Earlier this afternoon, I had the chance to chat with Virginia Democratic Lt. Governor candidate Victor Salgado (at his campaign’s request, although I was happy to talk with him), who’s one of six candidates for the Democratic Lt. Governor nomination, which will be decided in just over a week. See below for a lightly edited transcript of the interview; bolding added by me for emphasis of key points.
Blue Virginia: “So I think a lot of people don’t know the candidates; I mean I’m seeing a lot of blank stares from people when I mention the primary, or like when I was at the Falls Church Memorial Day parade the other day and you could tell a lot of people had no idea who the candidates were. Also, I’m still hearing there’s like 50% undecided; I don’t know if that’s true. Anway, before we get into that, maybe you could just tell people a little bit about yourself and why you decided to run, a little bit about your background?
Victor Salgado: “Sure, but can I can make a comment about what you said? You know it is true; what I am seeing is people who would otherwise be tuned in and would be considered not just high-propensity voters but high-information voters, for some reason they haven’t tuned into this race. And, you know, we can speculate about why that is – we are not the marquee race, obviously the governor’s the marquee race of the year; there is no primary on the Republican side; there’s no primary for governor on the Democratic side. So you know, people just haven’t had a need to tune in. But that just makes the job so much harder, especially for somebody like me who’s an outsider, to break through and to grab people’s attention. And that’s why I was so upset…that the Democratic Party of Virginia wouldn’t host a debate, because that’s exactly what this race needed. I mean, as much prominence as we can get, so that voters are educated and voters have a chance to tune into the race. So it’s been quite frustrating in that respect. But what I’m hearing from other candidates is they are also frustrated, because people are not paying attention. I looked at the turnout numbers for early vote and they seem to be on the lower side historically.”
Blue Virginia: “Yeah, low compared to when there’s a governor’s race of course. In 2005, it was just an LG primary that year, and it was only 115,000 or so voted in that one. So yeah, that’s what we’re dealing with…I think we’re up higher than that now, because we have the the automatic you can sign up to get your ballot in the mail and also it’s just easier to vote early and it’s easier to vote in general thanks to Democrats…”
Victor Salgado: “So I was just remarking that this might be a race where we could see turnout anywhere from 150,000 to 500,000. Nobody knows. And I guess that’s one of the reasons why it’s so hard to poll – how do you model, you know, a poll that makes strong assumptions about turnout based on on geography and demographics…I did a bit of econometrics when I became a lawyer. So you know that that that sort of presents a challenge statistically…But let me talk to you about myself, answer your question, I’ve been dodging it for a time now. Well look, as I said I’m a political outsider, but I’ve always been politically adjacent given my line of work. I’ve prosecuted corruption and campaign finance violations, both at the state and federal level, since 2012… most recently at the Department of Justice public integrity section..[which is] being dismantled or has been dismantled by the Trump administration.”
Blue Virginia: “That’s crazy.”
Victor Salgado: “Yeah, and working at Public Integrity was a dream come true for somebody like me. Let me tell you a little bit about why that was the case. So…in college I focused on development economics, I was interested in answering the question why some communities, nations, countries, continents even develop at different rates. And obviously that’s a complex question, but that’s one that drove my academic pursuits in college and after. And the one thing that I quickly realized is that even though there are multiple factors that alter development, corruption is definitely a negative factor; it correlates negatively. It makes sense, because for a country or a society to thrive, people have to have faith in the institutions, in the courts, in the rule of law. Because if they don’t then they’re more hesitant to start a business, to invest in a business that could be taken away from them, that could be subject to vandalism without repercussions. They’re hesitant to buy property. And if they do, they spend an inordinate amount of money protecting it – I mean, money that could be spent more more effectively and productively. So corruption caught my attention early on as as a college student focused on economics.
And so when I went to law school, I quickly decided that I wanted to become a corruption prosecutor as early as first year law school. And I knew that breaking into DOJ’s ranks was pretty hard to do, you know it’s a quite elitist institution, or at least it was. I went to the University of Wisconsin, so you don’t see many uh Wisconsin law graduates in Washington. And breaking into the public integrity section was even harder. But you know, early on I set my mind to it, every single thing that I’m going to do career-wise is going to be a function of that goal. And eventually I made it. And when I got hired, it was the proudest day of my life…You know, you get very intimidated, the types of cases that they work, but you’re forced to measure up, you’re forced to discover and utilize resources that you didn’t think you had.
And so I began my career as a corruption prosecutor at the state level, but eventually I went to to the highest and most elite and premier corruption office in the country, the public integrity section, which was created after Watergate by Congress so that there is uniform and unbiased and impartial enforcement of our corruption statutes throughout the country. The public integrity section had nationwide jurisdiction. So I’ve done cases virtually all over the country…you have to build rapport, you have to present the evidence in a way that’s compelling and persuasive and whatnot so I bring all of those skills to the to the campaign trail, but we’ll talk about the campaign in a moment.
I’m married; I met my wife in law school and just like me, she had a goal in mind; she wanted to work in the reproductive rights field. And of course, working as a lawyer at Planned Parenthood is just as hard to get as working as a corruption prosecuter in the public integrity section So she set that goal for herself and she got it. She’s devoted her entire career to that fight. And now she’s the national legal director at Planned Parenthood. So we have two kids, two daughters, that we send to public schools in Arlington…they’re part of a Spanish immersion program here in Arlington County and we’re proud to send them there…And we are very much a part of their journey, and happy to be part of their journey.”
Blue Virginia: “So what I’m trying to get at is what prompted you to run for lieutenant governor of Virginia. You know, a lot of the candidates have very impressive backgrounds, but why did you decide to run for public office in general, and specifically this public office.”
Victor Salgado: “The lieutenant governor’s office is quite idiosyncratic as you would imagine right. A lot of people define it in terms of its basic functions, but it could be a lot more than that, I think. And the reason why I ran for this position, say, as opposed to AG, is because coming out of DOJ, because of the line of work that I had, I developed a familiarity with the Trump folks, without going any further. And so I was able to to anticipate the playbook in a way that I think most people couldn’t have. And the assault on federal workers, I saw that coming. So that was step one – I’m going to lose my job no matter what on January 20th. You know, you spend enough years as a corruption prosecutor, you piss off a lot of people, especially in the Trump circle.”
Blue Virginia: “Yeah, there’s a lot of corruption there.”
Victor Salgado: “So as hard as that realization was, it was, reality, and it was pretty pretty devastating, because as I said, I was very proud to have gotten to where I was, a senior federal prosecutor working some of the most cutting-edge, high-profile cases. It’s a dream come true for any prosecutor, the type of job that I had. But I had to be realistic about things. And so I knew that I was going to eventually lose my job, for the wrong reasons obviously. So the question then became, what what do I do next? And I knew that the assault on federal workers was just step one. Eventually they were going to turn their attention to the assault on state services and and then state sovereignty. And I’ve been saying this for months on the trail, and all of that of course is playing out as we’re seeing right now right. They started with state services, education and healthcare. They haven’t quite gotten their arms around law enforcement, but that’s coming. And then on state sovereignty, we saw the executive order on the elections a few weeks ago; that’s going to play out slowly over the next months. But more troubling, of course, what we’ve seen over the weekend, which is the activation of the the National Guard in California, totally unlawfully by the way, and not in full compliance with statute…
So this is me in November; I’m seeing all of this stuff around the corner and the prospect of going to a law firm or going to a company and sitting out of this fight was just not comforting. I’m obviously worried about the future of my two daughters and and every kid in in Virginia of course. So I’m the type of person who runs into a building that’s on fire, rather than away from it. And I talked to my wife and and we said, ‘Okay, well, can you add value to this situation?’ And I looked at the lieutenant governor’s field and, you know, the job and the duties of the lieutenant governor, and there is some value that I add or that I could add? And of course, the lieutenant governor is not a member of the legislature, but it does preside over the Senate and it does break ties, which is critical, especially in the current makeup, the current breakdown. It’s very close and it could get closer. So there is a world in which that office has an ability to build consent, to drive legislative initiatives.
And, frankly, I’ve said this before, and it’s been reported and I know that a lot of people are upset with me for saying this, but take campaign finance reform for example. I am going to tell House of Delegates and senators on day one as lieutenant governor, if we don’t pass campaign finance reform, none of your pet project bills better land on my desk for a tiebreaking vote, because I will withhold that vote; your legislation will not get to the governor’s desk if it has to come through me. That’s how committed I am to, for example, campaign finance reform. And just like that the lieutenant governor’s office can weigh in to these discussions, can weigh in to the process of reform and change, not just in campaign finance but law enforcement, education, access to capital, etc. etc. So when people say, you know the LG is just a ceremonial position, a stepping stone or a waiting room for something bigger, I don’t see it that way and I’m certainly not approaching it that way. I know that some folks have approached that office and even in this race, right? I mean, you can tell who’s serious about the job and who’s not. I intend to be a workhorse LG rather than a show horse.”
Blue Virginia: “So you said you looked at the field and you thought you could add value. I guess what you’re saying in a way is that you think you’d be better or I presume you’re running because you think you’d be better than the other candidates. But I mean, so far we’ve only had one televised debate and we’ve had some forums. I’m not sure most voters understand the differences between the candidates. What have you seen over these months of campaigning? Have any ideological, policy, approach to the job, whatever differences, anything really jumped out at you in terms of major differences between the candidates?”
Victor Salgado: “So let’s contextualize the answer. So let’s say Trump does here in Virginia what he did in California over the weekend. So we have a 40-hour, 48-hour window to formulate a response. Let’s say that Governor Spanberger is in office and the question then becomes, who do you want as part of that team? And I would presume that voters would want somebody who a) understands the constitution; b) understands our statutes; c) understands Washington; and d) understands the courts. I check all of those boxes. So that was the scenario that I was envisioning when I decided, when I was kicking the tires on the field and asking the question, can any of these measure up to that situation? Am I comfortable in trusting my daughters’ well-being and future to any of these people? And they’re fine people for the most part, but the answer was no, with one exception, one candidate came close. And you know, for a period of 48 hours there, I decided I’m not going to run, because this person seems to be in a position this person might be up to the task. But, you know, my two requirements for this moment for the LG position are spine and chops. And I started looking at this person’s financial disclosures, seeing where the candidate was getting money from, and I quickly realized that this person may not have as much spine as I would want for somebody in this role. And of course, as I got to know this candidate a little bit more, I quickly realized also that the chops weren’t there. So that’s why I jumped in.”
Blue Virginia: “And you don’t want to say which candidate, I presume?”
Victor Salgado: “Yeah let’s leave it at that; I don’t want to make those types of names. But if you want to start calling out names, these disclosures are public, so you can sort of put up their financial disclosures and see where they’re getting the money and quickly put together who I’m talking about. But remember this started out as a compliment, right? This one candidate may be up to the task as opposed to the other four, at the time.”
Blue Virginia: “But in terms of ideological or policy differences, have any jumped out at you on any issues from the car tax to casinos to LGBTQ, abortion, I mean a million different issues?”
Victor Salgado: “So you know we are running against Trump, that’s a reality of life, it’s unavoidable; you know, that’s the Trump vortex – he sucks you into his world and it’s unavoidable. But we also have to run for Virginia. And what I mean by that is pro-growth policies that promote small business and access to capital and whatnot. That’s also part of the job. And I’m not seeing people talk about that in this field, maybe because they don’t have the experience. But as I mentioned earlier, I focused my studies on development economics after the bachelor’s degree, I worked in international trade right, so I understand how these things play out and the importance of making sure of policies that are pro market, pro growth. But when I say pro market, I don’t mean hands off; I mean the market is not perfect and sometimes you need regulation to ensure that there is a level playing field. But that’s the discussion that we should also be having. But there’s nobody to have it with, because none of the background of the other four candidates or five candidates includes that in their portfolio. For better or for worse, they just haven’t had a chance to to think about those issues the way that I have. So that’s one distinction.
The second distinction, I’ve said this on the trail, while we may agree on the why and the what needs to be done, protect Virginia against Trump etc and why, because we’re Democrats, and we believe in the big tent, we bring everybody into the fold, into the province of America, what sets me apart is the how. And again for these times, what I’ve been saying and as I just illustrated with the hypothetical, we need a lieutenant governor, somebody who’s part of the team leading Virginia that understands the constitution, understands Washington, understands Trumpism, just as much as they understand Richmond and Virginia. And obviously I check those boxes in a way that the other candidates don’t. So that sets me apart as well.”
Blue Virginia: “I’m trying to get to specifics, I don’t know, maybe there aren’t any other than campaign finance reform?”
Victor Salgado: “Nobody is talking about this the way that I am. Nobody is as committed as I am to to bring reform to Virginia. I mean, it’s an outrageous situation as you know. We have zero restrictions, we might as well be living in the 16th century.”
Blue Virginia: “Would you ban Dominion from donating money to candidates or any one individual from donating millions?”
Victor Salgado: “I would corporate contributions, yes, I wouldn’t outright ban them as they are at the federal level. I do believe that corporations should have PACs and if they want to weigh into the political scene uh they should be able to do that. But I would certainly cap contributions, direct contributions. And we can talk about you know what’s a reasonable cap – $5,000, $10,000…But the problem we’re seeing now.”
Blue Virginia: “Right, it’s any amount, it’s unlimited. But the reason I raised Dominion as opposed to just generally corporations, is Dominion’s a huge player in Virginia and it’s a supposedly state-regulated monopoly utility, it was set up as a monopoly but it’s subject to regulation. And so they are able to donate money to the very people who are supposed to be regulating it. Do you think it’s a conflict of interest?”
Victor Salgado: “I mean absolutely, it’s a conflict of interest and and it’s not just the appearance of a conflict of interest, it’s an actual conflict of interest, right? And we need to take care of that. But it’s not just the regulation aspect of it. I mean, you asked yourself the question and we’ve had to answer this question on the trail multiple times, regarding for example data centers. We have to approach it on an ad hoc basis, see if they make sense or not, consult with all the stakeholders. make sure that the impact on the environment isn’t outweighed by the benefits. But none of that has been happening, you know it’s sort of been the wild west. Everybody, every politician has been ‘Yeah bring them over.’ And and you ask yourself the question, why? Why is the case? Why are politicians so hands off and so willing to cut blank checks to these monstrosities, because they’re huge and they have a huge footprint…And and it’s because the more data centers we build, the more dependent we are on on Dominion Energy, because the more burdening of the grid. And I don’t think that’s accidental. When you have some of the most influential politicians in Virginia receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars and unfortunately this is both on the Republican and the Democratic side, it’s very convenient to just look the other way. And in this race, the lieutenant governor’s race, we see the same thing; these are folks who have in the past received money from Dominion or are currently receiving money from executives at Dominion. And so they’re asked that question and they give you a BS answer, right? Oh yeah, we have to look at it you know, they’re good, they’re bad, but nobody’s answering the core issue, which is what is this doing for Virginia in the long run not just in terms of our development but also the environment, and how does it impact the communities?
So again, this is just one example about how campaign finance reform impacts other policy discussions and how politicians including in the LG race are so conveniently willing to look the other way because of this symbiotic relationship between Dominion and others. I mean, you see it in the gaming industry as well. You know, I called both Senator Hashmi and Senator Rouse out for receiving money from from these interests, which would explain their vote on the Fairfax Casino, pretty much turning their backs to Northern Virginia because nobody in Northern Virginia and Fairfax County wanted this casino. But there you have it; it’s political capture and it creates dysfunctions throughout every single aspect/realm of policy. So we need to get it out. I am committed to to reforming our campaign finance laws and nobody else is willing to take that, nobody else is willing to do that in the way that I am.”
Blue Virginia: “Yeah, the only other thing about data centers I would say is that they do bring in a lot of money to localities, so it’s not – I agree with a lot of what you’re saying – but it’s also that they do bring in a huge amount of money to the localities and localities like that because they need money and they want money…”
Victor Salgado: “No, I get it. And it’s a big one…these interests are so entrenched in Richmond and in the localities that changing or reforming laws is going to take a lot of political will and a lot of political might and a lot of sophistication and understanding of how you do this. And once again, respectfully and modestly, I check all of those boxes. I don’t think you’ll see another politician in the next two or three generations who combines all three of those elements. And so, you probably won’t see a true effort to reform in the next two or three generations; I mean, something seismic has to happen for that to be the case. But I am offering that to Virginia, that is on the table for me. And like I said, I’m willing to withhold tiebreaking votes to make that happen, to make that a reality…I’m very familiar with Supreme Court juristprudence in the area, so I would be able to look at a proposed reform bill and and spot any problems that we could have down the line if Dominion and others challenge our laws in federal court…”
Blue Virginia: “So campaign finance, and that relates to a bunch of other different issues of course. But any social issues or something else that jumped out at you with the other candidates in your forums and debates that you think voters should know about? Social issues?”
Victor Salgado: “I hope this came through in the debate, I am a true believer in building our quest towards a more perfect union. And that includes everybody in the United States, no matter your skin color, your station in life, who you choose to love, how you were born. And I sense that when people, when the other candidates talk about these thorny issues, they’re talking at the issue rather than putting themselves in the shoes of of the marginalized communities. And obviously that’s something that I try to do. And so when there was that question at the debate at the forum about the bathrooms issue, which I thought was a ridiculous question and it should have been as about law enforcement as they had previewed before the the break at the debate. I don’t know if you remember my answer, but I didn’t you know recite the policies and why we need to do this and what I would do, the core of the issue is that we need to feel what this community is feeling, and so I refuse to pay any attention to that question, because it’s a right-wing manufactured contrived talking point. And rather than give the usual and conventional and usual expected answer, I mean we to do this and that, I put it on the table, I said we shouldn’t have this conversation to begin with, because having this conversation which is not happening, which is not a real problem by itself is hurting the transgender community.”
Blue Virginia: “It was right-wing framing. That was a debate held on Sinclair, which is a right-wing propaganda station. I don’t know why Democrats did that, but they did they did it four years ago too and it was kind of a debacle…they asked an Islamophobic question which was absolutely insane. But that’s what they do. But speaking of right-wingers, we’re just about out of time here I think, but I wanted to get your thoughts on the guy you could be facing in a few weeks if you win this nomination – John Reid. I feel like there’s been almost no talk about that guy. He ran a rightwing MAGA radio show for years. I listened too many times, unfortunatelym because he had a lot of guests on there who were news makers; I wanted to hear what they had to say. But he’s spewed out conspiracy theories, COVID denial, you name it; bigotry of all types, transphobia definitely. And then recently, he said on the 5-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder that basically George Floyd deserved to die. And so these are the types of things that this guy believes and and talks about and he’s the nominee for lieutenant governor of Virginia on the Republican side who you could be facing if you win the nomination. So I’m just curious if you have any thoughts on him.”
Victor Salgado: “Yeah, so I do have thoughts. I’ve been asked before, hey what do you think of the Republicans, what about them putting on the most diverse ticket ever. And you scratched the surface right and let’s break it down. You have a Black woman leading the ticket who harbors some pretty vitriolic views about the gay community and on women’s rights. And of course you have a gay lieutenant governor who as you said has some bigoted views on Black people, as you just said about the George Floyd situation. Even though the top of the ticket is a Black woman and of course let’s not talk about Miyares in the Hispanic community, that’s also a huge a huge contradiction. So you know, sure, the makeup is diverse. But when you dig under the surface, when you look under the hood, you know it’s one of the most reactionary, bigoted, hate-filled tickets that the Republicans have set forth.
And John Reid is no exception. His heart is full of hatred. I stood up for him, actually, when they were trying to get him out of the race because he was a gay person; I saw that as an affront to the entire gay community. And as I said at the time, even in the dark corners of the Republican Party where hate dominates and cruelty dominates, we should be able to speak up on principle, because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. But I was very clear; this doesn’t mean that we’re buddies, I still think that you’re a hate-filled unserious clown of a person with clownish views. And the racism is just so toxic. He so comfortably talks about these issues, it’s truly bewildering. And I don’t think any of the LG candidates have focused on him, because for a moment there we we didn’t think that they would let him stay on the ticket. But apparently, obviously he’s going to stay on the ticket now. Eventually we’ll train our attention on him. And, you know, Virginia isn’t living in the times that John Reid would like to live in.”
Blue Virginia: “You know, the thing is, I see the primary to some extent as a test drive or a trial run, a rehearsal. I want to see how you guys would run the general election campaign. I want to see how whoever the nominee is going to be, how you would take on the Republican ticket. They’re going to throw all kinds of stuff at you and the Democratic ticket, that we’re suppopedly ‘soft on crime’ and we ‘love illegals’ quote unquote, and they’re going to say we want trans people in bathrooms and just all the stuff Youngkin did in 2021. And I want to hear how you guys will fight back.”
Victor Salgado: “I will speak very clearly to Winsome Sears, John Reid and Jason Miyares about about my positions, in a way they can’t come at me the way that they usually come at most Democrats. I mean, you can’t talk about ‘soft on crime’ when you’re a prosecutor. I’ve led my career do that right. I am somebody who can talk about law and order and safety in a way that no other Democrat can talk about at the same time that I stand up for strong progressive values, where we are the big tent and we take care of everybody and we leave nobody behind. So in a way I am in a more advantageous position vis a vis my other lieutenant governor candidates on the Democratic side. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t take a punch and throw a punch myself, right? I am a prosecutor, a trial attorney at my core, and I’ve gone up some pretty formidable opponents.”
Blue Virginia: “And so would you look forward to debating John Reid?”
Victor Salgado: “I would be delighted to take that.”
Blue Virginia: “That’s what I figured.”
Victor Salgado: “Because rarely do you have a chance to spotlight somebody’s hate, somebody’s confused reality. I mean, think about what type of person, what type of compass you have, to be a gay man trying to represent and trying to find a place a home in the MAGA Republican party. You know, what type of tradeoffs and internal struggles do you have to wave the white flag to in order to be comfortable with that position. So that’s why we see of course him lashing out against other communities…So I would love to lay that bard, to spotlight that.”
Blue Virginia: “It would be fun to watch; I mean a a skilled prosecutor like yourself with very different values than that guy. It would be very entertaining from a blogger perspective or whatever, but it also would be very informative for the public to see…”
Victor Salgado: “But it would also be an exercise in civics, because he is just utterly unprepared, unqualified for the job, right? I mean, I don’t even know what’s his true profession other than…”
Blue Virginia: “He was also a political aid to George Allen and some other Republicans in the past.”
Victor Salgado: “I mean he’s a carnival bucker. And I think it would be important for the younger generations to see two candidates, one who’s not prepared for the job, the other one who’s qualified for the job, and obviously that would be me, sort of go at it so that they see that democracy does and can yield the right results, you can still have faith in our democracy. Obviously Donald Trump set us back in that regard, he should have never gotten elected, he’s utterly unqualified to be president of the United States. So we have to reclaim the promise of democracy. And fighting John Reid on the debate stage, I would see that not just as a contest between two individuals vying for the lieutenant governor’s office, I would see it as a contest between pro-democracy and anti-democracy, undemocratic forces in our country. And I think we need to we need to reclaim that hill and plant a strong red, white and blue flag: this is America, this is what we stand for.”
Blue Virginia: “We’re just about out of time, but any other thoughts about ether your fellow candidates, the campaign, or anything else you want readers tp know?”
Victor Salgado: “I just want us to focus again on the merits of a candidacy. I mean, we’ve seen for example Dr. Lateef, he’s got signs out there saying the Northern Virginia candidate, to the exclusion of myself who lives in Arlington…and Alex Bastani. Or you have him say for example, I was the first one you know to come out against the casino; that’s not true – I am the first one on record.”
Blue Virginia: “I believe he said elected official.”
Victor Salgado: “Well, okay, it’s deceptive still. I mean, he keeps talking about how we cut taxes in Prince William County; I mean, you’re on the school board, you have nothing to do with taxes, so what are you talking about? So I’m using this just as an example about about how we shouldn’t fight or how we should focus on the merits and we should do it with with candor and we should always do it with the truth. And unfortunately I’m not seeing that in the lieutenant governor’s race…so I want the electorate to focus on the merits of a candidate. Obviously there are some good candidates, one in particular who’s done quite a bit, but they’re not the right fit for this time, they’re not the right candidate for this moment.
And again I want to contextualize this in a very possible scenario that could be around the corner in the next couple weeks or months or a year, where Donald Trump does what he’s doing in California and we have 48 hours or 72 hours to formulate a competent forceful response that protects Virginia, its integrity and its sovereignty, and who do you want to be part of that team? Who do you want hunkered down trying to figure out how to respond alongside Abigail Spanberger? What type of person, what type of experience, what type of chops, what type of spine do you want in that situation? And that’s the question that I would ask voters to focus on. And when they do that, I think that my candidacy will prevail. So that’s my parting thought, hopefully they’ll see it that way.”
Blue Virginia: “Well, we’ll find out in about eight days! So I appreciate your time and good luck out there on the campaign trail, and yeah we’re gonna find out in not very long who’s going to be the nominee…”