“You’re going to get to see him at events. We’ll have availability in the future,” Brian Gottstein said. “Right now with all that’s going on we just want to make our statement and get the main points of what this campaign is about out there right now.”

During his news conference, Brat said that “contrary to media reports that we’ve been on vacation for a week, we’ve actually been trying to answer the thousands of emails and phone calls that we’ve received since last Tuesday.”

He announced that the campaign manager who oversaw his stunning upset of the House majority leader in the primary, Zachary Werrell, would stay on to help during the transition.

The manager for the transition, Amanda Chase, served as political director for Cantor in 2010, and worked a year later on Matthew P. Geary’s bid for Henrico County commonwealth’s attorney.

“To her credit, months ago, when I was the underdog, she stated publicly that I was a credible candidate and contender in this race,” Brat said.

Brat said the campaign is adding staff and that “most of our people are right here from our region, and that’s by design.” The Henrico resident said support is coming from “all corners of the Republican Party — and beyond.”