I arrived with my father and two sisters at the Richmond Marriott around 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 3. After six months of anxious waiting, the Virginia Republican Convention was finally upon us.

We rode the elevator up to Suite 1718, which was already festooned with teal and yellow Farris signs and stickers. A group of about 30 volunteers wearing Farris T-shirts congregated, and we were given instructions for our first official campaign event: the Sign War. At 6:00 p.m. the doors to the Richmond Coliseum would open to let in twenty workers from each campaign in a mad rush to put up the most signs in all the most visible places.

While we were waiting, we lined up rows of signs outside the Coliseum and stuck tape on the ground, on our clothes, and in our hair. We even managed to get some tape on the backs of the signs, and by the time any workers from other campaigns showed up, we had hundreds ready. Then all the workers were divided into ten teams of two people and were taken on an orientation tour of the Coliseum. Each team was assigned a specific spot on which to tape signs. By the time we got back outside, I was starting to get the impression that the Sign War was a crucial moment in history and would decide who won the nomination.

Actually it was just an insane rush to get dirty hands, paper cuts, and sweaty all over. I loved every minute of it! We climbed up in crannies and crags that made me shudder when I saw them again the next day. By 9:00, when we had to leave, Farris signs were everywhere.

The next day, June 4th, is still a blur in my memory. It was a day of stickers, stickers, buttons, and more stickers. It was the first official day of the convention, where delegates from all over the state arrived to register and become walking billboards for their favorite candidates. Dad’s campaign sold Farris T-shirts, hats, and “I like Mike” buttons.

That night, each campaign held a hospitality party. Earlier in the campaign my father’s liberal opponent, Bobbie Kilberg, had falsely accused my dad of trying to censor books like Cinderella and The Wizard of Oz, so the Farris party featured TVs playing both. Lots of children and great food were a sharp contrast to the other suites with blaring music, alcohol, cigarette smoke, and more than a few tipsy people.

The main job of the Farris children that night was to he charming. We smiled like crazy, going into the restroom every hour or so to massage our faces back to their normal position. When my head hit the pillow that night, I fell right to sleep and didn’t wake up until about thirty seconds later when my sister Katie announced that the lock on our room door didn’t work. When the technician finally left forty minutes later, we all went to sleep. Finally, Saturday, June 5 came. This was the big day when the delegates would cast their votes to nominate the Republican candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. Christy, Katie, and I were given the day off to help our mother and grandparents get our five younger siblings ready and to the coliseum by 10:00 a.m.

This duty performed, all we had to do was sit in the Farris box seats and wait for the nominating speeches to begin. The baseball-stadium like coliseum was beginning to fill up with the 13,109 delegates that attended making it the largest political convention in the history of the free world.

The speeches began and during the attorney general candidates’ speeches, our family left to gather backstage, waiting to go on after Dad’s turn.

The lieutenant governor candidates had only 15 minutes to complete their entire presentations. My father had three people give the nominating and seconding speeches before him. The first time my dad’s name was mentioned, the crowd erupted into applause.

When Dad finally got up to speak, he had a six-minute speech prepared and four minutes left to give it. He managed to deliver and time it perfectly, though, and at the very end of the speech our entire family climbed up to the stage and stood with Dad, looking out on a sea of Farris signs and screaming people. Dad got what everyone (including the media) said was the loudest, most enthusiastic reception of the day.

After Dad came Bobbie Kilberg. Her reception was decidedly wimpier. In fact, several times during her nominating speeches, the speakers were booed for things they were saying. (One woman who made the statement “women vote for women” got it bad.)

After the governor candidates’ speeches, the voting began. During the two hours the voting took, we sat nervously in the box, decorating it with our bitten-off fingernails. Several hours later after James Gilmore had won the race for the attorney general nomination, the Moment of Truth came. Each of the eleven districts announced its figures in the lieutenant governor’s race. Dad had the majority in all but one! I honestly thought someone in our group was going to fall out of the box after the Eleventh District’s figures were announced - we were so excited!

After George Allen won the governor’s nomination, it was time for the acceptance speeches. Our family went on stage with Dad once again. It was truly a great moment - the kids were jumping up and down, the crowd was cheering, and Dad was beaming.

We finally made it through the congratulating crowds back to the hotel, and it was then that the Tidal Wave of Tiredness struck. My back was aching; my feet were sore; and my head was spinning. By dinner time, the first meal of the day, I was ready to drop. Somehow I made it through the victory party that night.

Sunday, June 6th, dawned bright and glorious, but I didn’t see it. I slept till noon. After stuffing the mounds of clothing that were carpeting the floor

into various suitcases, 1 attended the final Farris campaign staff meeting of the convention. Everyone gathered in good old Suite 1718 and shared stories of the weekend we had just been through.

The meeting sounded something like this:

“We should advertise on TV for the Farris Campaign Diet - Don’t eat or sleep for four days and lose ten pounds!”

“All I ate yesterday was a blueberry muffin.”

“Stop bragging about your lavish meals!”

“You all did a terrific job.”

But the glory of the nominating convention is quickly fading as we turn our attention to the final showdown in November against Democratic incumbent Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer, Jr. As one Farris staffer in the meeting put it, “Do you guys realize this is only the end of the beginning?”

As the campaign adjusts to its new status as an official statewide campaign, we need your prayer and support more than ever. Until next time, this is Jayme Farris from the campaign trail.

Help Mike Today!

On principle Mike Farris is running a debt-free campaign. His Democratic opponent is a millionaire, car salesman who has yet to pay his debts from the last campaign. New Attitude urges its readers to make a contribution to Mike’s campaign today. Mike has been fighting for the rights of home schoolers for over a decade. The time has come for us to show him our appreciation, and support him in his run for office. Put $5 dollars in the mail today; if you can, send more. Nothing will change in our country until we start supporting Godly candidates. Mail contributions to~ Mike Farris for Lt. Governor, P.O. Box 479, Hamilton, VA 22068.