By Samantha Corbin, a consumer advocate and the co-founder of What’s Next America – an organization “created in the wake of the January 6th siege on the Capitol to stop the increasing influence of Republican State Attorneys General on a variety of core issues for Americans.”
State AGs are the most important politicians that no one has ever heard of. As “Top Cops” they’re intended to be champions of consumers and defenders of democracy. But a new crop of radicalized AGs is wielding their power to block progress on issues we all care about.
Virginia will elect its next Attorney General in November, but the vote is about more than just the candidates on the ballot. Fair elections, the rule of law, and the health of America’s democracy, are what this election is really about.
Why are the stakes so high? Like so much else in American politics, all roads lead to Donald Trump.
During his time as President, most Republican AGs aligned themselves closely with Trump. When he engaged in attacks against women, health care, the environment, or people demanding racial justice, these AG’s jumped in to back him up. They coordinated and politicized their offices to act like an arm of the Trump campaign.
When Trump lost the 2020 Presidential election, 18 AGs filed to overturn the results in the absurd and untrue Texas vs. Pennsylvania case. They fed the Big Lie to the public, and tried to feed it to the Court. But, when the Supreme Court refused to overturn legitimate election results, the AGs doubled down.
Along with the Republican AG Association and one of its dark-money front groups, they helped fund and sponsor the January 6th ‘Stop the Steal’ rally that preceded the treasonous Capitol riots. Texas AG Ken Paxton was a featured speaker who promised to continue fighting the election results. They misled and instigated the citizens who stormed the Capitol later that day.
Since then, these radicalized politicians have continued their efforts to undermine democracy by any means necessary, including suppressing voters and seeking to limit their access to the polls.
The impact of their anti-democratic work is clear with this term’s Supreme Court cases, such as the one seeking to eliminate a woman’s bodily autonomy and overturn Roe vs. Wade. The Court will rule on a case which seeks to eliminate the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a global pandemic. These AGs are using the power of their office to attack and roll back almost every single domestic policy advancement of the last 50 years..
Make no mistake: These continued attacks on American values are intentional, coordinated, and without a response they can succeed. We cannot allow this.
Yes, Virginia, democracy is once again on the ballot this November. This time, in the form of the Attorney General race. We must make sure that people know – and act.
With that goal in mind, I co-founded a grassroots organization called What’s Next America. Our goal is to educate the public about the importance of AGs, to identify and warn the public about those AGs who have betrayed their oaths of office – and to sound the alarm on those who seek to join their ranks of radicalized AGs
We launched our campaign to warn voters in Virginia this week with an ad called “Behind Miyares.” It’s no surprise who is behind GOP AG candidate Jason Miyares: Donald Trump and his co-conspirators at the Republican AG Association.
Miyares has a thin record of accomplishments, but they are very much in line with Trump’s values. He has voted against expanding healthcare, voted in favor of expanding gun rights, and refused to denounce the treasonous attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Virginia deserves better.
Virginians deserve an Attorney General who will fight for them, not fight for Donald Trump. We all have to work to make that happen.
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
