyd said his interest in the chairmanship is rooted in service rather than personal advancement.

“This is the community that I chose to stay in,” he said. “It’s where my family has grown up. It’s where my friends are.”

He said he wants to use his experience to help Republican candidates, current officeholders, and local voters.

“I just want to be a resource to the local Republican committee,” Lloyd said.

Election set for Aug. 5

The Aug. 5 election will determine whether Lloyd or Silek becomes chairman of the Warren County Republican Committee following months of disagreement over the February mass meeting and the committee’s future direction.

Voting will take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Warren County Health and Human Services complex, 465 W. 15th St. in Front Royal.

Participants will be able to register, vote, and leave without attending a full mass meeting.

More information about Lloyd’s candidacy and preregistration materials is available through his campaign website.