Va. delegates in primary fight head to court after shoving accusation

By Michelle Boorstein
September 25, 2022 at 6:29 p.m. EDT



Virginia Dels. Wren Williams (R-Patrick) and Marie March (R-Floyd). (Allison Lee Isley for The Washington Post; Steve Helber/AP)

Two southwestern Virginia GOP delegates pitted against each other by recent redistricting had harsh words Sunday after one pressed charges against the other for an alleged “shoulder slamming” at a regional Republican fundraiser.

Dels. Marie March (R-Floyd) and Wren Williams (R-Patrick) were elected last fall, but the state’s redistricting plan has them facing off in next year’s primary for voters in Carroll, Floyd and Patrick counties.

According to the lawmakers, they were at the annual 9th District Republican Celebration on Saturday night in Wytheville. As Williams and his wife were exiting the party, through a group of people, his body touched March’s.

He said that it was accidental and that he didn’t even realize it was March, and that he apologized immediately. ... She said he intentionally bumped her and had been picking fights with friends of hers at the event all night.

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By Michelle Boorstein
Michelle Boorstein has been a religion reporter since 2006. She has covered the shifting blend of religion and politics under four U.S. presidents, chronicled the rise of secularism in the United States, and broken financial and sexual scandals from the synagogue down the street to the Mormon Church in Utah to the Vatican. Twitter https://twitter.com/mboorstein