UPDATE 7:58 pm: Closing statements started with Sen. Aaron Rouse, emphasized that he fought back against Trump, Musk, Youngkin – and fought FOR every single Virginian. Victor Salgado said he quit his dream job after the last election, said this is a crowded field, but that you can check all the boxes with him. Levar Stoney said he fought his way up the economic ladder, has served as Secretary of the Commonwealth and youngest-ever Mayor of Richmond and achieved success; he said he’ll fight for everyone. Sen. Hashmi said he’s been fighting back against Trump, protect Medicaid, protect the rights to contraception and abortion rights, etc.; said she’s the only candidate endorsed by abortion rights and environmental groups; doesn’t need “on-the-job training.” Dr. Lateef said he’s been in this fight, standing up for his community, long before Trump arrived on the scene and he’ll be there long after Turmp is gone; pledged “steady, sober, principled leadership.” Alex Bastani said the American dream is out of reach for the vast majority of Virginians”; is seeking “deep structural changes,” unlike the “professional politicians” who will just continue the “status quo.”
UPDATE 7:49 pm: Question about policies about access to locker rooms and bathrooms in schools based on gender identity. Bastani said we’re going to have to spend money to provide facilities that meet the interests of both parties – “we want to protect everyone.” Salgado said “this is a cultural wedge issue that Republicans have put on the table; this is NOT a problem in America, they have scapegoated our trans community, some of the most vulnerable among us…when we have so many bigger, real problems, they forced this issue onto us so they can divide us” – “we should stand up for” transgender people. Lateef said he’s been “on the front lines of all these culture issues,” that PW County Schools has an “incredibly strong non-discrimination policy” to “protect all students.” Hashmi said she’s been a consistent and strong ally of the LGBTQ community, need to provide civil rights protections for minority communities, that this is an effort by Trump and Youngkin to distract us from what’s really important in schools. Rouse said “we have to protect our most vulnerable children in our schools…this is a Republican wedge issue…it takes a village to raise our babies.” Stoney said we should be the most welcoming, most inclusive state in the union; the GOP is more focused on divisiveness; we should be focused on how children are doing in the classroom; Youngkin and Earle-Sears have “used our children as pawns” and he “will not stand for” that.
UPDATE 7:42 pm: Question on domestic violence. Stoney said he saw domestic violence in his home when he was a child and it’s unacceptable – “we need to have more safe havens.” Bastani said domestic violence comes out of “our difficult economic times,” need to take away the stigma from seeking mental illness treatment, also need to raise the minimum wage so domestic partners don’t feel financially trapped to stay with their partner. Salgado said defunding these efforts is a political and moral choice, the solution is increasing funding aggressively from Richmond, plus pass gun violence prevention laws, etc. Lateef said he cared for a woman who was the victim of domestic violence, the judge let the perpetrator go. Hashmi said as a community college professor, she had many students in her classroom, sadly, who were confronting issues of domestic violence; we need to give them the resources they need to get out of domestic violence situations; need gun violence prevention laws. Rouse said at a very young age, a babysitter was murdered in a domestic violence incident; we need “commonsense gun laws”; safe gun storage legislation; make sure resources are going to victimes of domestic violence.
UPDATE 7:35 pm: Kinda loaded question by the Sinclair moderator on diversity, equity and inclusion. Sen. Rouse said “DEI is a part of Virginia state code,” that Trump and Musk are focused on creating fear and dividing us; said “DEI is code language…taking us back to an era of racism, of discrimination” and he will stand up against that. Stoney said “Black and Brown Virginians believe in equal opportunity but not equal outcomes, obviously,” said Youngkin’s “following the playbook of Donald Trump,” wants to rip people’s opportunities away, such as what happened at VMI. Bastani said “the best form of DEI is the American labor movement,” and that’s why we need to repeal “right-to-work…it’s about building connection.” Salgado said we had a major setback last November, Trump is using codes like “DEI” to divide us…putting unqualified people in charge of DoD, DHS, etc. Lateef said it’s critical that we defend this work, include everyone’s voice, offer opportunities to everyone. Hashmi said the use of the word “DEI” is simply “another coded language for racism, for misogyny” – said she’s stood up against Youngkin.
UPDATE 7:25 pm: Question on teaching history, particularly African-American history. Sen. Hashmi said we were in a good place to tell the full story of Virginia and America, but after Youngkin came into office, he radically changed the standards, stripping out critical American history. Sen. Rouse said we need to tell full, accurate history; Trump and Musk want to take parts of our history out of school books and erase history; as one of only two African-American men in the State Senate, “we are more than just athletes…we have intellect, we are smart, we are intelligent” and we need to tell the full story of the African-American community. Stoney said the atrocities of the slave era started right here in Virginia, and our students need to know about this; need to fight back against the vestiges of Jim Crow, including Confederate monuments, disenfranchisement of voters, etc. Bastani said we cannot let the Republicans rewrite history so they can rewrite the future…said the LG should show up and counter “Moms for Liberty” and other right-wing extremists at school board meetings. Salgado said Republicans use these “cultural wedge issues for electoral purpose, even if it means attacking vulnerable communities and attacking our history” and Dems need to “stand tall and speak loudly against this…” Lateef said he’s chair of one of the most diverse counties in the country, it’s crucial to listen to everyone’s voices, will fight back against Trump trying to force school districts to ditch DEI policies.
UPDATE 7:22 pm: Question about student outcomes/learning. This one’s right in Babur Lateef’s wheelhouse, as he’s Chair of the PW County School Board; says “we need to get more money from Richmond…for our children.” Sen. Hashmi said she’s a former educator and has devoted her entire life to education, chairs the Senate Committee on Education and Health, is “laser focused” on improving public education. Sen. Rouse asked, “where would I be…without our public school teachers?”; said he put in a budget amendment to support teacher pay, said we need strong investments in K-12 education. Stoney said he made supporting schools his #1 priority as mayor and made a lot of progress in funding for students, teacher salaries, school construction, etc. Bastani said we need deep structural change when it comes to education; need to redistribute money from Northern Virginia to the rest of the state…said the current system is “unsustainable.” Salgado said he’s the only one on the stage with school-aged daughters, so “this issue is personal to me”; said education is underfunded in Virginia…especially as Trump takes federal funding away.
UPDATE 7:14 pm: Question about the proposed Fairfax casino. Salgado said he opposes the casino, that we need campaign finance reform – accused Sen. Hashmi and Sen. Rouse of “financing their campaigns with big casino money, with skill gaming money,” said “integrity matters.” Lateef said he’s “100% opposed to a casino in Tysons Corner,” as well as 100% opposed to video poker machines, etc. – “they are designed to make children addictive” and are “predatory.” Sen. Hashmi said she has six years of legislative experience, unlike others on the stage; always looks at legislation that helps working families, creating good union jobs, expanding the middle class, etc. Sen. Rouse said it’s important to understand the entirety of the casinos issue – he supports legislation to give localities the OPTION of voting to allow a casino; said he’s a “small business champion.” Stoney said he negotiated with casino operators, “but the voters had a say…and they said no.” Stoney said Tysons residents don’t support a casino, and he supports the residents – not the best site. Bastani said he’s against the Tysons casino, said it makes “no rational sense”; “I’m not a fan of gambling” but localities should be able to decide on “skill games.”
UPDATE 7:06 pm: Both Alex Bastani, Victor Salgado and Levar Stoney expressed condolences to Gerry Connolly’s family (Salgado also expressed condolences for the Israelis murdered last night in DC); Babur Lateef also said “we will miss [Connolly] fondly.” Both Ghazala Hashmi and Aaron Rouse talked about pushing back against Trump. Lots of talk about standing up to Trump and Musk…
UPDATE 7:05 pm: And right out of the gate, the WJLA moderator mangled Babur Lateef’s name and didn’t do too well with Ghazala Hashmi’s name either…
With voting for the Virginia Democratic primary for Lt. Governor underway, and with the primary to be held in just 3 1/2 weeks (on June 17), I’m glad to see a debate broadcast on TV this evening at 7 pm. So that’s the good news. The bad news? It’s happening on Sinclair-owned WJLA7, and Sinclair is…yeah, very bad:
A 2019 study in the American Political Science Review found that “stations bought by Sinclair reduce coverage of local politics, increase national coverage and move the ideological tone of coverage in a conservative direction relative to other stations operating in the same market”.[3][4] The company has been criticized by journalists and media analysts for requiring its stations to broadcast packaged video segments and its news anchors to read prepared scripts that contain pro-Trump editorial content, including warnings about purported “fake news” in mainstream media, while Donald Trump has tweeted support for watching Sinclair’s content over CNN and NBC.
Oh, and the last time Virginia Democrats did a Lt. Governor debate on WJLA7? Yep, THIS happened.
“An anchor for Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Washington, D.C., station WJLA was criticized by Virginia politicians and prominent Muslims for asking a Muslim candidate for lieutenant governor if he could assure voters he’d ‘represent all of them, regardless of faith and beliefs.'”
Now, WJLA *did* end up apologizing “for anchor Dave Lucas’ ‘inappropriate’ question during the debate,” but the fact that this happened at all was both horrifying and not surprising at all, given the hard-right lean of this station’s “news” programming.
Anyway, keep that in mind as you watch tonight’s debate on your TV, or on WJLA’s Facebook or YouTube channels. I’ll post the feeds if/when they’re available and at least post highlights of the debate. For now, here are some links to learn about the candidates. (Also note: tonight’s debate is “in partnership with the Northern Virginia Democratic Black Caucus,” so that’s good at least!)
- Video, Highlights: “Friday Power Lunch” Features Both 2025 VA Dem AG Candidates, Four of Six Lt. Gov. Candidates (Alex Bastani, Ghazala Hashmi, Babur Lateef, Aaron Rouse)
- Video, Highlights From Nelson County Dems’ 2025 Virginia Lt. Governor, Attorney General Forum (all LG candidates participating other than Aaron Rouse)
- Video: Rep. Gerry Connolly’s St. Patrick’s Day Event (All LG candidates in attendance)
- Video: Mt. Vernon Dems’ Mardi Gras Party (All LG candidates in attendance)
- Video: Prince William County Democrats forum (All LG candidates in attendance)
- Video: “Red Wine and Blue” Democratic Lt. Governor forum in Roanoke (All LG candidates in attendance except for Alex Bastani).
- Links to the candidates websites: Alex Bastani, Ghazala Hashmi, Babur Lateef, Victor Salgado, Levar Stoney; Aaron Rouse
As for the state of the race, there have been no public polls released, so the only thing we have to go on is fundraising (see here for 1Q2025 numbers) and “internal” polling (Ghazala Hashmi’s is here; Levar Stoney’s is here), and straw polls for what they’re worth (not much, really, for a bunch of reasons (see here for more on that topic, as well as some of the worst straw poll misses in Virginia since 2008).
So do you know who you support for the 2025 Democratic LG nomination? If so, what are your main reasons? Are you planning to watch tonight’s debate?
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