Youngkin declines to participate in VBA debate; another Republican in VA-07; a large donation from a gubernatorial nominee
Afternoon update on Virginia politics.
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According to a statement from the campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin, he will not be participating in the first scheduled general election debate that is scheduled to be held later this month by the Virginia Bar Association (VBA).
“Unfortunately, the VBA refused to dedicate a portion of the debate to a discussion on Virginia’s economy and jobs, which proved to be an insurmountable barrier in our negotiations,” said Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter.
Every Republican and Democratic gubernatorial nominee has participated in this debate since 1985.
In the policy outline that VBA sent to both campaigns earlier this year, VBA described themselves as “a nonpartisan organization,” and said they do not “endorse, support or oppose political candidates. The VBA debates are not intended to in any way promote or advance one candidate over another.”
Additionally, Republicans have been pushing back against the event’s moderator in recent election cycles, Judy Woodruff. Woodruff once donated $250 to the Clinton Foundation’s Haiti relief efforts and due to McAuliffe’s relationship with the Clinton’s, Republicans used this as a reason to discredit the VBA debate.
“It would also be a conflict of interest to have former Clinton Foundation board member Terry McAuliffe being ‘questioned’ by a Clinton Foundation donor,” Porter said.
Woodruff won a Peabody Award for Journalist Integrity this year.
McAuliffe announced last month that he accepted invitations to participate in five general election debates. Youngkin said soon after that he plans to only participate in three debates.
Youngkin’s campaign clarified Monday and said he will be participating in a debate hosted by Hampton University, Liberty University, and the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce in late August; one hosted by the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy on Sept. 16, and a to-be-determined host and location in mid-October.
“Pathetic that Glenn Youngkin doesn't have the courage to meet me on stage at the VBA debate next week,” McAuliffe tweeted Monday. “After a rough month for his campaign, he’s more desperate than ever to hide his right-wing views because he knows how out of step they are with VA. Can’t hide forever Glenn!”
The five debates that McAuliffe previously agreed are :
Hot Springs, Virginia: Virginia Bar Association - July 24
Hampton Roads: Norfolk State University
Southwest Virginia: Appalachian School of Law - August/September
Northern Virginia: Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, NBC4/Telemundo 44 and the Schar School of Public Policy and Government at George Mason University - September 29
Richmond: AARP Virginia and WTVR - October 12
It is unclear if Independent candidate Princess Blanding will be participating in the debate.
Another Republican files to run in VA-07
Another Republican has filed to run against Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger in Virginia’s seventh congressional district. Taylor Keeney, a non-profit director and former staffer to Governor Bob McDonnell officially filed her FEC form Monday with a campaign address based out of Henrico.
Tina Ramirez recently announced her candidacy; plus John Castorani and Guatam Barve have filed paperwork seeking the Republican nomination in VA-07 as well.
Last year, Castorani was a Republican candidate in Alabama’s first congression district and Barve appears to have been a city council candidate in Santa Clara, California.
Other potential candidates for the Republican nomination include state Del. John Mcguire (Goochland) and state Senator Amanda Chase (Chesterfield).
Gubernatorial candidate donates $250K to a Central Virginia PAC
Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin donated $250K to Middle Resolution, a Republican PAC based in Mechanicsville. A source from close to Youngkin’s campaign says the money is to support Middle Resolution’s voter registration efforts.
