Hal Parrish withdraws from Virginia House race

Manassas Mayor Hal Parrish has withdrawn his primary challenge for the seat representing the 50th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. That means Republican incumbent Del. Jackson Miller will avoid a June primary as he dives back into his re-election race after losing his bid to become Prince William County’s clerk of circuit court. 

In March, Parrish quietly filed to run for the seat once held by his father. On April 20, Parrish submitted a letter to the state Board of Elections withdrawing his candidacy, according to Manassas voter registrar Susan Reed.

That decision comes just two days after Miller lost in a special election for the clerk’s seat to Democrat Jackie Smith. Miller previously filed to run for re-election in the middle of his run for clerk, meaning he could remain in the race against Democrat Lee Carter.

Neither Parrish nor Miller immediately returned requests for comment.

Reed says the timing of all this will result in an unusual quirk when voters head to the polls in June — though there won’t be a primary in the race, both Miller and Parrish’s names will appear on the ballot.

“The ballots were already printed before all this happened,” Reed said. “The same thing would’ve happened if Jackson had won the clerk’s race, even though he couldn’t run for re-election. We’ll just need to post signs and let people know.”

Reed added that state elections officials have yet to officially confirm Parrish’s withdrawal from the race, and are reviewing his letter now. But she’s confident that, even if state lawyers should find a problem with how it’s worded, the longtime mayor will simply submit another letter to bow out of the race.

Parrish hardly pursued his bid in the 50th vigorously — he made no public statements about his candidacy, and reported neither raising nor spending any money through March 31 on campaign finance forms.

His decision to step away pits Miller squarely against Carter, and the House majority whip has a hefty cash advantage in the race. According to state records, he boasts nearly $201,000 in his campaign account through March 31, even after transferring hundreds of thousands to his clerk campaign committee. By contrast, Carter reported having about $9,800 in the bank.

Nevertheless, Carter feels confident about his chances in a one-on-one race.

“I was looking forward to a contest against whoever won the primary, but the mayor decided to focus on issues here in Manassas,” Carter said. “And I feel like my chances are great. Jackson just spent half his war chest on his race for clerk, and his donors probably aren’t pleased.”