Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has not received an invite to the Conservative Political Action Conference, the largest annual gathering of grassroots conservatives in the nation that is set to kick off in about a week.
The snub puts Mr. McDonnell, who has come under fire for supporting a sales tax increase as part of a transportation deal, in the same boat as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate who the American Conservative Union, the host of CPAC, said did not earn an invite because of his stiff criticism he leveled at House Republicans over Superstorm Sandy spending earlier this year.
The news that Mr. McDonnell will not be attending CPAC coincides with the announcement that Donald Trump, the real estate mogul and television reality show producer, has received a slot to speak.
“Donald Trump is an American patriot and success story with a massive following among small government conservatives,” ACU Chairman Al Cardenas said in a press release. “I look forward to welcoming him back to the CPAC stage next week. Mr. Trump’s previous CPAC appearance was hugely popular among our attendees and we expect it will be even more popular this year.”
The group did not release a statement regarding Mr. McDonnell
