The day after Election Day, Virginia Business’ six Political Roundtable panelists hashed out what they think the next year will be like in a Richmond where Republicans are roaring back to power.
Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin, a first-time political candidate and multimillionaire former private equity CEO, defeated former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, leading a GOP sweep of Virginia’s three statewide offices. Republicans also will return to power in the state House of Delegates after two years of Democratic control that led to a wave of progressive legislation. This year’s elections were a triumph for Republicans and a nadir for Democrats, who now control the Virginia Senate by the thinnest of margins.
Our experts who took part in the 15th annual Virginia Business Political Roundtable at the Richmond Marriott on Nov. 3 included Becky Bromley-Trujillo, research director of Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Civic Leadership; Barry DuVal, president and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce; James W. “Jim” Dyke Jr., senior state government relations adviser with McGuireWoods Consulting LLC; Stephen Farnsworth, director of the University of Mary Washington’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies; Chris Saxman, executive director of Virginia FREE; and Amanda Wintersieck, assistant professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Sponsored by Cox Communications Inc., the event was moderated by Virginia Business Editor and Chief Content Officer Richard Foster.
The 2021 election results made clear that “the tide goes in and the tide goes out” in Virginia, observed Farnsworth. “You’re looking at an environment where this was a purple state that didn’t like Trump, so it looked kind of blue for a while. That tide made us think perhaps … that Virginia had changed in a fundamental way. This election was much more of a return to the norm.”
Also, McAuliffe made a few harmful missteps, particularly stating during a debate that parents should not determine what their children study at school.
“The minute I heard that comment,” Dyke said, “I knew … that this was going to be an uphill battle.”
Saxman called McAuliffe’s comment “second only to ‘macaca’ as the worst moment” in a Virginia election, referring to former Sen. George Allen’s racially offensive gaffe in the 2006 U.S. Senate race, which Allen lost to political novice Jim Webb.
Bromley-Trujillo noted that today’s elections are increasingly impacted by national politics. “I’d say that, for Youngkin, focusing on education was very rational. Tapping into that resentment that people felt, related to education and the parents feeling a loss of control. Critical race theory is not the same as that, but it’s related to that.”
Wintersieck added that the fact that critical race theory — or at least the idea of white children being taught about racism in school — was in the national news for months meant that Youngkin did not have to introduce the concept to voters. “It was low-hanging fruit in many ways.”
Dyke argued that McAuliffe seemed to take Black voters for granted: “It was a general feeling that, ‘They always are going to vote for us, so I don’t have to really say anything to address that community — not until the last 10 days of the campaign when I go to every Black church in the state.’”
Had state Sen. Jennifer McClellan won the Democratic gubernatorial primary, becoming the first Black woman nominated by a major party for the governorship, “that would have excited not only minority communities but women,” Dyke added.
Youngkin also benefited from his deep pockets, good timing and messaging, Saxman said. “As that all came together, it really became a perfect storm for Democrats. It still was a very close outcome. The many, many House races were exceptionally close. Both caucuses are going to have to deal with that reality.” Farnsworth noted that voters in 2021 were more likely to vote for candidates from one party, rather than “one from column A and another from column B,” as in earlier Virginia elections.
Commenting on Youngkin’s campaign platform, DuVal said he expects to see legislation passed to reduce or eliminate grocery and gas taxes, as well as a greater emphasis on economic development. “Virginia has missed out on some huge projects that were supported by labor, education and businesses. The main reason is [because] Virginia has not … invested in site development that could host these large manufacturers.”
Wintersieck noted that earlier Democratic-led legislation such as marijuana legalization and high-speed rail expansion, as well as restoring felons’ voting rights, could be reversed in the 2022 General Assembly session.
A few key delegates’ races have not yet been called, but with Republicans poised to regain majority control of the state House of Delegates, Southwest Virginia lawmaker Terry Kilgore has announced he will run for speaker if his party holds its seven-seat lead. Del. Todd Gilbert, the current House minority leader, confirmed Wednesday night he is running as well.
The House GOP caucus is expected to make its decision on the speakership on Nov. 14.
In a tweet just before 1 p.m. Wednesday, Kilgore wrote, “I am announcing my intention to run for speaker. It is time for fresh leadership and leadership that will keep and grow our new majority. Let’s get to work!”
The House Republican campaign chair for this year’s races, Kilgore represents the state’s 1st District near Cumberland Gap, a position he’s held since 1994. He is the twin brother of Jerry Kilgore, the state’s former attorney general and 2005 Republican nominee for governor, a race he lost to Democrat Tim Kaine.
Terry Kilgore unsuccessfully sought the minority leader position in 2019 after his party lost control of the House in a blue wave election, a leadership race won by Gilbert. The previous Republican speaker was former Del. Kirk Cox, who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP’s gubernatorial nomination this spring.
Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Cumberland Gap
The presumptive speaker — if the GOP takes control of the House — would be Gilbert, an attorney and representative from Shenandoah County. Gilbert said in a text message Wednesday that he is running for speaker.
Gilbert declared that the Republican Party had reclaimed the House in the early hours of Wednesday, flipping the needed six seats to snare a 51 to 49 majority, but at least four seats remained competitive and were not yet declared by The Associated Press as of late Wednesday afternoon.
Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, a Fairfax County Democrat who made history in 2020 as Virginia’s first female and Jewish speaker, said in a statement Wednesday that some races are still up in the air. “While the results across the commonwealth were not what we were hoping for last night, we have several races that will determine the majority that are still within the margins with votes still to be counted until Friday. We are going to make sure every Virginian’s voice is heard and every vote is counted.”
Absentee ballots can be accepted until noon on Friday, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. As of 1:30 p.m., the Virginia Public Access Project reported that with current margins, Democrats had held on to 48 delegate seats, losing seven to Republicans, who won 52 seats.
Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah
Democrats held a 55 to 45 majority in the House of Delegates the last two years, gains made over the past two election cycles since 2017, and with a Democratic-held Senate and Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam in office, the party was able to pass some of the state’s most progressive legislation in its history, including ending the death penalty, increasing the minimum wage, enacting a comprehensive voting rights policy and legalizing marijuana and casinos.
However, it remains to be seen how a prospective Republican majority in the House will impact some legislation that will require votes in 2022 and beyond, including allowing a commercial marijuana market and reaching a $15-per-hour minimum wage. The Virginia State Senate still has a 21-19 Democratic majority, with its next elections in 2023, but now Republican Lt. Gov.-elect Winsome Sears will hold the powerful Senate president seat, casting tiebreaking votes when necessary. It’s likely that the more moderate Democrats in the Senate could be convinced to support some Republican-backed measures, particularly with regard to jobs, education and economic development, so Sears could potentially decide numerous bills in the upcoming General Assembly session.
Another wrinkle: Virginia’s legislative districts will be redrawn by the Virginia Supreme Court after the bipartisan Virginia Redistricting Commission failed to come to an agreement earlier this fall. It’s possible that once new districts are drawn based on 2020 U.S. Census data, new elections for delegates’ seats will be held next year to reflect the new map. That matter is up to three federal judges, and depending on the outcomes, Virginia could see yet more changes in legislative power in another 12 months.
Like the top of the ticket, Virginia’s attorney general and lieutenant governor races were close, but Republicans were ultimately victorious. The party appeared headed to regain control of the Virginia House of Delegates, but The Associated Press said Wednesday morning that several races were too close to call.
However, the state GOP, which swept back into power in Virginia after more than a decade of statewide electoral losses, claimed it had won six seats in the 100-seat house, which would give the party a two-seat margin over Democrats, which held a 55-45 majority for the past two years. The AP had not yet called four of those races as of early Wednesday, though.
Down-ticket statewide races pitted Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring against Republican Del. Jason Miyares, and Republican Winsome Sears vs. Democratic Del. Hala Ayala for the lieutenant governor post, in which either candidate would be the first woman of color to serve in the position.
With 99.7% of Election Day votes and 91% of all early votes counted, Sears held a 51.1% majority over Ayala’s 48.9%. Miyares had 50.87% of the vote, over Herring’s 49.13%, echoing the governor’s race, in which Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin held a 51.07% lead to former Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s 48.23%. Third-party progressive candidate Princess Blanding had 0.69% of the vote after polling at about 1%.
Sears, who was born in Jamaica and became a naturalized U.S. citizen after serving in the Marine Corps, will have significant power as tiebreaker in the Virginia State Senate, where Democrats hold a 21-19 majority. The legislative body, which is elected every four years and faces its next election in 2023, may represent Democrats’ only hope to defeat some GOP initiatives.
Sears declared victory early Wednesday, but Miyares did not take the stage at state Republicans’ celebration, where Youngkin declared he would deliver tax breaks, economic development and jobs, as well as charter schools and more parental involvement in children’s education.
Many incumbent Democratic delegates faced opponents in primaries and in the general election. Some were defeated, including Del. Chris Hurst, D-Blacksburg, who lost by 10 points to Republican Jason Ballard in the 12th District.
Miyares
Democrats regained control of the state legislature in 2020 for the first time in nearly 30 years, an outcome that resulted in part from McAuliffe’s campaigning and fundraising for Democratic delegate candidates after he left office in 2018, as well as demographic shifts in Virginia. With a larger, younger and more liberal Northern Virginia population and shrinking numbers in the more conservative western and Southern regions of the state, the state turned largely blue.
Since 2020, led by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, the state has been widely acknowledged as the South’s most progressive state governing body, having enacted sweeping measures, including abolishment of the death penalty to legalizing marijuana and raising the minimum wage. Now, measures that must come up for additional votes — such as commercialization of marijuana — could be in jeopardy.
House leadership would also change if Republicans take control, with House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert of Shenandoah likely to become speaker, replacing Del. Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax County, the first woman and first Jew to hold the post.
Virginia Democrats’ progressive agenda of the past two years is guaranteed to come to a screeching halt, as control in Richmond will now be dominated by Republicans.
After a nine-figure avalanche of TV commercials, slick mailers and high-powered political rallies, The Associated Press declared Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin as Virginia’s 74th governor Wednesday, leading a Republican sweep of statewide offices and the party’s possible regain of control in the House of Delegates.
A political newcomer and former co-CEO of Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm The Carlyle Group, Youngkin held a nearly three-point lead just after midnight over former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, his Democratic opponent. The AP called the race for Youngkin at 12:40 a.m. Wednesday.
With 99.8% of Election Day votes and 91.9% of early votes counted, Youngkin had 51.01% of the vote, compared with 48.29% for McAuliffe.
Taking the stage to the guitar chords of the ’70s rock gospel hit “Spirit in the Sky,” a jubilant Youngkin promised to eliminate Virginia’s grocery tax, double residents’ standard tax deduction, pump more funding into law enforcement and allow charter schools across the commonwealth.
“We will not be a commonwealth of low expectations,” Youngkin said. “We will be a commonwealth of high expectations. Friends, all of that has changed tonight.”
He did not refer to his opponent at all during his 12-minute victory speech.
McAuliffe conceded the race in a statement Wednesday morning, congratulating Youngkin on his win. “While last night we came up short, I am proud that we spent this campaign fighting for the values we so deeply believe in. We must protect Virginia’s great public schools and invest in our students. We must protect affordable health care coverage, raise the minimum wage faster and expand paid leave so working families have a fighting shot.”
He added, in an apparent reference to Trump-era Republicanism, “above all else, we must protect our democracy. While there will be setbacks along the way, I am confident that the longterm path of Virginia is toward inclusion, openness and tolerance for all.”
Gov. Ralph Northam issued a statement Wednesday congratulating Youngkin, thanking the state’s department of elections, registrars and poll workers for a “free and fair election with integrity.” He added, “Over the past four years, Virginia has accomplished something unique in America — delivering the most progressive agenda in the country, while also preserving traditions of fiscal responsibility and economic stewardship. Most importantly, we have made Virginia a more welcoming, open, and inclusive commonwealth. Virginians expect this critical work to continue.”
The down-ticket races also came down to the wire, although Republican lieutenant governor candidate Winsome Sears held a 51.4% lead over Democratic Del. Hala Ayala’s 48.5%, while Republican Del. Jason Miyares had 51.1% of the attorney general vote count, over 48.85% for Democratic incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring.
On Wednesday morning the AP called those races for Miyares, who will be the first Cuban American to hold statewide office, and Sears, the first Black woman to do so. Republicans appeared headed for control of the House of Delegates, although the AP said Wednesday morning several races were too close to call.
“I think they are excited about Youngkin,” Quentin Kidd, director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University, said of Republican voters. “I think they were excited by the idea that a candidate ran as effective a campaign as Youngkin ran, spoke about the issues that they cared about. Critical race theory embodied a lot of the issues that Republican voters were frustrated about related to education and the schools being shut down and all the vaccines and all that kind of stuff. Youngkin was able to energize voters — more than voters were excited about Youngkin. Let’s be honest, Youngkin was an unknown quantity until mid-summer when he spent millions of dollars to introduce himself.”
In the most expensive gubernatorial race in Virginia’s history, the two major-party candidates raised more than $117 million through Oct. 21, compared to the previous record of $64.7 million raised by Northam and his Republican opponent, Ed Gillespie. Youngkin poured at least $20 million of his own fortune into his campaign, including $3.5 million during the first three weeks of October.
McAuliffe made an appearance just after 10 p.m. Tuesday but did not concede the race, instead saying that he would “continue the fight.” He thanked supporters and stood flanked by family members and Gov. Ralph Northam. There was a delay in calling the race even as Youngkin continued to hold the lead late Tuesday, and according to the Virginia Public Access Project, as many as 30,000 absentee votes may remain to be tallied in Fairfax County.
For a state that appeared to be growing bluer in recent years, the election results were a rebuke for state Democrats after they regained political control of state government just two years earlier. Republicans gained six seats in the House of Delegates, giving the party a 51-seat majority over Democrats, which retained 49 seats. Now Democrats only hold a majority in the Virginia State Senate, which was not up for election this year.
The gubernatorial race received heavy national media attention, as it is considered a predictor for the 2022 midterm elections. President Joe Biden has seen his approval rating sink in recent months as the COVID-19 pandemic lingers and his trillion-dollar infrastructure package stalls in Congress. In Virginia, where he won the 2020 presidential election by 10 points, Biden’s approval rating stood at 45%, with 48% of respondents disapproving of his performance in an Oct. 7 poll of Virginia voters by Emerson College and Nexstar Media Group.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, speaks Tuesday in Fairfax County. He did not concede the Virginia governor’s race in his speech but trailed Republican Glenn Youngkin all night. Photo by Stephen Gosling
McAuliffe heavily relied on his previous stint as governor during much of the general campaign, touting his economic development triumphs and promising to build on the state’s two-year status as the nation’s top state for business, as selected by CNBC. McAuliffe also consistently invoked the specter of former President Donald Trump, trying to link Youngkin to the ex-president — an attempt to scare off suburban voters from the GOP candidate. Although Trump endorsed Youngkin and stated his support for the candidate in televised rallies, Youngkin mostly steered clear of the former president during the race.
In the campaign’s final weeks, as polls indicated a tighter race, McAuliffe called on high-profile Democrats — President Biden, former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris — to campaign on his behalf. Even Grammy-winning superstar Pharrell Williams made a last-minute pitch in Norfolk last week for McAuliffe, accompanying Harris.
And although Youngkin entered the race as a relatively unknown businessman who amassed a multimillion fortune as co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, he pivoted his campaigning from a focus on economic development and job creation in earlier months to culture war messaging about critical race theory and parents’ say over their children’s educations — a move McAuliffe called a “racist dog whistle” on a “Meet the Press” appearance.
Some political soothsayers said early this week that the race appeared to be breaking in the Republicans’ favor. Although the University of Virginia Center for Politics hedged its bets a bit, it ultimately rated the governor’s race as leaning Republican on Monday, a shift from “leans Democratic.”
“There’s a point in every election cycle where decided voters decide to show up and vote, and undecided voters decide which way they’re going to vote,” Chris Saxman, a former Republican delegate who is now executive director of Virginia FREE, a nonpartisan, business-focused political group, said Tuesday before polling stations closed. “It creates a break and it’s hard to turn that momentum around and then it accelerates. And I think that’s what you’re seeing right now in Virginia.”
Spurred by conservative parents’ occasionally unruly protests at school board meetings — including a Loudoun County meeting that led to a man’s arrest — Youngkin seized on McAuliffe’s rhetorical gaffe during a late September debate in which McAuliffe said, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”
Soon after that, Youngkin’s team deployed the McAuliffe quote in a campaign ad aired many times during October, followed by a commercial featuring a Fairfax County woman who said her son was given “nightmares” by reading Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Beloved,” which was assigned in his AP English class several years ago. The book deals with the story of a woman who kills her 2-year-old daughter to save her from enslavement in the 19th-century South, and includes scenes of rape and other violence.
Later reporting by The Washington Post noted that the woman, Laura Murphy, advocated for a bill passed by the General Assembly in 2016 that gave parents the right to opt out their children from reading sexually explicit books — a bill vetoed by then-Gov. McAuliffe.
“Youngkin was a very effective first-time candidate,” said Stephen Farnsworth, University of Mary Washington professor of political science and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies. “He was able to capitalize McAuliffe’s education misstep during the debate. Youngkin was also very effective at navigating the challenge of Trump. He was able to keep Trump supporters onside during the campaign, and also kept enough daylight between himself and the former president so that he could win over suburban Republicans who backed Romney but didn’t like Trump much.”
Another issue for McAuliffe: low excitement among Democratic voters. Although the former governor was the clear winner of the June Democratic primary, out-fundraising and vaulting over more diverse and lesser-known candidates, younger and more progressive voters expressed dismay over his selection as the party’s nominee — a moderate-leaning, 60-something white man. Among his primary challengers were state Sen. Jennifer McClellan and former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, either of whom could have been Virginia’s first female governor and the first Black governor of Virginia since Gov. L. Douglas Wilder was elected in 1989.
In the general election, third-party candidate Princess Blanding, a progressive who ran primarily on a platform of criminal justice reform, was polling at about 1% going into Election Day — enough to worry Democrats in the tight gubernatorial race. Her brother, high school biology teacher Marcus-David Peters, was shot and killed by a Richmond police officer in 2018 while Peters was suffering a mental health crisis.
“In many ways, politics as usual is not the best route forward for the Democrats,” Amanda Wintersieck, an assistant professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, said Tuesday before election results came in. “Princess Blanding is polling at 1 to 4%. She’s present in this election because the progressive element of the Democratic Party and the minority element … don’t know that Democratic politics are meeting their needs.”
Ambiguously funded political PACs also funded attack ads and campaigns against both major party candidates. Some of the worst mudslinging came from out-of-state groups, including the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, which acknowledged it was behind a controversial protest in Charlottesville last week during which a small group of white-shirt-and-khaki-clad people carrying tiki torches stood in pouring rain in front of a Youngkin campaign bus. It was a callback to the far right and white supremacist “Unite the Right” protesters who invaded the University of Virginia and downtown Charlottesville in August 2017, injuring several people and killing one woman when a man drove his car into a crowd downtown.
The campaign stunt, which aimed to tie Youngkin to the alt-right movement, was held the same week as jury selection for a civil trial against organizers of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville’s federal court. Many in Virginia condemned the protest, saying it made light of a traumatic experience.
“Outside spending in this race is at an all-time high,” Wintersieck added. “We’re seeing a massive influx of money from non-Virginians. It’s changing the dynamics of the race, and it’s changing the issues that are being talked about, and it’s drawn the nation’s attention to this race.”
Virginia Business Editor Richard Foster and Associate Editor Robyn Sidersky contributed to this report.
Richmond voters on Tuesday rejected the proposed $565 million ONE Casino + Resort by about a 1,200-vote margin. The project’s developer, Silver Spring, Maryland-based media company Urban One Inc., acknowledged the referendum’s defeat in a statement Wednesday, as did the city’s mayor.
With “no” votes outnumbering yeses, Richmond became the only one of five eligible economically challenged Virginia cities to turn down the opportunity to build a casino.
Billed as the nation’s only Black-owned casino and resort, the project was projected to produce an anticipated 1,300 jobs, as well as a $25.5 million upfront payment to the city government. ONE Casino + Resort was to feature 250 hotel rooms, a 3,000-seat theater, 100,000 square feet of gaming space, 15 bars and restaurants, and a 15,000-square-foot soundstage for Urban One film, TV and radio productions.
Just over 51.4% of Richmond voters said no to the measure, a 1,200-vote margin, according to Virginia Department of Elections’ unofficial results, compared to 48.56% who supported the referendum. A spokesperson for Urban One Inc. said late Tuesday the company would hold off until all votes are counted unless the numbers proved a victory impossible. That appeared to be the case Wednesday morning.
“While extremely disappointed, our entire Urban One family, my mother and business partner, Cathy Hughes, and I accept the will of city of Richmond residents,” Urban One CEO Alfred C. Liggins III said in a statement. “For the last two years, we have worked so hard to build a large and inclusive tent with our ONE Casino + Resort project. We had a lot of loyal supporters who worked tirelessly on behalf of this project and for whom we will be eternally grateful. We ran a robust campaign and strongly believe this is a huge missed opportunity for Richmond residents to have a tourist attraction that would have provided the financial resources to improve schools and roads as well as enrich the lives of its citizens. Urban One has been a part of the fabric of Richmond for the last 22 years, and we will continue our tradition of serving the community.”
The company’s stock saw a 37.6% fall in share values Wednesday afternoon, from a high of $7 Tuesday at closing to about $4.50 per share as of early Wednesday afternoon.
The media company, which owns 55 radio stations and a cable network, promised to spend $50 million on productions in Richmond and also planned to partner with Virginia Union University and Reynolds Community College for workforce training. Urban One predicted the casino would have a $5.7 billion economic impact during its first 10 years. Urban One owns four radio stations broadcast in Richmond.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney also issued a statement Wednesday morning. “From the beginning, we said the people would decide. They have spoken, and we must respect their decision. While I believe this was a $565 million opportunity lost to create well-paying jobs, expand opportunity, keep taxes low and increase revenue to meet the needs of our growing city, I am proud of the transparent and public process we went through to listen to our residents and put this opportunity before our voters.”
Richmond For All, the main opposition group to the casino, also said the numbers were too close to call late Tuesday night but struck a triumphant tone in a statement. The group later claimed victory in a statement issued just before midnight.
“I am so proud of our organization and our city,” Political Director Quinton Robbins said in the second statement. “We proved that an organized grassroots can defeat moneyed interests. We believe in knocking on doors and talking to our neighbors. That’s what made the difference.”
Robbins said that he was “extremely proud” of the city for rejecting the referendum, noting that his organization claimed victory after seeing that there were fewer provisional votes to be counted than originally thought, leaving the casino’s promoters with basically no path to victory.
The voting breakdown was primarily “no” north of the James River — in most of Richmond’s wealthier neighborhoods — and “yes” on the city’s South Side, where the casino would have been built. “I think the signal that it sends is that the South Side needs more economic development,” Robbins said.
The casino faced some pushback from residents who said it would not lead to further promised economic development and could potentially cause traffic and crime problems. However, there was more resistance against other casino proposals — including two from Bally’s and The Cordish Cos. that neighbors picketed before a city-chosen casino panel discarded those proposals early this year.
But Urban One, which teamed with Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, which owns Colonial Downs Group and the Rosie’s Gaming Emporium franchise, planned to build the casino on 100 acres owned by Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc. off Interstate 95 in a largely industrial sector of the city. Most of the “not in my backyard” complaints were quieted by that location’s selection.
However, other concerns were raised, including increased crime, traffic and doubts that the project would lead to other economic development in the area, which is among Richmond’s more impoverished districts.
Urban One pulled out all the stops in campaigning for what would have been its first majority-owned casino, spending more than $2 million on mailers and advertising. Stoney publicly backed the casino, as did Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton. A former Richmond City Council candidate, Allan-Charles Chipman, was an outspoken opponent of the casino, saying it would exploit poor people in a historically disadvantaged area of the city.
Richmond was the last of five economically challenged Virginia cities to vote on a casino referendum after the Virginia General Assembly allowed Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond to have one commercial casino per locality if approved by local voters. The other four cities passed referendums with large margins in 2020, and their casinos are expected to be finished in late 2022 and 2023.
One week out from Election Day, the Virginia governor’s race remains very close, according to two polls released this week. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic nominee, has small leads over Republican challenger Glenn Youngkin that are within the surveys’ margins of error.
Released Wednesday morning, Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Civic Leadership’s poll has McAuliffe with 49% of support among likely voters, compared with Youngkin’s 48%, meaning that third-party progressive candidate Princess Blanding’s 1% polling among voters could potentially impact the race. The CNU poll’s margin of error is 3.5%. According to Tuesday’s poll from Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government, McAuliffe has a 41% lead against Youngkin’s 38%, within the poll’s 5.03% margin of error.
Down-ticket Democrats — Attorney General Mark Herring and lieutenant governor candidate Del. Hala Ayala — also have one-point leads over their Republican counterparts, Del. Jason Miyares and Winsome Sears, reports the CNU poll, which has 5% of respondents undecided between Miyares and Herring, and 4% undecided between Ayala and Sears. Similarly, VCU reports only a one point difference between Ayala and Sears, with the Democrat carrying 36% of support. VCU shows Herring with a four-point lead over Miyares, at 39% to 35%.
VCU’s survey shows more voters who are unhappy with either candidate in all three races, as well as a lowering of support for Gov. Ralph Northam. Only 46% approve of the job he is doing, a five-point drop.
“The poll reflects a tightening of the race for the three top offices. The number of voters unhappy with either candidate for governor and the decrease in Northam’s approval rating is noteworthy,” former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said in a statement.
“McAuliffe is facing strong headwinds in a state that has historically selected governors from the party not in the White House and with a Democratic president whose approval rating is underwater,” Wason Center Research Director Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo said in a statement. “Republican voters also appear hungrier for a win and increasingly see a chance to take a statewide race for the first time since 2009.”
CNU’s poll shows that 80% of Republican likely voters are “very enthusiastic” about the election, compared with 65% of Democratic likely voters. That enthusiasm gap is a GOP advantage that has surged nine points since the Wason Center’s Oct. 8 survey.
VCU’s poll surveyed 808 adults in Virginia from Oct. 9 to Oct. 21, and when considering likely voters only, the margin of error was 6.44%. CNU polled 944 likely Virginia voters from Oct. 17 through Oct. 25.
This year’s gubernatorial race far exceeded previous campaign spending. According to the latest campaign finance reports, Youngkin and McAuliffe collectively raised $117 million through Oct. 21, compared to $64.7 million raised by Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie at this stage four years ago, the Virginia Public Access Project reported. A former CEO of The Carlyle Group, Youngkin has spent $20 million so far on his campaign, including $3.5 million in October, bringing his total fundraising to $58.8 million. McAuliffe, a prodigious Democratic Party fundraiser, raised $28 million in campaign contributions this month and has brought in a total of $58.2 million.
McAuliffe has also pulled in several marquee names to support his campaign in recent days, including President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, first lady Jill Biden and voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams. Music superstar Pharrell Williams, a Virginia Beach native, and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to appear at a campaign event for McAuliffe on Friday in Norfolk.
A new statewide poll from Virginia Commonwealth University shows Democratic former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe with a nine-point lead over Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin, a far different take than the much tighter race indicated by a Washington Post-George Mason University poll released Saturday.
VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs released its second Virginia gubernatorial poll results Monday, indicating that while McAuliffe has 43% of likely voters’ support and Youngkin only 34%, the attorney general and lieutenant governor races have gotten closer in the past month.
VCU’s August poll showed the two gubernatorial candidates in practically a dead heat, while Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring and lieutenant governor candidate Del. Hala Ayala held 10-point leads over their respective GOP opponents, Del. Jason Miyares and Winsome Sears.
“Our recent poll relative to the governor’s race and statewide elections showed interesting results,” former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said in a statement Monday. “Neither McAuliffe nor Youngkin had 50% support. The increase in the undecided and those unable to commit for either is noteworthy. The poll was taken prior to any debates. How the candidates show the people what they propose dealing with the pandemic and its effects are obvious concerns. The narrowing of the lead by the Democratic candidates in the lieutenant governor and attorney general races and increased ‘undecided’ shows ‘the jury’ may be out awhile longer.”
The poll of 811 adults in Virginia was conducted Sept. 7-15 with a margin of error of 5.35%, which increases to 6.93% when considering likely voters only. In the attorney general race, incumbent Herring has a six-point lead over Republican Miyares, 39% to 33%, and Ayala appears to have lost ground against Sears, with a 33% to 30% lead that falls within the margin of error. However, 20% of voters said they remain undecided or unwilling to vote for either lieutenant governor candidate.
It’s a similar story for the two major-party governor contenders; 23% of those polled said they are still undecided or are unwilling to vote for either candidate. A third-party candidate, Princess Blanding, is considered a possible spoiler for McAuliffe among progressive Democratic voters. Blanding — the sister of Virginia teacher Marcus-David Peters, who was killed by a Richmond police officer in 2018 — was not included in Thursday’s first gubernatorial debate, but according to a Youngkin campaign internal poll cited by FiveThirtyEight, her presence could help Youngkin beat McAuliffe.
A poll of 907 likely voters conducted Sept. 7-13 by The Washington Post and GMU’s Schar School of Policy and Government showed McAuliffe with a much narrower lead, 50% over Youngkin’s 47% — within the margin of statistical error. Mark Rozell, the Schar School’s dean, called the race a “toss-up” in the Post.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s falling approval numbers may also hamper McAuliffe’s campaign for a second, nonconsecutive term. The Wilder School poll shows 46% of Virginians approving of the job the Democratic Biden is doing, down five points from August — likely influenced by factors such as the U.S. military’s turbulent exit from Afghanistan and increasing disagreements over the Biden administration’s coronavirus responses, including vaccine-or-testing mandates for companies employing 100 or more workers.
In state delegates’ races, Democrats maintained a slight edge over Republicans in the VCU poll, with 43% of respondents saying they’d like the party to retain control next year. Five percent were undecided, and 39% wanted Republicans to regain power in the House. Democrats hold a 55-seat majority in the House of Delegates, and all 100 seats are up for grabs.
Virginia’s early voting period started Sept. 17, and Election Day is Nov. 2.
DELEGATE, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES; DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR,PRINCE WILLIAM County
Part of the new guard of Democratic state lawmakers, Ayala won her seat in the House of Delegates in 2017 by defeating a five-term GOP incumbent. This spring, she beat a full field of opponents to win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. If elected, Ayala would be the first woman to hold the job and the first woman of color ever elected to statewide office in Virginia.
Before entering electoral politics, Ayala was a cybersecurity specialist with the U.S.Department of Homeland Security for 17 years. She also has spoken about being on public assistance twice in her life, including when she was pregnant. “I understand the struggles so many Virginia families face because I’ve lived them,” Ayala says.
After the Democrats regained power over both statehouses in 2019’s elections, Ayala rose to chief deputy whip and helped marshal votes for legalizing marijuana and abolishing the death penalty.
Ayala received an endorsement from Gov. Ralph Northam during the Democratic primary but also met with controversy when she accepted a $100,000 donation from Dominion Energy after promising in previous years to refuse money from the utility. She faces GOP nominee Winsome Sears on the November ballot.
Fairfax
JUSTIN FAIRFAX
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND
Fairfax took a bold gamble running for the 2021 Democratic gubernatorial nomination, but it didn’t pay off.
The former federal prosecutor and civil litigator was a rising star of the state Democratic Party when he won the lieutenant governorship in 2017, becoming only the second Black candidate to be elected to statewide office in Virginia. At that time, his prospects to run for governor looked good, but in 2019 two women accused him of sexual assault. The married father of two has said he was “falsely accused” of the alleged assaults, which date back to the early 2000s, and resisted calls to resign. No legal charges were brought against him, but his gubernatorial ambitions suffered irreparable damage. Fairfax finished a distant fourth in the crowded June 8 primary and will be out of office in January.
In June, a lawsuit he brought against CBS for what he characterized as a reckless disregard in airing interviews with his accusers was dismissed by a federal appeals court.
Filler-Corn
EILEEN FILLER-CORN
SPEAKER, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, FAIRFAX
Filler-Corn has come a long way in a short time. In 2010, she won her Fairfax County delegate seat by just 37 votes, but 10 years later, she was sworn in as the 56th speaker of Virginia’s House, the first woman and first Jew to hold the position. “Being the first is a privilege, and it comes with responsibility that I take with great seriousness,” she said at the ceremony.
Throughout her legislative career, Filler-Corn has been an advocate for gun control. Last year, she convened the House for a special summer session focusing partly on racial justice. She also shepherded through the House several gun-control bills, including a measure requiring universal background checks.
In 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, a threshold that the amendment had to reach to become part of the U.S. Constitution, although the matter of whether the vote came too late is under court consideration.
Filler-Corn resigned from her position as government relations director at Albers & Co. before becoming speaker in 2020 and previously worked for Govs. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.
Gilbert
C. TODD GILBERT
HOUSE MINORITY LEADER, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, SHENANDOAH
In an interview with Virginia Business this year, Gilbert said that one of his aims is to protect Virginia’s business climate and to oppose Democrats’ repeal of the state’s “almost sacred right-to-work law.” An attorney and former majority leader before party control flipped in 2020, Gilbert has served in the House since 2006.
The Republican has a reputation for sometimes combative rhetoric and made headlines in 2019 when he confronted Democratic Del. Kathy Tran on the House floor over her proposal to repeal some restrictions on abortions. The bill was subsequently tabled.
Gilbert is a rock-steady supporter of conservative values. The Family Foundation named him “Legislator of the Year” in 2013, and he received the same honor from the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and the Virginia State Police Association.
He hasan ‘A’ rating from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce in recognition of his pro-business voting record and an ‘A-Plus’ career rating from the National Rifle Association.
The University of Virginia and Southern Methodist University alum is in private law practice in the Shenandoah Valley. Previously, he was lead prosecutor in the Shenandoah County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Hall
KEVIN HALL
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA LOTTERY, RICHMOND
As executive director of the Virginia Lottery since 2018, Hall has overseen three record years of sales and profits, partly with the introduction of online ticket sales in 2020. In fiscal year 2021, the lottery brought in a record $3.26 billion in revenue, a 52% increase over the previous year, and contributed $765 million to public schools.
“Online players have shattered all of our expectations and allowed the Virginia Lottery to set the standard as the nation’s most successful online lottery launch,” Hall said.
A former news director and anchor at radio station WRVA in Richmond, Hall was a spokesman and adviser to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner from 2009 to 2017 and served as press secretary to Govs. Warner and Tim Kaine.
In the last couple years, the lottery has been given regulatory responsibility over newly legal commercial casinos and sports betting enterprises in Virginia, expanding Hall’s authority. In the first five months of this year, Virginia bettors made more than $1 billion in online sports wagers. And casinos are under development in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth, with Richmond voters considering a fifth casino in a November referendum.
Herring
CHARNIELE L. HERRING
HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, ALEXANDRIA
In 2009, Herring (no relation to Attorney General Mark Herring) became the first Black woman elected to represent a Northern Virginia district in the House of Delegates. She now holds the second most powerful seat in the statehouse, which has been under Democratic leadership since 2020. In addition to serving as house majority leader, Herring chairs the Courts of Justice Committee, after advocating for criminal justice reforms during her tenure on the state Crime Commission.
Born into a U.S. Army family, Herring was a ballet student and also found herself in a homeless shelter for six months after her mother was laid off from her job. She then earned an economics degree from George Mason University and a law degree from Catholic University. Before entering electoral politics, Herring started her own law firm and is now general counsel to Admin & Logistics Inc., a government contractor.
Among her legislative accomplishments are the state’s newly enacted voting rights laws, including automatic voter registration for anyone who gets a Virginia driver’s license, repeal of the state’s voter ID law and making Election Day a state holiday. In an interview with The New York Times, Herring said, “This is what my ancestors fought hard for.”
Herring
MARK HERRING
ATTORNEY GENERAL, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND
If reelected in November, Herring would be the first Virginia attorney general to serve a third term. In June, he defeated up-and-comer Del. Jerrauld C. “Jay” Jones in the Democratic primary, despite Gov. Ralph Northam’s endorsement of Jones.
A University of Virginia and University of Richmond School of Law alum, Herring started his political career as a Loudoun County supervisor and served as a state senator from 2006 to 2014. He also was the Lovettsville town attorney. Herring has been a consistent proponent of Democratic values during his time as attorney general, refusing in 2014 to defend the Virginia Marriage Amendment, which outlawed same-sex marriage.
Herring also has defended the federal Affordable Care Act in the U.S. Supreme Court, joined 25 other state attorneys general in calling for a federal law to protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and has pushed for the removal of the Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond, a matter that has been in civil court since 2020.
In 2019, he was entangled in Northam’s blackface photo controversy after Herring apologized for wearing blackface to a party as a U.Va. undergraduate.
Howell
JANET D. HOWELL
CHAIR, SENATE FINANCE AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE, SENATE OF VIRGINIA, RESTON
First elected in 1991, Howell is Virginia’s longest-serving female legislator. She also was the first woman to be seated on the Senate’s finance and courts committees.
A former legislative assistant in the state Senate, Howell chaired the State Board of Social Services before her election to the Senate seat representing parts of Fairfax and Arlington counties.
In 2020, as the Democratic party took power in the General Assembly, Howell passed several personally significant bills, including allowing no-excuse in-person absentee voting, reforming early childhood programs, requiring licensure of student loan services and reorganizing the state’s economic development agencies. During the McDonnell administration, Howell gained some notoriety when, in protest of a law to require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion, she attached an amendment requiring men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test if they wanted to get erectile dysfunction medication. In 2020, the Democratic majorities in the Senate and the House repealed the mandatory ultrasound.
This year, Howell has thrown her support behind increasing funding for underfunded historically Black colleges and universities. “Righting this historic wrong [is] not only possible but essential,” she says.
Kaine
TIM KAINE
SENATOR, UNITED STATES SENATE, RICHMOND
Virginia’s junior senator started out as a Harvard-trained lawyer, mainly representing clients who faced housing discrimination. Then, starting in 1994, he won election to a series of public offices of escalating importance, starting with a seat on the Richmond City Council, then moving on to become mayor and lieutenant governor.
In 2006, Kaine became Virginia’s 70th governor. His administration had to grapple with the Great Recession, as well as the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, which claimed 32 lives and remains the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2013, Kaine sits on the armed services, budget and foreign relations committees. Known for his “dad” persona and Spanish language skills, he was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in the 2016 presidential election.
A devout Catholic, Kaine is married to former state Secretary of Education Anne Holton, the daughter of Republican Gov. A. Linwood Holton Jr. In 2021, Kaine was part of a group of senators crafting an immigration reform bill that would likely include a path to citizenship.
McAuliffe
TERRY McAULIFFE
FORMER VIRGINIA GOVERNOR; DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR, McLEAN
Ever since he was introduced as the “once and future governor of Virginia” by then-presidential candidate Joe Biden in March 2020, McAuliffe has been viewed as likely to win a second, nonconsecutive term as governor.
McAuliffe won the Democratic nomination handily over four other primary candidates. In this fall’s gubernatorial race, the state’s 72nd governor faces Republican political newcomer Glenn Youngkin in what experts predict will be the most expensive race in Virginia history.
If he wins, McAuliffe will have a friendlier state legislature in his second term, with both houses currently controlled by the Democratic Party. During his first term, McAuliffe says, he functioned as a “brick wall” against abortion restrictions by the then-GOP-controlled legislature while also promoting the state’s trade and business climate.
If elected governor again, McAuliffe has promised to pursue a $15 per hour minimum wage and invest $2 billion in education.
The co-founder of Federal City National Bank, McAuliffe has spent much of the past two years campaigning for other Democrats, including Biden, who returned the favor in July with an appearance for McAuliffe.
Miyares
JASON MIYARES
DELEGATE, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES; REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, VIRGINIA BEACH
A delegate since 2016, Miyares is the Republican nominee for attorney general and faces incumbent Democrat Mark Herring on November ballots. He graduated from James Madison University and William & Mary Law School and then worked as a local prosecutor in Virginia Beach, where he grew up. His mother is a Cuban immigrant, and if elected, Miyares would be the first Cuban American attorney general in Virginia.
A staunch conservative, Miyares criticized police reforms passed by Democratic legislators last year, and he opposed Medicaid expansion in 2019. The same year, Miyares proposed a so-called Red Flag bill that would allow the removal of firearms from a person under an emergency order of protection, a bill introduced weeks after the May 2019 Virginia Beach mass shooting. The bill failed in committee. In 2021, he was the only GOP co-sponsor of a bill requiring casino operators to be trained in spotting human trafficking before receiving a state license.
Debating Herring in June, Miyares attempted to link the two-term AG to a rise in crime rates and controversial decisions made by the Virginia Parole Board, which caught flak for improperly paroling the convicted killer of a police officer.
Norment
THOMAS K. ‘TOMMY’ NORMENT JR.
SENATE MINORITY LEADER, SENATE OF VIRGINIA, WILLIAMSBURG
Norment has been a member of the state Senate since 1992 and has led its Republican caucus for 13 years. He sits on several powerful committees, including finance and appropriations, commerce and labor, and judiciary. He is a strong proponent of Virginia’s right-to-work laws and backed marijuana decriminalization, although he stopped short of supporting this year’s measures legalizing recreational use.
In 2021, Norment was one of four legislators who named citizen members to the state redistricting commission to draw new districts based on the 2020 U.S. Census. He also joined three Republican senators in voting to censure state Sen. Amanda Chase for “conduct unbecoming of a senator” in January.
Norment himself is no stranger to controversy, having been charged with a DUI in 2001, and in 2013, his affair with a lobbyist became public. Late last year, Norment, a Virginia Military Institute alum, compared scrutiny of the school and its superintendent’s resignation to a “lynching,” amid extensive allegations of racist incidents at VMI. Norment also holds a law degree from William & Mary.
Gov. Ralph Northam
RALPH NORTHAM
GOVERNOR, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND
An Eastern Shore native, Northam graduated from Virginia Military Institute and Eastern Virginia Medical School, becoming a pediatric neurologist
and serving as an Army surgeon during the first Gulf War. In 2007, he won the first of his two terms as state senator, then won the 2013 lieutenant governor’s race. In 2018, he became Virginia’s 73rd governor.
Northam’s term can be divided into two parts: before the blackface photo and after. Although the governor says he wasn’t in the offensive yearbook photo, which was made public in 2019, many in his own party called for his resignation.
Northam remained in office and dedicated himself to doing more to promote racial equity and inclusion. With a Democratic-controlled legislature, he has led the state’s efforts to eliminate the death penalty, legalize marijuana, increase Virginia’s minimum wage and bolster voting rights protections. He also appointed the state’s first diversity, equity and inclusion officer.
Northam was a steady voice during the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging Virginians to wear masks and get vaccinated. In January, he will end a four-year term that many consider the most progressive in Virginia’s history.
Sabato
LARRY SABATO
ROBERT KENT GOOCH PROFESSOR OF POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, CHARLOTTESVILLE
Sabato has been a high-profile figure at the University of Virginia for half a century. As far back as 1974, U.Va.’s newspaper reported that Sabato, then president of the student government, was better known on campus than the university’s own president.
Now a political pundit known to millions, Sabato has taught more than 20,000 students and authored more than two dozen books. In 1998, he founded U.Va.’s Center for Politics.
Although his Crystal Ball website continues to have a strong following, Sabato incorrectly predicted that Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 presidency. He gamely admitted to the misstep in the Crystal Ball article, “Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.”
Sabato, who didn’t hold back on criticism of President Donald Trump, was recently targeted by the Republican Party of Virginia, which called for the university to investigate Sabato’s tweets lambasting Trump.
A Rhodes scholar in his youth, Sabato told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Trump’s behavior and the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection led to a change in his tone, as did witnessing neo-Nazis marching through U.Va. during the 2017 Unite the Right Rally.
Saslaw
RICHARD ‘DICK’ SASLAW
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER, SENATE OF VIRGINIA, FAIRFAX
One of the Virginia legislature’s longest-serving members, Saslaw is now the senior member in the Senate, where he’s served since 1980.
He’s also the legislature’s top recipient of funding from Dominion Energy, and more progressive Democrats have accused him of supporting bills favorable to the utility. In 2021, the Saslaw-led Senate Commerce and Labor Committee killed bills to reform the state’s electric utility rate review system.
Saslaw is known as one of the more moderate members of his party, which is now back in control after two decades in the minority.
The business-friendly Saslaw is a prominent voice for gun control, and in 2019, he proposed raising the age for gun purchases, as well as banning the sale of rifle “bump stocks,” which increase firing rates. His bill was short-lived in the then-Republican-led Senate, but it earned him an “F” rating from the National Rifle Association. He also supported law enforcement reforms last year during the summer special session of the General Assembly.
In 2018, for his support of affordable health care and the expansion of Medicaid benefits, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association named Saslaw a “Healthcare Hero.”
Sears
WINSOME SEARS
REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, WINCHESTER
“I am running because there are adult decisions that need to be made,” says Sears. The Jamaica-born former state delegate and U.S. Marine who later ran a homeless shelter now has a shot at making some of those decisions after beating five other candidates for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
If successful, Sears, who faces Del. Hala Ayala in the general election this November, would be the first woman to be Virginia’s lieutenant governor and the first woman of color elected to statewide office in Virginia.
Sears served one term in the Virginia House from 2002 to 2004, representing Norfolk, then failed in her 2004 congressional bid. In 2018, she called on GOP voters to choose her as a write-in candidate for U.S. senator in place of nominee Corey Stewart, calling out his past association with white supremacists and his support for the Confederate flag.
Sears, whose campaign photo shows her holding a rifle, is endorsed by the National Rifle Association. She owns an appliance and plumbing repair business in Winchester.
Torian
LUKE TORIAN
CHAIR, HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY
One of Virginia’s political stalwarts, Torian has been elected six times to represent Prince William County in the House of Delegates, mostly without opposition. This year, he has a challenger, Republican Maria Martin, but Torian had $577,738 in his campaign war chest as of June 30, compared to $9,640 for Martin.
In 2020, when Democrats gained control of the General Assembly, Torian became the first Black chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. The pastor of First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dumfries, Torian holds degrees from Virginia Union University and Howard University. He has sponsored dozens of successful bills, many in the areas of education, housing and criminal justice. The Virginia Education Association has given him its Solid as a Rock Award five times, and the Virginia Governmental Employees Association named him its 2020 Legislator of the Year.
In 2021, Torian introduced what would become the Virginia Community Policing Act, requiring police to collect demographic information on all drivers they stop, as well as the reason for the stop and whether a warning or citation was issued, data that will be analyzed by the state Department of Criminal Justice Services to investigate racial bias.
Warner
MARK WARNER
SENATOR, UNITED STATES SENATE, ALEXANDRIA
Virginia’s 69th governor, Warner is now the state’s senior senator, serving his third term in the U.S. Senate. Known as a moderate who often works with colleagues across the aisle, Warner is chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence and serves on the finance subcommittees governing energy, natural resources and infrastructure, as well as international trade.
He is one of just a few Senate Democrats to oppose President Joe Biden’s bid to raise the corporate income tax rate from 21% to 28%. As governor, he promoted the state as business friendly. He lowered some taxes while increasing sales and cigarette taxes, adding about $1.5 billion annually to state coffers. After he left office, CNBC named Virginia the best state for business in 2007, the first year the cable business news network began ranking the states.
Before holding public office, Warner co-founded the company that became Nextel and invested in hundreds of startups. His net worth reportedly exceeds $200 million.
Most recently, Warner has been in the news for the pivotal role he played in gathering bipartisan support for Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure package proposal.
Youngkin
GLENN YOUNGKIN
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR, GREAT FALLS
A newcomer to state politics, Youngkin is the wealthiest major party candidate to run for governor and has staked millions of his own money in his campaign, beginning with the six-way battle he won for the gubernatorial nomination this spring. A former co-CEO of The Carlyle Group private equity firm, Youngkin is reportedly worth $300 million.
A graduate of Rice University and Harvard Business School, Youngkin grew up in Richmond and Virginia Beach. He started a career in finance with First Boston and worked for management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
A Republican in an increasingly blue-voting state, Youngkin is trying to appeal to both Trump devotees (he has received support tweets from the former president) and undecided suburban voters. In a leaked video, Youngkin said he would limit his comments about abortion because it could alienate moderate voters. He has acknowledged that Joe Biden is the rightful president but also participated in an “election integrity” rally at Liberty University in August.
Youngkin touts his business experience and says he will prioritize job creation and manufacturing if he defeats his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, this fall.
The Republican and Democratic candidates for Virginia governor are in a virtual tie, a new poll by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University reported Friday.
Democratic former Gov. Terry McAuliffe is polling ahead at 40%, while Republican Glenn Youngkin, former co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, polled at 37% among likely voters. McAuliffe’s 3% lead falls within the poll’s 5.23% margin of error, according to the Wilder School. Another 23% of voters polled said they are undecided or unwilling to vote for one of the two major party candidates. Conducted during Aug. 4-15, the poll questioned 823 Virginia adults about their voting plans.
Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Del. Hala Ayala leads with 39%, compared with 31% for Republican nominee Winsome Sears. Incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat running for his third term, holds the largest lead among the statewide candidates, with 41%, compared with 31% for Republican candidate Del. Jason Miyares.
“As of this survey, there have been no debates between the candidates for governor or lieutenant governor. The gubernatorial candidates are in a virtual dead heat,” former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said in a statement. “That could change once positions are taken on the issues. The lieutenant governor’s race showing the largest difference could also be affected. The attorney general race has 19% of the voters unwilling to vote for either candidate. Added to the 10% undecided, [that] leaves one-third of the voters who could tighten that contest. How the pandemic affects turnout and enthusiasm energizes voters should be of utmost concern.”
With all 100 state delegate seats up in the air this fall, poll respondents were split when asked which party they would rather see in control of the General Assembly. Democrats received 44% to maintain control, while 40% of those surveyed said they’d rather see Republicans regain power of the state legislature.
The regional breakdown held no big surprises, with McAuliffe holding a large lead in Northern Virginia (51% to Youngkin’s 24%) and Youngkin dominating in the northwestern and Southwest regions of the state with 52% to McAuliffe’s 32%. In Southern and Central Virginia, including the Richmond and Petersburg areas, Youngkin has a slight lead of 34% to McAuliffe’s 32% share, although 33% of voters polled in those regions said they are undecided. In the Hampton Roads region, 42% of voters said they support McAuliffe, and 37% are for Youngkin.
Gov. Ralph Northam, entering the final months of his four-year term, received strong approval numbers for his handling of COVID-19, with 57% of those polled saying he did a good job, although only 47% said he handled health care and racial inequities well.
So far, the two gubernatorial candidates have accepted only two debate invites on the same stage, although Youngkin turned down three opportunities that McAuliffe agreed to, and McAuliffe rejected an invite at Liberty University that Youngkin accepted. The two scheduled debates are set for Sept. 16 at the Appalachian State School of Law and Sep.t 28 for the NOVA Chamber of Commerce/NBC4 debate in Northern Virginia.
Tuesday is the final day for Virginians to vote in the Democratic primary races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. Based on a recent poll by Roanoke College, two familiar faces — former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Attorney Gen. Mark Herring — are likely to win handily, but the lieutenant governor nomination is still up for grabs.
Early voting for the primary started in late April, but according to state elections officials, turnout has been relatively low. They expect larger crowds on Tuesday than last year’s in-person elections turnout during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since McAuliffe announced his bid for a second gubernatorial term, he has raised more money than his competitors and held significant leads in polls this spring. In the June 4 Roanoke College survey of likely primary voters, McAuliffe had 49% support, outpacing former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, who was in second with 11% and state Sen. Jennifer McClellan with 9%, followed by Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax with 5% and Del. Lee Carter at 1%.
Herring, who is running for his third term as the state’s top prosecutor, also had 49% support in the Roanoke College poll, followed by challenger Del. Jay Jones, with 20% of polled voters’ support.
“To the surprise of few, McAuliffe and Herring appear headed for victory on Tuesday,” Harry Wilson, senior political analyst of the Roanoke College Poll, said in a statement. “The race for lieutenant governor is there for the taking, with a large percentage of the electorate undecided on their decision. It is also clear that the Democratic primary electorate in Virginia is well-educated, upper-income and very liberal, but McAuliffe, arguably not the most far-left candidate, appears set to win the election.”
As for the lieutenant governor seat, Del. Hala Ayala, who has received Gov. Ralph Northam’s endorsement, led the poll with 16%, followed by Del. Sam Rasoul’s 11% support, with five more candidates trailing. However, a whopping 45% of people polled were still undecided on this race in late May.
The Democratic nominees will face Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin, lieutenant governor nominee Winsome Sears and attorney general nominee Del. Jason Miyares.
In some localities, Virginians also will have the opportunity to choose Democratic and Republican nominees for delegate seats Tuesday (although they must vote in only one party’s primary). One hotly contested seat is in Prince William County, where state Del. Elizabeth Guzman dropped out of the lieutenant governor race in April to defend her seat against three other Democrats.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Sign In
Free Newsletter
The poll of 811 adults in Virginia was conducted Sept. 7-15 with a margin of error of 5.35%, which increases to 6.93% when considering likely voters only. In the attorney general race, incumbent Herring has a six-point lead over Republican Miyares, 39% to 33%, and Ayala appears to have lost ground against Sears, with a 33% to 30% lead that falls within the margin of error. However, 20% of voters said they remain undecided or unwilling to vote for either lieutenant governor candidate.
“As of this survey, there have been no debates between the candidates for governor or lieutenant governor. The gubernatorial candidates are in a virtual dead heat,” former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said in a statement. “That could change once positions are taken on the issues. The lieutenant governor’s race showing the largest difference could also be affected. The attorney general race has 19% of the voters unwilling to vote for either candidate. Added to the 10% undecided, [that] leaves one-third of the voters who could tighten that contest. How the pandemic affects turnout and enthusiasm energizes voters should be of utmost concern.”