George Allen's tea-party problems

RICHMOND, VA - After hearing pitches from the candidates at the Republican primary debate, business owner and debate panelist Tim Ciampaglio, who was undecided before the debate, has endorsed Jamie Radtke's campaign for U.S. Senate over George Allen. During the GOP debate, Radtke assailed Allen for being "part of the problem" while she focused on his record of massive deficit spending and voting to add trillions to the debt last time in was the U.S. Senate.


The Virginian Pilot reports: "The Radtke campaign is putting out the word that Tim Ciampaglio, a retired Coast Guard commander and owner of Pharos Group Inc., a small government contracting company in Stafford County, was so impressed by Radtke's performance that he approached her afterward and signed on to her campaign."  

Virginian Pilot
Debate panelist backs tea-party Senate candidate

Tea-party candidate Jamie Radtke got an unexpected endorsement after last Friday's Republican U.S. Senate debate in Virginia Beach - from one of the panelists who posed questions to the debaters.  

The Radtke campaign is putting out the word that Tim Ciampaglio, a retired Coast Guard commander and owner of Pharos Group Inc., a small government contracting company in Stafford County, was so impressed by Radtke's performance that he approached her afterward and signed on to her campaign.  

Radtke took an aggressive stance in the debate, repeatedly attacking former governor and senator George Allen as "part of the problem" of out-of-control federal spending.  

Ciampaglio said today he was neutral in the four-person GOP Senate race before the debate, the second of three leading up to a June 12 primary.  

"I'm an independent thinker," he said. "Jamie's an independent thinker, too. She represents new blood. It's old-school politics that has landed this country where it is today."  

Allen, widely considered the favorite in the race, has collected endorsements from the American Conservative Union and the National Rifle Association.  

Meanwhile, another candidate in the race, state Del. Bob Marshall of Prince William County, was touting the acceptance of his "friend of the court" brief Wednesday by a federal judge in New York who blocked provisions in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act authorizing indefinite detention of American citizens on suspicion of terrorism.  

Read entire story here: http://hamptonroads.com/2012/05/debate-panelist-backs-teaparty-senate-candidate