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The latest in Virginia politics.
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Gubernatorial news
The Democratic Party of Virginia filed a complaint Friday alleging that 13 of Glenn Youngkin’s ads for his gubernatorial campaign are missing the appropriate disclaimer requirements.
From the complaint: Gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin violated Virginia law by repeatedly failing to comply with this statutory requirement. In some instances, Mr. Youngkin failed to include any disclaimer statement in his advertisements at all. We have identified thirteen (13) advertisements that violate the law. These noncompliant advertisements have run thousands of times and have been seen by potentially millions of voters. The State Board of Elections should immediately convene a hearing and fine Mr. Youngkin $130,000 for failing to comply with the law.
Younkgin’s campaign responded with a statement from his spokesperson Macaulay Porter. “Given the increased prospects of Terry McAuliffe losing this election, the Democratic Party of Virginia would benefit if they spent more time trying to get their voters excited about Terry instead of pitching DC process blog stories.”
The Richmond Times-Dispatch took a look at Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe’s job record during his first term as governor between 2014-2018.
The RTD reporting found that “Of the 79 economic development deals McAuliffe executed that have reached their deadlines, 31 delivered as many or more jobs than were promised. An additional 48 projects didn’t perform as well or deliver jobs as quickly as promised; of those, 32 didn’t produce a single new job in Virginia. Seven other projects that account for 926 jobs received extensions that are ongoing.” Keep reading
The Richmond Times-Dispatch also reported on Dominion Energy giving $200K to a PAC that attacked Glenn Youngkin from his right. McAuliffe pledged not to take money from Dominion during his primary campaign, a move that most Democrats in Virginia have had to make in recent years.
The money from Dominion’s PAC went to Accountability Virginia PAC in Washington, according to a public filing this weekend by Dominion with the Virginia Department of Elections. The political news outlet Axios reported in late September that the Accountability Virginia operation has ties to Democratic activists and is funding an ad campaign in which the Democrats pose as conservatives “to drive a wedge between the Republican candidate for Virginia governor and his core voters.” Keep Reading
More gubernatorial links
Glenn Youngkin Talks About Virginia. His Base Talks About Donald Trump.
McAuliffe fights to engage politically exhausted Democrats in close of Virginia campaign
McAuliffe outraises Youngkin in September; Democrats have cash advantage in statewide races
Whether Virginia brings back parole could hinge on who wins power in November
New political ad strategy in Virginia: promoting news articles in Google search results
In Virginia, Republicans see education, curriculum fears as a path to victory
Campaign Geography
Terry McAuliffe will be with state Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond) and Planned Parenthood of Virginia Executive Director Jamie Lockhart for a roundtable discussion in Richmond today.
Glenn Youngkin is making an announcement this morning in Centreville regarding the grocery tax in Virginia.
Virginia congressional candidate compares Democrats to the Church of Satan
Leon Benjamin, the current and former Republican candidate in Virginia’s fourth congressional district compared Democrats to the Church of Satan in a recent fundraising email for his congressional campaign. The email was based on an interaction that Benjamin had on Twitter with the verified Church of Satan account.
“You know I’m doing something right if the Church of Satan is attacking me,” Benjamin tweeted, then screenshot it and placed it at the top of a fundraising email. “Yes, you read that correctly,” the email begins. “Satanists and Democrats are on the same side—both want to tear down our Judeo-Christian values and replace them with their sick and twisted belief system. I’m running from Congress precisely to stop this from happening!”
Benjamin describes himself as a “Black conservative pastor, Navy veteran, and America First conservative fighting for our Judeo-Christian values against all else!” He ran against the current Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) in 2020 and lost by 23 points. Benjamin never conceded and is now running again.
“I’m not bending a knee to Democrats,” Benjamin said in the email “I’m not bending a knee to Satan.”
He also accused the Democrats of exploiting the Black community and criticized the Republican Party for not making a serious attempt at reaching out to inner-city communities. “Nowhere is that clearer than in inner cities,” he wrote. “As a Black man, I see the stranglehold the Democrat party has on the Black vote. And the lack of a serious attempt by Republicans to break it.”
Benjamin then continued to accuse Democrats of brainwashing voters into believing that the Republican Party is racist. “They have an entire voting bloc brainwashed into believing that Republicans are racists,” he wrote. “Meanwhile, the Democrat governor of Virginia is a black-face wearing racist.”
Benjamin often brings up God and the devil on the campaign trail. “We need God back in our schools, he tweeted recently. “The devil is at work and is corrupting our children.”
He also has advocated for overturning the 2020 election results. He hosted a “Stop the Steal” event outside of the Virginia Capitol in December of 2020 and led a chant calling for an immediate audit of the election results. “Talk to you legislators, don’t let them get any sleep,” Benjamin encouraged the event attendees.
There is no evidence of any election fraud taking place in Virginia.
President Joe Biden won the commonwealth by ten points.
In the fundraising email, Benjamin praised and described his relationship with former President Donald Trump. “During the first year of Trump’s Presidency, I played a vital role in a group of about 20 to 30 evangelical leaders who regularly serve as informal advisers to the Trump administration,” Benjamin wrote. “I’ve had the honor of acting as a surrogate for the President on Fox News, Fox Business, and national shows around the nation. I am a strong supporter of the President. Under his leadership, this nation has soared back to new heights.”
Benjamin did not respond immediately to calls and emails from Virginia Scope Sunday night on whether he believes Democrats are the same as the Church of Satan.
There are no other declared Republican candidates at this time.
Quick Hit: McGuire touts fundraising haul ahead of a potential congressional run
State Del. John McGuire is touting the latest fundraising haul for his reelection campaign to the House of Delegates in a statement today. As has been reported previously, McGuire is also considering once again running for the Republican nomination in Virginia’s seventh congressional district. The Central Virginia district is currently represented by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Henrico) after she defeated the Republican incumbent in 2018. He came in second during the GOP nominating convention in 2020.
The McGuire campaign in a press release noted that the $371,939.21 he raised in July, August, and September would make him the “11th largest fundraiser in the nation this year among all congressional 3rd quarter fundraising numbers,” the press release reads. “If McGuire were running in a congressional race, his total would be the largest amount raised by any GOP congressional candidate or incumbent in the state of Virginia.”
Avula is set to receive honors
Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg will present a commending resolution Monday to Dr. Danny TK Avula thanking him for his work addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and leadership on Virginia’s vaccine efforts.
Dr. Danny Avula is the Director of the Richmond City and Henrico County Health Departments. In January 2021, Governor Northam appointed Dr. Avula to lead the Commonwealth of Virginia’s unprecedented COVID-19 vaccination effort. Today, over 5 million Virginians are fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, with over 73% of the adult population fully vaccinated.
More Virginia News
In a low-key House race, Rasoul faces opposition for the first time since 2014
Del. Joshua Cole faces Republican Tara Durant in 28th District House race
Low-income students in Virginia are filling out fewer FAFSA forms and putting off college
Northam, leader of Virginia’s fight against pandemic, has had ‘long COVID’ for a year
One death and 26 hospitalizations now associated with hepatitis A outbreak at Famous Anthony's
Metro suspends more than half of its trains after investigation uncovers safety issues
Montgomery supervisors face more calls to back off on school vouchers push
Assistant to the House Sergeant-at-Arms charged with possessing child pornography
National
Fully vaccinated travelers can come to the U.S. even if their doses are mixed, authorities say
Education secretary reveals limits to Biden’s mask push on states