See below for video and highlights from this evening’s “Red Wine and Blue” Democratic Lt. Governor candidates’ forum in Roanoke. Participants were VA State Senator Ghazala Hashmi, Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef, VA State Senator Aaron Rouse, attorney Victor Salgado, and former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.
UPDATE 8:22 pm – Candidates’ closing statements. All emphasized the high stakes and how they’ll fight back. Levar Stoney said we can turn the page for better in the Commonwealth, win the election and then “we have to deliver.” Victor Salgado talked about the need for campaign finance reform. Aaron Rouse talked about how “character matters,” that he’s a “servant leader” who will fight to make sure our rights aren’t taken away. Babur Lateef said he’s been involved in Democratic politics his whole life, that Democrats need to have a strong narrative and fight everywhere in Virginia. Ghazala Hashmi said she was told she couldn’t do it, that she was too “mild-mannered,” etc., but she fought and won – “strength is not measured by the decibel of your voice, it’s measured by the steel in your spine.”
UPDATE 8:10 pm – The last question was about what experience the candidate has to make them the best candidate for LG. Ghazala Hashmi said she’s been in the Senate for six years, fighting on all these issues we’ve been talking about, is ready from day 1 to be president of the Senate; also talked about how this is personal to her, with Trump’s Muslim ban/registry, etc. – “we’re facing a constitutional crisis” and we need leadership to fight back. Babur Lateef said he’s served for 7 years on the School Board, that this has prepared him to confront all the challenges we face, that he’s been elected three times in a large county that’s gone from red to blue. Aaron Rouse said he’s an effective leader, joked that he put together a bipartisan team that beat the House of Delegates in basketball, talked about his endorements, that he “gets it done,” that he flipped a red district, that he knows about winning, that he knows his way in and out of the Senate, etc. Victor Salgado said there aren’t major differences between the candidates on the issues, that he wouldn’t have run if Kamala Harris had won in November 2024, that he’s prepared his entire career for a fight like this one. Levar Stoney talked about the importance of knowing who you’re fighting for, that he’s the most experienced leader on the stage – as Secretary of the Commonwealth and Mayor of Richmond – and that he had a bunch of important accomplishments as mayor, including removal of Confederate monuments, which demonstrates he’s willing to “fight like hell for the least, the left-out, the forgotten and the underdog.”
UPDATE 7:58 pm – The fifth question gave candidates a choice of which issue to talk about. Levar Stoney talked about the need for gun violence prevention. Ghazala Hashmi talked about Medicaid and the crisis we’re facing in Virginia right now with the Trump administration talking about slashing Medicaid funding and how that would endanger Virginia’ entire Medicaid expansion program. Babur Lateef talked about the “critical issue” of Medicaid expansion – real people could lose their healthcare, that Virginia needs to step up on this and defend it. Aaron Rouse talked about gun violence – at Virginia Tech, in Virginia Beach, etc. – and how this can’t keep happening, that we need commonsense gun laws. Victor Salgado talked about Trump’s war on immigrants, due process, etc. and how we need to fight back.
UPDATE 7:48 pm – The fourth question was about abolishing so-called “Right to Work” laws in Virginia. Victor Salgado said he supports repealing “Right to Work” laws, that people have the right to negotiate/bargain for better wages, that he’d make employee misclassification illegal, and that he’d support everyone having a living wage. Levar Stoney said he supports repealing “Right to Work,” which is actually a “right to work for LESS,” that we should be the best state for workers – not just for business, that he supports collective bargaining at the local level. Ghazala Hashmi said she’s the only LG candidate who’s received the endorsement of a major labor organization, that she absolutely supports the repeal of the “right to work for less,” that she’s fought for worker safety (e.g., adequate rest, shade and water) and collective bargaining rights. Babur Lateef said he’d vote to repeal the “Right to Work,” that he’s committed to workers’ rights, raising the minimum wage, project labor agreements, collective bargaining, etc. Aaron Rouse said he’s absolutely support repealing “Right to Work,” that he’s the “only union member on this stage” and has been endorsed by a major union, the Teamsters, that he worked construction when he was in college, that too much wealth is accumulated in the top 1% vs the “have nots,” that “we have to do better.”
UPDATE 7:36 pm – The third question was on reproductive freedom and healthcare for women. Aaron Rouse noted that he has a 5-month-old baby girl at home, that Republicans want to take away women’s rights and that he stepped up to fight back and won a special election in a district that Republicans won by 5 points, that he has “ushered in a constitutional amendment that protects women’s reproductive freedom,” that the Trump administration is coming for women’s rights and everyone’s rights and we need to fight back. Victor Salgado said this issue is very personal to him as a father of two daughters, that he’s strongly pro-reproductive-freedom, that the Dobbs decision by a “radical activist court” upended reproductive freedom, that he supports a constitutional amendment protecting women’s reproductive freedom, etc. Levar Stoney said he has a 13-month-old girl at home as well, that potential cuts to Medicaid could seriously harm healthcare for women, that we have to invest in free health clinics in the Roanoke Valley and beyond, that we have to stand up to the Family Foundation and others, etc. Ghazala Hashmi said as a woman and mother of two grown daughters, this issue is “paramount” for her, that the Dobbs decision was devastating, that this is a critical crisis we’re facing, that she helped to write the constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedom, that she carried the Right to Contraception Act which Youngkin vetoed. Babur Lateef said he’s the only one on the stage who’s delivered babies (Ghazala Hashmi got a laugh when she stood up and pointed at herself), that he doesn’t want the government in the exam room telling him what to do, that we have to solve problems created by lousy public policy decisions.
UPDATE 7:26 pm – The second question was on priorities for public education, which is under attack by the Trump administration. Babur Lateef talked about the many threats and attacks by the Trump administration on the Prince William County public schools, DEI and even free speech, and how he’s been fighting back – in the courts, and with civil disobedience if necessary. Aaron Rouse said the Trump administration wants to support charter schools at the expense of public education, how we need to invest in public education, the importance of public education to the economy, support for vocational education, etc. Victor Salgado said Trump wants to take federal funds out of public education and has attacked our university system, pushing “cultural wedge issues,” and how we need to step up to make sure kids have access to high-quality education. Levar Stoney said it’s been “tragic” that kids are experiencing learning loss coming out of the COVID pandemic, that Virginia ranks dead last in math recovery and 41st in reading recovery, that we need to put “our shoulder to the wheel” and invest in public education/increase teacher pay. Ghazala Hashmi said she’s a “30-year educator” and chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health, said this issue is “near and dear” to her, that Glenn Youngkin is anything but a “moderate Republican,” that Youngkin has spent his time as governor attacking public education, teachers, school librarians, and that she led the effort to stop Youngkin’s attacks.
UPDATE 7:14 pm – The first question was on what the candidates would do to support the SW Virginia region, especially those who are struggling. Sen. Hashmi emphasized high-quality education, ensuring that there are good careers/jobs for graduates, broadband expansion, addressing the “healthcare desert.” Babur Lateef talked about access to high-quality healthcare and the threat from Trump to Medicaid, access to high-quality educational opportunities, the need for school construction. Aaron Rouse talked about reining in public utilities, increasing affordable housing, making sure people have access to their prescriptions, investing in public education. Victor Salgado talked about Trump’s tariffs raising prices and exposing our companies to retaliation, and how this will hurt companies in SW Virginia; also about making Virginia’s tax code less regressive/more progressive (e.g., impose a surtax on incomes over $5 million). Levar Stoney said “we all love our kids and we want our kids to be successful,” and that means “investing in our kids” – including educational facilities that aren’t falling apart, the importance of Democrats showing up and being the champions for prosperity, building more housing, etc.
UPDATE 7:12 pm – So far, the candidates have delivered their introductions. For the most part, they were very similar to the speeches the candidates delivered at the Mt. Vernon Dems’ Mardi Gras party in early March and Rep. Gerry Connolly’s St. Patrick’s Day party in mid March.
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