Former Rep. Scott Taylor, R-2nd, officially announced Monday that he is dropping his U.S. Senate bid and will seek to reclaim the U.S. House seat that he lost to Democrat Elaine Luria in 2018.

In an interview on conservative talk show host John Fredericks’ radio show, Taylor said he believes Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is vulnerable, but that many voters have encouraged him to again seek the Virginia Beach-based congressional seat that he held from 2017 to 2019.

Read the full report by Andrew Cain from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Former Congressman Scott Taylor plans to run for his old congressional seat. He made the announcement on the John Fredericks Radio Show on Monday morning, but talked with News 3 about his decision as well.

“I’m an imperfect guy, but I have a record of accomplishment in fighting for the community,” he said.

Taylor’s announcement sets up a potential rematch in the second congressional district, where he was ousted in 2018 by Democrat Elaine Luria. Taylor acknowledges a scandal over his campaign’s efforts to get a third-party candidate on the ballot contributed to his loss. A campaign staffer was indicted for election fraud.

“I have to claim responsibility for failures in my own judgment and my campaign last time. We can’t promise victory this time, but we can promise a campaign that’s worthy of that,” he said.

Taylor previously had said he planned to run for U.S. Senate but changes his plans by running for the House seat in Congress instead. He admits it may be politically easier to re-win his old seat as opposed to potentially challenging Mark Warner. “It would be dishonest to say no,” he said when asked how those political calculations factored into his decision.

Read the full report at WTKR.com.

Truncated article from The Roanoke Times.

Some social conservatives — who had favored the Republican candidate Riggleman narrowly defeated in the nomination contest — set to work criticizing him on social media and blogs and launching censure efforts across the district.

“If you think I care, or you think I’m going to kowtow or you think I’m going to crawl on my hands and knees so some blogs like me or a couple committee members, people have another thing coming,” Riggleman fired back on a radio program with John Fredericks, a Trump supporter who has backed gay marriage for decades.

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. even waded into the debate, endorsing Riggleman amid the blowback, saying party activists were “attempting to exclude you and others because of social issues. I was told they are assuming that because you officiated a gay marriage recently, that you are not socially conservative.”

Riggleman’s been talking a lot these days about Republicans needing to be a “big tent” party if they want to survive.

Read the full report from The Roanoke Times.