This Is Not the Type of Person Who Should Be in the Virginia State Senate. Fortunately, There’s an Alternative.

This June, Virginia will hold primaries for numerous seats in the State Senate, where Democrats currently hold a narrow, 22-18 majority that will be on the line this November – with a great deal at stake, given that the State Senate is all that keeps Glenn Youngkin and MAGA Republicans from winning a governing “trifecta” and rolling Virginia back decades.

Most of the Democratic primaries on June 20 will be in safe, “blue” seats, so the question for Democratic voters will, in the vast majority of cases, be between which of two (or more) acceptable alternatives they prefer. In one of the districts, though, that’s most certainly not the case. That would be SD13 (Henrico, Prince George, Petersburg, Hopewell, etc.), which VA State Senator Joe Morrissey has represented for more than three years.

So why is Morrissey not an acceptable alternative for Democrats?  See below and decide for yourself, based on Morrissey’s behavior this past week – including calling a reporter and calling him and his work a “disgrace” – and over the past few years. It’s not a pretty picture.

In a phone call today state Sen. Joe Morrissey reacted to losing to me in court on Thursday. He does not seem to like me or my work, but I don’t know.
Listen to the full unedited phone call below. I saw his name show up, grabbed my recorder, and answered https://t.co/FxDzOlGGfs

— Brandon Jarvis (@Jaaavis) March 24, 2023

That’s right; a Virginia State Senator called up a political reporter – who he’d taken to court to try and force him to “for alleged text message exchanges between the reporter and Morrissey’s estranged wife, Myrna or members of her family” (“The subpoena is part of an ongoing custody battle between the state senator and his wife”). In the call, as you can hear, Morrissey berates the reporter (Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope), calls him and his reporting a “disgrace,” etc. Unacceptable, right?

Now it would be one thing if this were an isolated incident with Morrissey, but it’s definitely not (see his Wikipedia entry and the following items for more sordid details).

• VA Sen. Joe Morrissey on His Lawsuit Against Former Rep. Barbara Comstock for Claiming He Was a Sexual “Predator”: “I’m like the Jews; you hit them with a stick, they retaliate with a 2×4”
• Audio: Epic Exchange – VERY Entertaining! – as Barbara Comstock and Trumpster Radio Host Fight About Sexual “Predator” Joe Morrissey (Comstock: ” we had to warn the girls to stay away from him…preying upon your staff or young interns is not something that should go on in the Virginia General Assembly”)
• Judge dismisses restraining orders against Sen. Joe Morrissey over radio show outburst (“At no time did I ever say ‘I’ll kick your ass’”)
• Audio: Virginia State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D) Says He Does NOT Believe the Women Who Accused LG Justin Fairfax (Morrissey – “I’m not one of these folks that’s, oh, I’m afraid of offending the ‘Me Too’ movement”)
• Sheriff bans Joe Morrissey from Henrico jail over an incident with children
• Del. Joe Morrissey agrees to plea deal in teen sex case
• Pro tip to politicians: If you impregnate a teenager, don’t send out this photo

• VA Supreme Court Says Joe Morrissey Still Can’t Practice Law
• Joe Morrissey disbarred for violating State Bar rules

I was just handed this photo of Joe Morrissey — by Joe Morrissey. #BreakTheInternet pic.twitter.com/5H89jyX5ZT

— Joe St. George (@JoeStGeorge) May 14, 2015

Crazy, huh? Oh, also, this past week, Morrissey – who caucuses with the Senate Democrats and is running for reelection as a Democrat – went on MAGA radio and defended Donald Trump, repeatedly calling him the “sitting president” and “the president” for some bizarre reason and claiming he shouldn’t be charged with crimes in Manhattan, etc.

And as if all THAT’s not bad enough, Morrissey’s also not a reliable vote when it comes to protecting women’s reproductive freedom, and could end up being the deciding vote next year in favor of restricting abortion in Virginia.

So how would you describe all this? Unacceptable? Appalling? Embarrassing? Definitely not the type of person Democrats should want representing them in the State Senate? Bingo.

Fortunately, there’s a strong, far-better alternative  – former Del. Lashrecse Aird, who announced her campaign for this seat last March, and has a very good shot at defeating Joe Morrissey on June 20. This past week, former Del. Aird shared her thoughts about Morrissey, including:

• “I’ve never run against someone where people were legitimately afraid. And let me make it really plain: I have people who call me and say, is anybody else listening? I have people who will walk up to me and they’re like whispering…legitimate fear. What does that say when people are not politically afraid, but personally afraid of this individual to the point where they almost don’t want to share what they know, what they’ve seen?”
• “…I get so frustrated when I think about someone like my opponent who has the audacity to even be on the same ballot with me. It doesn’t come close when you think about actual progress that so many others, inclusive of myself, have made. And this person who literally torments other leaders, who threatens…all sorts of things, but is just given a total pass, given a total pass. Yeah, I’ll leave that there, because it just gets worse.”

So check out the following audio clips (from Women – Politics – Virginia) and see if they don’t fire you up to help nominate Lashrecse Aird on June 20 – and in the process, greatly strengthen the VA Senate Democratic Caucus, which will no longer have to deal with Joe Morrissey’s unacceptable behavior.