I urge the readers of The Farmville Herald to vote for Republican Mark Peake for Virginia’s Senate District 22 on Tuesday.

Mark is pro-jobs, pro-family, pro-life and pro-Second Amendment. Mark is the proven conservative and the only battle-tested candidate. Mark enjoys the endorsement of our new congressman, Tom Garrett.

Senate District 22 stretches from Goochland to Lynchburg, and it covers many rural counties in between, including Cumberland, Buckingham and Prince Edward. It is an expansive district that requires districtwide support and a districtwide campaign. While it might be nice to elect a Prince Edward native son, it is wistful to think that Prince Edward alone can impact the outcome of this election.

Mark has campaigned hard and earned the support of conservative voters and Republican leaders all across Senate District 22. Moreover, Mark went through the time-honored and rigorous elective process of securing the nomination at a convention.

An independent candidate is not by definition an independent leader. However, many Republican legislators — Garrett, for instance — have demonstrated their independence by going against their leadership for the right cause. Mark will stay true to his conservative principles if he feels the leadership is wrong on an issue.

Enacting legislation requires a team effort, and an independent member of a legislative body would necessarily have to caucus with one of the two legislative teams — Republican or Democrat.

Common sense dictates and history demonstrates that independent legislators are seldom effective at advancing and/or gaining support for their legislative initiatives.

This is a special election to fill the vacancy created because Garrett was elected to Congress. However, it is a really special election because the outcome will determine which political party will hold the majority in the Virginia Senate. An independent candidate might caucus with the Republicans, but that is not certain.

But one thing is certain: In the most recent gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races in Virginia, the third-party candidates took enough votes from the Republican candidates to secure Democratic victories.

Don’t throw away your vote on Tuesday. Vote for the only conservative candidate who has worked hard all across the district and in Prince Edward County to earn your trust and confidence.

Vote for the only candidate who can work with other Republicans to stop the anti-jobs, anti-life and anti-gun policies of the current governor. Vote for Mark Peake for Virginia’s Senate District 22.

Paul D. Hoffman lives in Prospect and is a retired government executive/business leader, the publicist for Hope Springs Media, a conservation consultant and an avid outdoorsman. His email address is paul@pauldhoffman.com.