Disgraced Delegate Joe Morrissey is once again attempting to persuade Virginia voters he is worthy of elected office.
Morrissey — or “Fightin’ Joe” as he’s come to be known for his confrontational persona — announced he’s launching a primary campaign to challenge sitting Democrat State Senator Rosalyn Dance of Petersburg.
Plying potential voters with free food and music from a DJ, Morrissey’s kickoff event took place at the Satellite Restaurant in Richmond.
According to Morrissey, he had over double the minimum of 250 signatures needed to make the ballot.
Morrissey’s entrance to the race marks the latest twist in his public life, one often marked with controversy and salacious details.
First elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2008, Morrissey made national headlines in January 2013 for brandishing an AK-47 semiautomatic rifle on the Floor of the House of Delegates while dangerously holding the firearm with his thumb inside the trigger guard.
In addition to displaying poor trigger discipline, Morrissey had his license to practice law revoked twice and has been disbarred from practicing law at both a state and federal level for ethical misconduct, and served a six-month jail sentence for an inappropriate relationship with a 17 year-old intern in his office that resulted in the birth of a child. Morrissey later married the intern.
Since resigning his seat in the House of Delegates as a result of the scandal, Morrissey won the special election in January, 2015 to fill the very seat he vacated, only to resign again in March of the same year to launch his first attempt to unseat Senator Dance.
After dropping his primary challenge against Dance, Morrissey campaigned to be mayor of Richmond in 2016 but fell short, gaining only 21% of the vote.
The question now is whether “Fightin’ Joe” has what it takes to unseat Dance this time around.
What do you think?
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