Tareq Salahi Enters Virginia Governor's Race
Alleged White House party crasher kicked off his campaign for governor last week.
Tareq Salahi, who became famous after allegedly going to a White House dinner party without an invitation in 2009, kicked off his campaign to crash the Virginia Governorship last week.
Salahi officially began his campaign with a cookout this past weekend at his home in Linden, according to the Loudoun Times.
Salahi is calling his campaign “Crash the Vote,” a reference to the stunt he pulled with his wife at the time, Michaele Salahi, when they slunk past secret service agents and into a White House dinner party for India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Salahis have stayed in the spotlight since. Michaele appeared on the Bravo reality TV series The Real Housewives of D.C. in 2010, and the two filed for what became a messy divorce in September 2011.
The Loudoun Times reports that Salahi, a winemaker and former owner of Oasis Winery in Hume, Va., supports American troops, employment for Virginia residents and limiting the role of government in business.
Film crews were present at the event and documentary about the campaign, "In It To Win It," could air after the 2013 campaign. In a press release announcing the documentary, Salahi said, "I’m at a point in my life where I want to make a difference beyond what I was able do for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Wolf Trap and the three Virginia Governors I have already served. Being the next Governor of Virginia will do just that."
Salahi served on the Virginia Wine Board under Gov. Jim Gilmore; he served as chairman of the Virginia Wine Tourism Office under Gov. Mark Warner; and, he was a board member of the Virginia Tourism Corporation under Gov. Tim Kaine.
CrashTheVote.com redirects to Salahi's Facebook-based campaign website.
Others have also officially or unofficially thrown their hats into the Virginia governor's race, including Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Democratic National Committee chairperson Terry McAuliffe.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, his campaign headquarters office is in Arlington.
Samuel Bronkowitz
6:23 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Be sure to google "Salahi Scams." Check out his charity fruads and his wine country tour scam. Look up all his unpaid court judgments in the Virginia District Court online case information under Warren and Faquier counties.Be sure to read about how he dragged his mother through court trying to seize more than his 5% share of the family business only stopping when they both ran out of money for lawyers. Check out how he used the winery as his personal ATM machine to live his lavish lifestyle driving it into bankruptcy and forcing his mother to file personal bankruptcy. Ya, he'd be a good governor. Check out this video which gives a good background: http://youtu.be/uxiqXmbvvuA
The Analyst
5:23 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
This guy is and always has been about marketing himself, and when you consider the types of "leaders" we currently have (ahem...a certain Cathy Hudgins comes to mind) it should signal the downfall of democracy in the U.S..
Our beloved Cathy, who sits at her desk and ponders, at the expense of every resident in Reston, "How can I ensure that the developers make a killing," ran unopposed, as have many of our "leaders" who seem to be able to to cater to the developer elites with no regard to the residents.
You get what you pay for, or in this case, fail to recognize a problem. This guy is just one more opportunist that can likely be propped up with special interest money and possibly even win if residents continue to keep their heads in the sand.
smwance
10:59 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
"Crash the Vote"...sounds like a campaign motto that a scammer like him would use.
SoSueMe
12:54 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
This isn't about Tareq running for governor, it's about Tareq running for campaign funds for the next 14 months. Follow the money. He has managed to get his ex-wife's lover, Neal Schon to pay his mortgage for a year. (http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/09/tareq-salahi-journey-neal-schon-lawsuit-settled-michaele) but he needs spending money. This guy's a deadbeat and con artist. After this election is over, I predict Salahi will start a church. Remember, you read it here first.
Skip Endale
4:45 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
I think he is the perfect governor, now he just needs a T-party side kick.
Bird watcher
2:54 pm on Monday, December 10, 2012
How about the still unresolved scam related to the polo event in Leesburg several years ago. Scott Peck wrote a book entitled "People of the Lie". He must have had the Salahi's in mind!
Bird watcher
2:58 pm on Monday, December 10, 2012
Given the lack of comment, it may be that few think him worthy of interest. Too bad salahi doesn't feel the same way about himself!