D.J. Jordan, the Republican candidate for the 31st House of Delegates District, will face Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-Dale City) at the ballot box in November.
Northam Cancels Appearance At Marsden Fundraiser After Protests
Over two months after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) came out with his wholehearted support of a highly controversial late-term abortion bill, his subsequent “infanticide” comments on the matter, and was hit with the release of racist photos from his past, the national media has packed up and left Richmond, but Virginians across the Commonwealth have not forgotten.
In the latest fallout from his scandals, Northam’s appearance at a fundraiser in Northern Virginia for a Democratic state senator ahead of the 2019 elections was cancelled after dozens of protesters showed up.
Last week, it was announced that Northam would be attending a campaign kickoff event for State Senator Dave Marsden (D-Burke) in the legislator’s home district.
Even though Marsden backed widespread calls for the governor to step down from office beginning February 1 in order to allow Virginians heal from the emergence of the shocking, racist photos, he completely flipped on his position to place a stark condemnation on Northam.
Just days after the announcement of the event, the Fairfax County NAACP and the Virginia GOP started to organize a protest as photos reportedly showing the governor appearing in blackface or dressed in KKK robes remain unexplained.
Although the two groups are on different sides of the political aisle, they have found one thing they can agree on: their dislike for Governor Northam.
Less an one hour before Northam was scheduled to appear at the fundraiser, his presence was cancelled due to “safety concerns.”
In a short interview in defense of the embattled governor, NBC 4 reports that Marsden, after having the headliner of his reelection fundraiser drop out because of protesters, still does not see Northam as a liability.
“He’s been an effective leader, and we want to work with him,” Marsden said.
When asked about his blatant flip flop on his call for Northam to resign, Marsden added, “Politics is a tough business…We made a recommendation to the governor that he might step aside…he chose to stay and do what the people elected him to do.”
What Marsden actually means is that in an election year, lawmakers have principles, but if they are not conducive to getting reelected, they can be changed.
2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates Begin To Make Their Way To Virginia
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke is scheduled to make appearances all over Virginia next week as the Commonwealth becomes a 2020 battleground state.
Trump, Pence Commit To Flipping Virginia Republican In 2020
The first push in flipping the Commonwealth red is the upcoming 2019 elections, with all 140 seats in the General Assembly on the ballot in November.
Virginia Republicans Define 2019 Elections Early, Leaving Democrats Playing Defense
In most competitive House districts across the Commonwealth, Republicans have outspent Democrats two-to-one on digital media via Facebook since the November midterm elections.
Brenda Pogge Announces Retirement From House Of Delegates After 12 Years
Remaining committed to her belief in term limits, Delegate Brenda Pogge (R-James City) announced Friday that she will not run for reelection in 2019.
Glenn Davis Promises ‘Jack Kemp-Style’ Campaign Of Ideas-Based, Optimistic Conservatism
“I’ve always been a fan of Jack Kemp. He believed that politics isn’t just about defeating your opponent…it’s about providing superior leadership and better ideas than the opposition,” said Delegate Glenn Davis (R-Virginia Beach). As political races begin in the run-up to Virginia’s 2019 elections, Davis is promising a seemingly unorthodox campaign compared to what is normally seen today, based on the legacy of Kemp and his auspicious conservatism.
For those who do not know who Kemp was, he was professional football player turned Republican congressman from New York, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1989. He was then picked by President George H. W. Bush as secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and was even Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole’s vice presidential running mate in the 1996 general election.
Notably, Kemp’s legacy is not exactly what he did, but how he did it.
In the current national political climate of ideological sectarianism, inflammatory rhetoric, and divisiveness, Kemp symbolizes the hope for a more decent, humane conservatism, one which leaves nobody out and nobody behind. During is tenure as a Republican lawmaker, when people spoke of malaise and economic suffering, Kemp countered with a message of hope and an “American Renaissance” for all.
When campaigning, Kemp was optimistic, idealistic, solutions-oriented, and incapable of personal attack and negative campaigning, even when it cost him. With this, Davis hopes he can help transform the Republican Party back into the “party of ideas.”
Though, Davis said he is “not naive” and “neither was Jack.”
“He [Kemp] knew then what every political consultant knows today: negative campaigning works – over-hyped, emotionally-charged character attacks can have a profound impact on the voters, against a political opponent,” Davis said.
Regardless, the Virginia Beach Republican explained, “It’s time campaigns became about the issues, about the ideas and leadership exhibited to better the lives of those one represents. It should be about the passion and persistence that one fights for when they know the right course of action.”
However, Davis, who is looking for victory in his fourth consecutive House of Delegates run, stated, “that’s not the easiest way to win a campaign – the talking points won’t sound as ‘sexy’ and the sound bites won’t illicit a surge of emotion.”
Just as he has done in the past, though, Davis is ready for doing things the hard, but correct way to provide for better leadership and representation for his constituents and Virginians elsewhere.
“Voters shouldn’t expect or allow their representatives to take the ‘easy path.’ They should demand that they take the ‘right’ path, a path that requires them to demonstrate past and future ideas that have had a real, positive impact on the lives of those they represent, and exhibit the leadership necessary to see those ideas to reality,” he said.
In his first of many video messages, Davis then said he will “apologize” for what constituents in the 84th House District will see in his campaign.
He said he apologizes “for the long policy overviews, detailed discussions, for the ‘in the weeds’ analysis, for not making it as easy to understand as ‘my opponent is a bad person and I’m not.'”
“I’m going to run a race on what I’ve done and what I’ll continue to do,” he stated.
For him, that means an ideas and solutions-based campaign in 2019, one that is hopeful, optimistic, and inclusive.
“You’ll hear about the four years I carried legislation and joined with patient advocacy groups fighting against insurance carriers for transparent and reasonable medical practices. You’ll hear about the four years I fought against large out-of-state businesses to create a level playing field for Virginia businesses that ultimately created hundreds of new jobs and saved thousands of others,” Davis explained.
“You’ll hear about the two years I fought for access to medical CBD oil for Virginians afflicted with severe illnesses, and you’ll hear about my legislation to eliminate business property taxes on many in-home businesses and lessen that burden on all other businesses across the Commonwealth,” he added.
Many more pieces of legislation that Davis explained he continues to fight for coming out of the 2019 legislation session, as well as those going into next year’s 60-day session, are to “make a real difference in the lives of those I represent, and many small businesses across the Commonwealth.”
“These pieces of legislation aren’t ‘sexy,'” he said, adding that “in some cases, can’t be summed up in 10 words or less.”
“But, in all cases,” Davis expressed, “I can point to individuals whose lives have been positively impacted.”
When Davis meets with his Virginia Beach constituents during his campaign this year, he promises, “Like Jack Kemp, I’m not interested in just winning, but be worthy of winning.”
Debra Rodman Must Face Ties To ‘Infanticide’ And Northam’s ‘Tainted Funds’ In 2019 Campaign
After heavily supporting the highly controversial late-term abortion bill and being hand-picked by a governor mired in racial scandal to run in the 12th State Senate District, Delegate Debra Rodman has a lot of explaining to do in her campaign.
Virginia Democrat Recants Support Of Controversial Late-Term Abortion Bill After Nationwide Backlash
Support for the bill that would repeal any meaningful protections for the unborn has waned over the past few days.
Republican Rocky Holcomb Announces 2019 Bid For House Of Delegates
Former Virginia House of Delegates member Norman Dewey “Rocky” Holcomb III announced his candidacy for the 85th House District Wednesday morning, promising to bring “strong, effective leadership” to the General Assembly on Bank Street in Richmond. Holcomb represented the district in the lower chamber of the state legislature from 2017 to 2018 after former delegate Scott Taylor won the Virginia Beach seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In a video to his supporters, Holcomb, a former marine and current chief deputy of the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office, described how his fighting spirit began as a young child, which has fueled his work ethic in representing everyone in his community.
Holcomb said that many of the challenges faced in the statehouse are on account of “dysfunction in Washington, D.C.,” especially on the issue of healthcare.
The Virginia Beach Republican said, if elected, he will work to fix the state’s broken healthcare system, calling it a “complete mess.” He explained that he will find solutions to lower skyrocketing premiums and protect Virginians with pre-existing conditions.
“We must have leaders who will put working families first and develop commonsense solutions to today’s problems…solutions that provide accessibility to affordable healthcare while ensuring those with pre-existing conditions are protected,” he said.
Highlighting his time in local law enforcement, Holcomb is also calling for criminal justice reform in the Commonwealth.
“As a career law enforcement officer, I can speak firsthand about the need to reform our criminal justice system. Locking people up is not the only answer. We must find programs for rehabilitation and re-entry into society,” he remarked.
On his campaign website, the Republican hopeful states that he will work to grow Virginia’s economy, strengthening small businesses and create a pro-business environment based on low taxes and a balanced state budget. Furthermore, he posited that reform will be coming to Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL) program while rewarding teachers for their achievements and making sure more tax dollars reach the Commonwealth’s classrooms.
Solving the state’s transportation woes and pushing for tuition freezes at colleges and universities is also a part of his campaign to provide for a better future for all Virginians.
Holcomb added that the hyper-partisan political environment that is beginning to consume much of the lawmaking in Richmond could lead the Commonwealth down a “path similar to Washington.” Following 2017’s “blue wave” that erased the GOP’s 2-to-1 majority in the House, progressive Democrats have attempted to usher in “New York-style regulations,” which included over $770 million in new tax increases that were voted down by the Republican majority in last year’s 60-day session.
“We must fight back against the extremes that want to stifle small business growth with higher taxes and more regulations that kill jobs,” Holcomb stated.
Delegate Cheryl Turpin (D-Virginia Beach), whom Holcomb will challenge, is part of the Democratic Party’s progressive left-wing that has proposed numerous job-killing economic measures. The liberal caucus has forwarded legislation that would levy taxes on, as Holcomb explained, “everything from electricity to plastic bags…and the list goes on.”
In the beginning of the 2019 General Assembly session, Turpin suggested repealing Virginia’s Right-to-Work law, which has enjoyed strong bipartisan support for over 70 years, providing employees the right to not be forced to join a union or pay membership dues as a condition of employment. Moreover, she even tweeted a photo of herself in December along with three fellow Democratic House candidates standing in front of a poster declaring “Right to Work is WRONG.”
Instead of governing on partisanship, Holcomb he said he will “fight for an agenda that represents the interests of ‘all of us’ in Virginia Beach…not just a few.” He will also ensure that Virginia upholds a “common sense government that works for everyone.”