These next 24 hours are huge
For Virginians who have not already voted, it is critically important to go to the polls on November 2nd (or return your absentee ballots by then) and vote for the entire slate of Democratic candidates – Terry McAuliffe for Governor, Hala Ayala for Lieutenant Governor, Mark Herring for Attorney General, and your local Democratic candidate for the House of Delegates.
Palmer Report has extensively reported on how important it is to vote for Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the Governor’s race, to build on the progress Virginia has made in women’s rights, minority rights, voter rights, gun reform, education, the environment, and more.
Failing to elect McAuliffe would result in Virginia backsliding into the wayward ways of Republican Governors in other states — like DeSantis, Abbott, Noem, and Reynolds — by allowing another Trump wannabe to take office.
Democratic voters, Independents, and anti-Trump Republicans cannot stop at the Governor’s race, however, but need to continue down the ballot and vote for Democratic candidates for Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Delegate.
As Terry McAuliffe has pointed out, even though no state senators are running for office this year, control of the State Senate is still on the ballot. With a razor thin 21-19 Democratic majority in the Senate, it has often come down to the Democratic Lieutenant Governor to tip the balance on important votes.
The current Democratic Lieutenant Governor has cast the deciding vote 52 times on legislation related to significant issues such as healthcare, gun reform, workers’ rights, and women’s rights. Thus, electing Hala Ayala as Lieutenant Governor is crucial to ensuring that Democratic legislative initiatives can pass the Senate.
The Attorney General in Virginia plays a key role in setting the Commonwealth’s legal policy – and taking legal action – in critical areas, such as voting rights, healthcare, women’s rights, minority rights, sensible gun control, the environment, and many others. Therefore, it is important to re-elect Mark Herring as Attorney General, to allow him to build on the progress he has already made in these areas.
Finally, in order to ensure that Democratic priorities can be enacted legislatively in the Commonwealth, it is also crucial to elect Democratic candidates to the House of Delegates. Currently, Democrats hold a 55-45 majority in the House, but this is a recent phenomenon, and control of the House is very much in play this election. Races are often decided by a small number of votes, so every vote counts. So Virginians, if you haven’t already voted, make sure to vote for all Democratic candidates on the ballot to keep Virginia blue!
