Local Virginia Republican Chairman “Distraught” Over Election Results, Calls for Change in Leadership 

The Daily Signal’s Virginia correspondent and radio talk show host Joe Thomas sat down with the Loudoun County Republican Party Chairman Scott Pio to discuss the statewide GOP loss.  

Pio, who has watched the Republican Party struggle in Virginia for years, is now calling for change. 

He identified four major problems the party faced during the 2025 statewide election, which led to the Democrats sweeping the ticket 10 days ago. 

The first problem, Pio said, was that the party “failed to do any outreach.” He mentioned the 2 million immigrants in Virginia who have received citizenship in the past two decades who could have been targeted voters.  

“The [Republican Party of Virginia] data is, frankly, terrible,” Pio said, pointing to the second flaw.  

“The local Loudoun County Republican Committee has spent thousands and thousands of dollars of purchasing new and accessible data that the RPV has never provided nor decided to purchase themselves,” he explained, noting that decision in Loudoun was made under his leadership.  

Pio argued that the data the Republican National Committee provide to the state are not effective enough for the party to understand voters, which he said is a critical part of outreach efforts. 

“The cost [of reliable data] looks roughly about $40,000…if you’re not willing to spend $40,000 on data then what the heck are you doing with your entire budget if you can’t spend and understand your voters better?” he said.  

To make reliable data more affordable, Pio suggests cutting high-cost of political consultants. These consultants typically handle literature, social media, text messaging, and yard signs, which he said drive campaign costs up significantly. 

Thomas also asked Pio about his recent call for a change in state party leadership. Pio took to social media this week urging state Sen. Mark Peake to step down as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.  

“I don’t care who takes over the job,” Pio said. “Whether it be me or somebody else, but they need to be an activist and they need to be an organizer. They need to plow through all this dereliction of the past two decades and functionally change the way they’re doing things.”  

However, it does not appear Peake will be stepping down any time soon. 

“If Republicans don’t turn out,” Pio said, “this will be a blue state for the next decade or two. We have lost a generation of Republicans in Virginia.”

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