McClellan and Carroll Foy throw support behind McAuliffe for governor - plus more from Virginia politics.

A Sunday update on Virginia politics

Jun 13, 2021

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Democratic gubernatorial primary candidates urge supporters to help McAuliffe moving forward

“On Tuesday night, I threw my support and endorsement behind Terry McAuliffe for governor,” Jennifer Carroll Foy wrote in an email to her supporters Saturday.

Carroll Foy was one of four candidates to lose in the Democratic primary on June 8. Now she is telling her supporters asking them to help McAuliffe as he now faces off against the Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin.

McAuliffe won the nomination decisively, receiving the majority of Democratic votes in every single locality across the commonwealth. Now the two Democrats that were his toughest competition in the nomination battle are trying to help him win the general.

“I’m asking you to join me in support of and commitment to electing Terry,” Carroll Foy wrote in the email to her supporters. “Let's do everything we have to do. Let's get in the trenches. Let's do the work because at the end of the day, we must win in November.”

State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, another gubernatorial candidate that lost to McAuliffe appeared publicly with him less than 48 hours after he earned the nomination.

Terry McAuliffe @TerryMcAuliffe

As Democrats, we're fighting for you. Paid family and medical leave, paid sick leave, affordable child care -- that's Virginia's future. We'll get it done with incredible leaders like @JennMcClellanVA on the team 💥

In her concession announcement on primary night, McClellan urged her supporters to vote for McAuliffe in November. “Virginians have a clear choice this November between progress and the past,” McClellan said in the primary night statement after the results were reported and McAuliffe won. “We cannot afford to let Glenn Youngkin turn back the clock. I know that Terry will lead the Democratic Party of Virginia forward with a fierce determination and a commitment to building a brighter future for our Commonwealth.”

Del. Lee Carter, a socialist that has served two terms in the House of Delegates lost both the gubernatorial primary and a primary challenge in his House district. He stated that he will be moving to a house with land so that he can raise sheep. He also said he will be supporting Independent gubernatorial candidate Princess Blanding.

Lee J. Carter @carterforva

@PrinBlandingVA @lumberjakeass You've got my vote in November!

Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax has not made a public statement about McAuliffe since the results of the primary were reported.

Justin Fairfax @FairfaxJustin

Congratulations to our Democratic ticket. Virginia has made tremendous progress over the past four years, and we look forward to that progress continuing well into the future.

McAuliffe and Youngkin are facing off for a tough battle that will likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Democratic unity will be needed as the troops rally around McAuliffe in an attempt to keep the Executive Mansion in Democratic control for a third straight term.

Youngkin used Carroll Foy’s primary campaign words from a candidate forum against McAuliffe for an ad as soon as McAuliffe was named the nominee. But the next Day McAuliffe posted a video thanking Carroll Foy and McClellan, calling them friends. “I want to heartily thank my friends [Jennifer Carroll Foy] and [Jennifer McClellan],” McAuliffe wrote in a tweet. “They each ran great primary campaigns and I'm looking forward to taking on Glenn Youngkin together. Greatest team ever assembled! Game on!”

The general election will be taking place on Nov. 2.

McAuliffe, Youngkin neck and neck in Virginia governor race: poll - The Hill

by Julia Manchester

A new poll on the Virginia governor's race released Thursday showed former Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin neck and neck in their race for the governor's mansion.

The poll, which was conducted by the conservative firm WPA Intelligence, found McAuliffe leading Youngkin by 2 points, 48 percent to 46 percent, which is within the poll's 4-point margin of error. Five percent of voters said they were undecided.

McAuliffe earns the endorsement of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 32BJ and SEIU Virginia 512.

“Hardworking Virginians can count on Terry McAuliffe to get the job done for all of our families, that’s why SEIU is proud to endorse Terry to be Virginia’s next governor. Powered by thousands of SEIU members from Virginia, we are excited to announce a historic effort to run a grassroots field program that will help him win in November,” said SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry. “He is a tried and true pro-worker leader who will fight alongside us for fair wages, paid sick and family leave, collective bargaining, and racial equity and economic justice for all Virginians. We’re fired up to elect Terry – a proven champion who will fight to ensure essential workers are respected, protected and paid what they deserve.”

Youngkin, GOP candidates rally at local brewery cited for clearing land believed to contain historic Black cemetery -Prince William Times

by Daniel Berti

Glenn Youngkin, the GOP nominee for Virginia governor, held a campaign event Thursday evening at a brewery at the center of a local controversy over its unintentional clearing earlier this spring of land believed to contain a historic African American and Native American cemetery.

Youngkin held a campaign kick-off event at The Farm Brewery at Broad Run in Haymarket for Christopher Stone, who is challenging Del. Danica Roem (D) in the race for 13th District House of Delegates seat this November.

From alligator wrestler to ex-governor: McAuliffe gets a reboot as ‘Terry 2.0’ - Washington Post

by Laura Vozzella

The first two times Terry McAuliffe ran for governor of Virginia, he was known as the flamboyant national Democratic Party chairman and Clinton pal who'd wrestled an alligator and made a personal fortune at the swampy intersection of business and politics.

McAuliffe failed to secure the Democratic nomination for governor in 2009 and barely eked out a win over Republican Ken Cuccinelli to take the Executive Mansion four years later. But after snagging a whopping 62 percent of the vote Tuesday in a five-way primary, McAuliffe is running to become the state’s 74th chief executive as a popular former governor, someone who might have sailed to reelection in 2017 had the state constitution not banned back-to-back terms.

More Gubernatorial news from this week:

Virginia Attorney General signs on to amicus brief protecting eviction moratorium

The plaintiffs in Alabama Association of Realtors v. HHS are appealing to the Supreme Court after a lower appeals court ruled that they would not put a stay on the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) nationwide eviction moratorium. In response, a coalition of attorney’s general from 23 states including Virginia’s Mark Herring filed an amicus brief with the high court in an effort to protect the moratorium that is intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The process reached this point after a district court judge ruled that the CDC does not have the authority to issue a nationwide ban on evictions, but he did not put an end to the ban at the time in order to allow the case to go through the appeals process. The case is now on emergency application to the Supreme Court

The moratorium was originally set to expire on December 31, but the CDC has extended it multiple times and it is now scheduled to end June 30.

The moratorium has been a tool in containing the spread of COVID-19 by preventing evictions in certain residences across the nation if the tenant isn’t able to pay full rent because of a loss of income or medical expenses. When the CARES Act expired in July of last year, the CDC imposed this eviction moratorium, which was continued by the Biden Administration and applies to all residential properties nationwide.

Explaining the new July 1 marijuana laws

Legalization is happening in Virginia as legislators were able to squeeze through a bill at the last minute during the General Assembly session to allow for simple pot possession this year. But the specifics as to what will be legal and illegal were not exactly clear at the time due to several last-minute changes. The state government recently set up a website to help make it clear what will and will not be allowed after July 1.

Here is an overview:

After July 1, anyone 21 years or older will be allowed to possess and grow limited amounts of the plant. Specifically, individuals can possess up to one ounce and each household can grow up to 4 plants at one time. It will be legal to smoke inside of private residences, but a building’s owner can prohibit smoking if they choose.

Adults that are 21 or older will be allowed to give each other an ounce or less as long as they are not compensated in any way for the marijuana they give someone. It is still illegal to sell any amount of marijuana.

If someone has more than one ounce in their possession but less than one pound, they will receive a $25 civil fine. Possession of more than one pound still results in a felony.

It will remain illegal to smoke marijuana while driving or riding in a moving vehicle and it will still be illegal to possess marijuana while operating a school bus or being on school grounds.

For more about how the new laws will impact Virginians, visit Cannabis in Virginia.

Northam unveils limited plan for hiring bonuses, but faces skepticism over minimum wage, funding - Richmond Times-Dispatch

by Michael Martz

Gov. Ralph Northam rolled out a new plan on Friday to help small businesses and child care providers recruit workers with hiring bonuses, but the $3 million grant program quickly became enmeshed in General Assembly politics over use of emergency federal aid, including enhanced unemployment benefits that some businesses and politicians want to end in order to force people back to work.

The “Return to Earn” program, which Northam unveiled at a Virginia Beach restaurant, will allow the state to match an employer hiring bonus of up to $500 each for new workers at small businesses with fewer than 100 employees, as well as a state grant of up to $500 for each employee at a qualifying child care operation.

Virginia Political Newsletter

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