Home Blog Page 112

Friday News: “When the Top General in the U.S. Says You’re ‘Fascist to the Core’”; “Trump Spews Profanity and Insults at Catholic Charity Dinner”; “Trump Says Harris Running Against Him Is a Criminal Act”; “Hey Democrats, Don’t Panic — Here’s Why”; “There is no Fox ‘news side.'”

17

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, October 18.

Sen. Tim Kaine Calls IDF’s “elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar” a “monumental win for the Israeli and Palestinian people and the long-term stability of the region”

10

See below for reactions to the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar – pure evil, bringing disaster/horror upon innocent Israelis AND upon his own people – who he couldn’t have cared less about, simply used for his own purposes. Anyway, as Sen. Tim Kaine correctly argues below, now it’s time for a ceasefire, hostage release, reconstruction, etc.

KAINE STATEMENT ON ELIMINATION OF HAMAS LEADER YAHYA SINWAR

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement regarding the Israeli Defense Forces’ elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar:

“The elimination of Yahya Sinwar, a long-time Hamas leader and one of the chief architects of the October 7 attack, is a monumental win for the Israeli and Palestinian people and the long-term stability of the region. It is in the best interest of Israeli and American national security that this critical development serve as a natural ending point for this conflict. The time is now for Israel and Hamas to finally accept a deal to establish a ceasefire and release the remaining hostages.”

 

Statement from President Joe Biden on the Death of Yahya Sinwar

Early this morning, Israeli authorities informed my national security team that a mission they conducted in Gaza likely killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.  DNA tests have now confirmed that Sinwar is dead.  This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.

As the leader of the terrorist group Hamas, Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Israelis, Palestinians, Americans, and citizens from over 30 countries.  He was the mastermind of the October 7th massacres, rapes, and kidnappings.  It was on his orders that Hamas terrorists invaded Israel to intentionally – and with unspeakable savagery – kill and massacre civilians, a Holocaust survivor, children in front of their parents, and parents in front of their children.

Over 1,200 people were killed on that day, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, including 46 Americans.  More than 250 were taken hostage, with 101 still missing. That number includes seven Americans, four of whom are believed to still be alive and held by Hamas terrorists.  Sinwar is the man most responsible for this, and for so much of what followed.

Shortly after the October 7 massacres, I directed Special Operations personnel and our intelligence professionals to work side-by-side with their Israeli counterparts to help locate and track Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza.

With our intelligence help, the IDF relentlessly pursued Hamas’s leaders, flushing them out of their hiding places and forcing them onto the run.  There has rarely been a military campaign like this, with Hamas leaders living and moving through hundreds of miles of tunnels, organized in multiple stories underground, determined to protect themselves with no care for the civilians suffering above ground.  Today, however, proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes.

To my Israeli friends, this is no doubt a day of relief and reminiscence, similar to the scenes witnessed throughout the United States after President Obama ordered the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden in 2011.

Israel has had every right to eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas. Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another October 7.

I will be speaking soon with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to congratulate them, to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people.

There is now the opportunity for a “day after” in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.  Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all of those goals. That obstacle no longer exists. But much work remains before us.

STATEMENT OF INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN WARNER

On the death of Yahya Sinwar ~

WASHINGTON – Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued a statement on the death of Hamas terrorist Yahya Sinwar:

“Earlier today I spoke with Director Burns, who confirmed that Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and one of the masterminds of the October 7 terrorist attack, has been killed in Gaza. As a terrorist leader, Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocents, including Americans, Israelis and Palestinians. While justice has been served to Sinwar, let us not forget that the terrorist network he headed still holds dozens of people hostage in Gaza, and we must continue to press for their safe return.”

Virginia Interfaith Center Launches “Interfaith Souls to the Polls” to Boost Early Voting in Richmond

4

Good stuff from the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy:

Virginia Interfaith Center Launches “Interfaith Souls to the Polls” to Boost Early Voting in Richmond

Richmond, VA – The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP) is launching its “Interfaith Souls to the Polls” initiative to increase early voter turnout in Richmond on Sunday, October 27, 2024. This event will bring together congregations for a multi-vehicle caravan to three early voting sites, featuring community programming with refreshments, entertainment, and messages from local leaders.

This initiative aims to counter the recent decline in early voter participation—down 20% in 2023—and to ensure a smoother Election Day by encouraging more people to vote early. Congregations are encouraged to include voting messages in their services, emphasizing civic engagement as an essential part of their faith practice.

This program also focuses on racial equity by targeting outreach to Black congregations, addressing historical barriers to voting. “Interfaith Souls to the Polls is a way to harness the faith community’s influential presence as the catalyst for civic engagement,” said Rev. Dr. LaKeisha Cook, Co- Executive Director, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. “It’s an opportunity to harness the collective power of the community by bringing together congregations to participate in early voting as a culminating part of their Sunday morning worship experience.”

The events will take place across the three locations in Richmond from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. The three locations are:

Hickory Hill Community Center: 3000 East Belt Blvd Richmond, VA 23234

Office of Elections: 2134 West Laburnum Avenue Richmond, VA 23227

City Hall: 900 East Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219

For further information regarding the events please contact, Robert Lester, robert@virginiainterfaithcenter.org

About Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy: Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP) is a multi-faith, nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a statewide base that includes over 20,000 people of faith and good will in every legislative district in Virginia, working together with hope for and focus on a more just society.

###
END

With Three Weeks To Go, The Knives Are Out For Cao’s “No Show Campaign” 

11

From the Democratic Party of Virginia:

With Three Weeks To Go, The Knives Are Out For Cao’s “No Show Campaign”

Richmond, VA – Election Day is less than three weeks away and Republicans have the knives out for Hung Cao’s “lazy,” “horrible,” and “terrible” campaign. Hung Cao is facing intense criticism from Republicans for his poorly run campaign, with former Trump Virginia Chair John Fredericks saying that Hung Cao will lose Virginia.

Here’s what folks are saying about Cao and his campaign strategy heading into the homestretch:

  • “Hung Cao has run an absolutely horrible and terrible campaign up until this point, and maybe he can turn it around. Daniel Gade had one leg and he covered the state 50 times more than Hung Cao has done. It’s been lazy campaigning… You’re going to have to get your butt up and get in gear.” – Tim Anderson, former member of the Virginia House of Delegates
  • “Even Republicans complain that Cao hasn’t been seen enough on the trail.” – Larry Sabato, Virginia Mercury
  • “For a challenger, taking the opposition to task is one thing. That’s about accountability. But trivializing yourself in the process; that’s something else.” – Jeff Schapiro, Richmond Times-Dispatch
  • “With the election only weeks away, television viewers are seeing a parade of political ads. One race is seeing lopsided ad spending. Campaign finance documents compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project show political ad spending in favor of incumbent U.S. Senator Tim Kaine is outpacing ads in favor of Republican challenger Hung Cao by more than 16 to one.” – WVTF
  • “My dad used to say, ‘The world is run by people who show up.’ I am puzzled by the strategy.” – Ed Lynch, chairman of the political science department at Hollins College and former chairman of the Roanoke County Republican Committee
  • “What may be the most onerous burden for Cao — beyond a near-bare treasury, the skimpiest of organizations and little messaging beyond what he pumps out on social media — is the menacing ticket-mate on whom he depends to drive the Republican base: Trump.” – Jeff Schapiro, Richmond Times-Dispatch
  • “Hung Cao is not going to win this seat, Harris is going to carry Virginia.” – John Fredericks
  • “But Youngkin, in narrowly defeating Terry McAuliffe in 2021, is evidence that candidate quality matters. And Youngkin can’t graft that to Cao, whose inexperience — despite an unsuccessful go as a congressional candidate in Northern Virginia in 2022 — consistently shows.” – Jeff Schapiro, Richmond Times-Dispatch
  • “He’s [Cao’s] even insulted part of the commonwealth where Republicans have their largest advantage,” – Bob Holsworth, a Richmond political analyst.

“As we head into the homestretch, it’s no secret why Hung Cao is hiding from Virginians: he’s trying to hide his extreme, out-of-touch agenda that would ban abortion with no exceptions, forcibly relocate thousands of Virginia workers, and rip away healthcare from hundreds of thousands of Virginians with a pre-existing  condition,” said DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker.

Thursday News: “Trump name checks “Pelosis” as he doubles down on “enemy from within” rhetoric”; “Trump makes at least 19 false claims in one-hour Fox town hall with [Trump-supporting] women”; Fox “News” Selectively Edited Clip to Whitewash Trump

36

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, October 17.

BREAKING: JD Vance Says “No” When Asked if Trump Lost 2020 Election that He Definitely Lost

7

From the DNC War Room:

BREAKING: JD Vance Says “No” When Asked if Trump Lost 2020 Election that He Definitely Lost

In response to JD Vance repeating Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump picked JD Vance to be his running mate because he knew Vance would go along with his dangerous election denialism and baseless attacks on our democracy no matter what. It’s pathetic – and voters are ready to remind Trump why he lost in 2020 again this November.”

NEW: JD Vance said Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election “by the words [Vance] would use.”

Questioner: “What message do you think it sends to independent voters when you do not directly answer the question did Donald Trump lose in 2020?”

JD Vance: “On the election of 2020 I’ve answered this question directly a million times. No, I think there are serious problems in 2020, so did Donald Trump lose the election? Not by the words that I would use […] I really couldn’t care less if you agree or disagree with me on this issue.”

NBC News: “On stage in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Vance said that he does not believe Trump lost the 2020 election. Asked if Trump lost he said, ‘No.’

“This is the first time Vance has explicitly said ‘no’ when asked if the former president lost the 2020 election. He previously said he saw issues with the election, including at the vice presidential debate where he said ‘I’m focused on the future’ instead of answering if Trump lost.”

Just last week, Vance failed FIVE consecutive times to tell the truth about Donald Trump’s loss in 2020 – and says he would not have certified the results.

New York Times“Vance, Given 5 Chances to Say Trump Lost in 2020, Takes None”

“Heading into the final three weeks of the 2024 election, Senator JD Vance of Ohio will still not say whether his running mate won or lost the last race for the White House.

“In an interview with The New York Times that will be published on Saturday, Mr. Vance repeatedly refused to acknowledge former President Donald J. Trump’s defeat and went to even greater lengths to avoid doing so than he did during the vice-presidential debate earlier this month…

“On her fifth request for a yes-or-no answer, Ms. Garcia-Navarro pointed out that there was ‘no proof, legal or otherwise,’ of election fraud.

“Mr. Vance dismissed that as ‘a slogan.’ …

During his 90-minute debate with Mr. Walz, Mr. Vance twice refused to answer a direct question about whether Mr. Trump had lost the 2020 election. It was widely considered his weakest debate moment and may have turned off voters. In CNN’s focus group of seven undecided Michigan voters who watched the debate, the only person who settled on a pick after the event said he would support Vice President Kamala Harris specifically because of Mr. Vance’s refusal to acknowledge the 2020 election results…

“In his Times interview, Mr. Vance said he would not have voted to certify the 2020 results.”

Vance previously falsely claimed that Trump won the 2020 election in an unearthed video.

Daily Beast“Video Shows JD Vance Saying Trump Won the 2020 Election”

“JD Vance claimed Donald Trump won the 2020 election in an unearthed clip from 2022. The video… comes days after Vance refused to outright admit that Trump lost the race against Joe Biden during the CBS News vice presidential debate.”

On the debate stage with Governor Walz, Vance REFUSED to admit that Trump lost the 2020 election while whitewashing January 6 and declining to say if he would challenge this November’s election results.

NBC News“‘Damning non-answer’: Vance refuses to acknowledge Trump lost the 2020 election”

“JD Vance refused to acknowledge that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election during the vice presidential debate Tuesday and downplayed the seriousness of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which injured more than 140 law enforcement officers. He also declined to say whether he would seek to challenge the results of this year’s election.”

ABC News“JD Vance refuses to say Trump lost in 2020, downplays events of Jan. 6”

Politico: “Vance refuses to admit that Trump lost the 2020 election”

“Vance omitted Trump’s attacks on his then-Vice President Mike Pence while a violent riot raged, as well as his months of fomenting false claims that the election was stolen and urging his supporters to ‘stop the steal.’ … Vance has previously said in interviews that he would have done in 2020 what Pence refused to do: facilitate challenges to the election at the Jan. 6 session of Congress, despite constitutional and legal restraints meant to prevent it.”

NBC News: “When asked if he would challenge this year’s election results, Ohio Sen. JD Vance avoided a direct answer, instead defending Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021.”

Vance is an extreme election denier with a pattern of not committing to accepting this November’s election results, saying he would not have certified the 2020 election, and continuing to whitewash the violent January 6 insurrection.

HuffPost“[Vance] said he would accept a Biden win only if he considered the election to be legitimate. … Vance’s comments illustrate a new tactic by Republican lawmakers, who are now placing conditions on accepting election results.”

New York Times: “J.D. Vance Says He Would Accept the Election Results, With a Caveat”

Spectrum News: “Vance again says he wouldn’t have certified 2020 election if he was vice president”

ABC News“JD Vance says [he] wouldn’t have certified 2020 race until states submitted pro-Trump electors”

New York Times: “[Vance] has said that, unlike Vice President Mike Pence in 2020, he would have helped Mr. Trump overturn the results, by accepting Trump electors that had not been elected by voters.”

Bloomberg: “[Vance] has asserted that the 2020 presidential race was stolen from Donald Trump.”

Vance“I think the entire post-2020 thing would have gone a lot better if there had actually been an effort to provide alternative slates of electors, and to force us to have that debate. I think it would’ve been a much better thing for the country. … [Trump] was trying to take a constitutional process to its natural conclusion.

“I think it would’ve been extraordinarily disappointing to a whole host of people that I care a lot about if Trump had just taken it [and conceded the 2020 election before January 6].”

Vance“No real Republican with any credibility in the party is still blaming [Trump for January 6].”

The Hill“JD Vance says he is ‘skeptical’ Pence’s life was in danger on Jan. 6”

Politico“[Vance] downplayed the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, when Pence was forced to evacuate the building as rioters called for his hanging.”

VA Sierra Club: Dominion Needs to “Go Back to the Drawing Board” on Its Proposed New Integrated Resource Plan

2

From the Virginia Sierra Club:

Sierra Club Statement on Dominion Energy’s Proposed Integrated Resource Plan

IRP makes clear that ratepayers and climate cannot afford explosive data center growth. 

Richmond, Va – Yesterday, Dominion Energy proposed their 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to the SCC, a document describing how the utility plans to meet energy demand over the next fifteen years. Among the many concerning elements of the IRP is the impact of data centers on Virginia’s energy grid, utility bills, and climate progress. The document makes clear that soaring energy demand is predominantly driven by data centers. Dominion plans to meet the needs of data centers by constructing massive quantities of methane gas-fired power plants, investing in unproven technologies, while preserving expensive, inefficient, and aging fossil fuel infrastructure – all of which will cost ratepayers billions through increased electric bills and sacrifice Virignia’s climate commitments.

In response, Connor Kish, Director of the the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter said:

“Dominion’s IRP further exposes the ugly truth: explosive data center growth is fundamentally unconducive to maintaining affordable electric bills. If Dominion Energy and Big Tech’s expectation is that the people of Virginia will pay for their new methane power plants, pay to keep fossil fuels running longer, pay for the cost of complying with federal law, when each plant must close by 2045, so they can earn sky-high profits, they need to go back to the drawing board.

It’s encouraging to see the State Corporation Commission require Dominion to provide information on the true impact of data center growth as it relates to ratepayers and Virginia’s zero-emission climate goal. Big Tech should be held accountable for the massive energy consumption of their data centers, and it is essential that they contribute fairly and responsively to the infrastructure that supports their operations. Instead, the IRP lays out a plan that unfairly forces ratepayers to pick up the tab for an industry that is profiting immensely while disregarding the financial and health impact on Virginia families.”

###

The Sierra Club Virginia Chapter is a grassroots, non-partisan advocacy organization dedicated to building a commonwealth where all people may enjoy our natural treasures, access clean air and water, and thrive in a healthy community. At over 20,000 members strong, the Virginia Chapter coordinates action to promote climate solutions and oppose projects and policies that put the interests of polluters above the needs of communities through an inclusive, justice-centered movement.

Video: In Charlamagne Tha God Town Hall, Vice President Harris Lays Out Her Vision for Black Americans, Slams Trump’s “Weakness”

4

From the Kamala Harris for President campaign:

In Charlamagne Tha God Town Hall, Vice President Harris Lays Out Her Vision for Black Americans, Slams Trump’s “Weakness”

Vice President Harris: It is a “sign of weakness that you want to please dictators and seek their flattery and favor … would demean America’s military … don’t have the courage to stand up for the Constitution.”

Harris: “Ask Donald Trump what his plan is for Black America … I’ll tell you what it is. Look at Project 2025.”

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris joined Charlamagne Tha God of The Breakfast Club for a live town hall while in Detroit, Michigan, where she took questions spanning topics including lowering costs and strengthening the economy, criminal justice reform, expanding access to health care, protecting civil rights, and more over the course of over an hour. She called out Donald Trump for being a “weak” and “unfit” leader who has sought the approval of dictators and demeaned America’s military, and warned about the dangers of his Project 2025 agenda for Black Americans.

  • Harris called out Trump as too “weak” and “unfit” to lead our country: She said that while Trump “tries to project” “a sign of strength” by “trying to name call and demean and divide,” he is actually a “weak” and “unfit” leader. She added that “it’s a sign of weakness” to “want to please dictators and seek their flattery and favor,” “demean America’s military,” and to not “have the courage to stand up for the Constitution.”
  • Harris warned listeners about what Trump’s dangerous Project 2025 agenda would mean for Black Americans: Harris encouraged voters to “ask Donald Trump what his plan is for Black America,” making clear that his plan is to enact his “Project 2025” agenda that would include bringing back “stop and frisk,” “ending the ability of Medicare to negotiate drug prices,” and calling to “‘terminate’ the Constitution.”
  • Harris spoke about her roots in the Black church tradition and Trump’s claims that he better understands the Black community: Harris described how she “grew up in the Black church” and how her faith has taught her the importance of “lifting one another up” instead of measuring strength by “who you beat down.” She added, on Trump: “And then he’s selling $60 Bibles or tennis shoes and trying to play people as though that makes him more understanding of the Black community. Come on.”

WATCH HERE:

On Why Trump Has Proven Himself to Be Too Weak and Unfit to Lead Our Country:

Vice President Harris: “One of the things that I think is really ironic, but at play. Donald Trump, through his – his way of trying to name call and demean and divide, tries to project as though those things are a sign of strength, when in fact, the man is really quite weak. He’s weak. It’s a sign of weakness that you want to please dictators and seek their flattery and favor. It’s a sign of weakness that you would demean America’s military and America’s service members. It’s a sign of weakness that you don’t have the courage to stand up for the Constitution of the United States and the principles upon which it stands. This man is weak and he is unfit.”

Charlamagne Tha God: “So why is everybody sitting around acting like Donald Trump isn’t going to plan to steal this election if he loses? Like you know Republican officials won’t certify the results of the election. We know it’s Donald Trump’s Supreme Court. Why are people acting like this is going to be a free and fair election – and he won’t try to steal it?”

Vice President Harris: “Well, but those are two different points.”

Charlamagne Tha God: “Okay.”

Vice President Harris: “So it will be a free and fair election if we, the American people, stand up for that. You know, I see it as this. I think that there – democracy has – it’s like two points of nature. One, there’s a fact about a democracy that when it is intact, it – the strength that it possesses in terms of the protection of people’s individual rights and liberties. When a democracy is intact, we protect your rights and your liberties – strength. Democracy is also very fragile. It will only be as strong as our willingness, we the people, to fight for it. And that as much as anything, is what’s at play in this election. Fight for our democracy. Flawed, though it is, imperfect, though it may be, because there are very two real paths right now. The man has told you he intends to terminate the Constitution. The man has told you all these things about his disregard and disrespect for your freedoms and liberty, including the right of a woman to make decisions about her own body. And he hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention they would do exactly what they did.”

On What Trump’s Dangerous Project 2025 Agenda Would Mean for Black America:

Vice President Harris: “Ask Donald Trump what his plan is for Black America. Ask him. You know, I’ll tell you what it is. Look at Project 2025. Project 2025 tells you: the plan includes making police departments have stop and frisk policies. The plan includes making it more difficult for workers to receive overtime pay. The plan includes ending the ability of Medicare to negotiate drug prices. You know what we have done? He said he would, we did, which means that that’s how we brought down the cost of prescription medication. His plan includes making it more difficult for working people to get by, and to destroy our democracy.

“You know what he says he’ll do? ‘Terminate’ the Constitution of the United States. Let me remind folks, you know what’s in the Constitution of the United States? The Fourth Amendment, which protects you against unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fifth Amendment, the Sixth Amendment, the 14th Amendment. And he’s going to ‘terminate’ the Constitution of the United States, which, in most of those amendments, one thing or another was about a movement spurred by Black people to ensure that we would be equally protected under the law.”

On Vice President Harris’ Commitment to Partnering with the Black Church:

Vice President Harris: “So first of all, that allegation, of course, is coming from the Trump team, because they are full of mis- and disinformation, because they are trying to disconnect me from the people I have worked with and that I am from, so that they can try and have some advantage in this election, because otherwise they have nothing to run on. I grew up in the Black church. I grew up, I grew up attending 23rd Avenue Church of God in Oakland, California.”

Reverend Solomon Kinloch Jr.: “That’s church.”

Vice President Harris: “Yes, that is church. My pastor is Amos C. Brown of Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, California … I have, throughout my career, and as vice president and recently been actively engaged in the Church and church leaders, not only so we can share in fellowship, but so we can share in what we can do together that is about supporting the community, the strength of the community, the cohesion of the community. And it is my long standing work, and therefore my pledge, going forward: I will always work closely with the Church, because I understand who our church leaders are and who the congregation is.

“We are talking about people who are driven by faith and the ability to see what is possible by faith. Where I was raised, and I know many of us were, understanding that our God is a loving God, that our faith propels us to act in a way that is about kindness and justice and mercy, that is about lifting one another up. And let’s talk about the contrast here. Donald Trump and his followers spend full time trying to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down, which is absolutely contrary to the Church I know, where our church, and my church is about saying true leadership, the measure of that is based on who you lift up. And right, and then he’s selling $60 Bibles or tennis shoes and trying to play people as though that makes him more understanding of the Black community. Come on.”

###

Paid for by Harris for President

Former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA10), Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA10) Endorse Suhas Subramanyam

3

From the Suhas Subramanyam for VA10 campaign:

FORMER REP. BARBARA COMSTOCK (VA-10), REP. JENNIFER WEXTON (VA-10),  ENDORSE SEN. SUHAS SUBRAMANYAM FOR CONGRESS

Rep. Comstock and Rep. Wexton praise Subramanyam’s bipartisanship and record 

Ashburn, VA – Today, former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (VA-10), a Republican, announced her endorsement of Senator Suhas Subramanyam for Congress in Virginia’s 10th congressional district. Her endorsement follows that of current Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (VA-10) and is the first time she has publicly endorsed a Democrat for the seat.

Former VA-10 Congresswoman Comstock represented Virginia’s 10th Congressional district from 2014 to 2018. She said the following of her decision to endorse Senator Subramanyam:

“As a Republican who represented Virginia’s 10th District in Congress, and in the General Assembly before that, I was proud to be a champion for working families and businesses. I know what it takes to get things done for Northern Virginians. That’s why I am supporting Suhas for Congress who has had the experience working for the community and with state and local leaders to get things done. He is focused on the unique needs of the district, such as our federal employees and contractors, and opposing government shutdowns or disastrous partisan programs like Project 2025 which would devastate our area.”

Former VA-10 Representative Comstock continued, “Suhas Subramanyam is a pragmatic, effective lawmaker who has a track record of working in a bipartisan way to get real results for our businesses and working families in the 10th District. We must reject the divisive politics of MAGA extremism and Project 2025, which undermine our democracy, federal civil servants, and women in our community.”

Congresswoman Wexton has represented the 10th district since 2018 and chose not to run for re-election after being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). She endorsed Senator Subramanyam during the primary election and gave the following statement:

“When I think about who will best continue my legacy and deliver real results for us in Congress, I can think of no one better than State Senator Suhas Subramanyam. Suhas is the right leader to move our district forward, and he’s a proven, effective legislator who has always taken on the toughest fights and won. Suhas has worked across the aisle to lower costs, grow Virginia’s economy, and secure jobs in our community. I know he will do the same when he represents us in Washington,” said Representative Wexton.

Senator Subramanyam issued the following statement in response to their endorsements:

“Our campaign has always been about bridging divides and bringing people together to deliver results. I am humbled to be endorsed by Republicans like former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock and Democrats like Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, two truly dedicated public servants who care deeply about our community. I look forward to giving everyone in our community a voice and uniting people around issues like protecting federal civil services, preventing shutdowns, or standing up for democracy. Our community is stronger when we all work together.”

###

Senator Suhas Subramanyam is the Democratic nominee for Congress in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District to replace outgoing Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton. Suhas has dedicated his life to public service as a State Senator, Obama White House advisor, Capitol Hill staffer, and a former Loudoun volunteer firefighter/EMT. In Richmond, he has worked across the aisle to pass gun violence prevention bills, protect democracy, and defend abortion rights. He will continue to create bipartisan legislation in Congress. Suhas resides in Ashburn, Virginia (in VA-10) with his wife, Miranda, and their two daughters.

********************

P.S. It’s really fascinating to watch as former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA10) and former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05) both move from being partisan Republicans to caring more about our democracy. Youngkin, in stark contrast…UGH.

Q3 Fundraising Numbers: Tim Kaine Crushing Hung Cao; Eugene Vindman Way Ahead of Derrick Anderson in VA07; Jen Kiggans Leads Missy Cotter Smasal in VA02

3

From VPAP, here are some of the latest campaign finance numbers – amount raised, cash-on-hand for the Tim Kaine vs. Hung Cao U.S. Senate race, as well as for U.S. House races (you can see all of them at VPAP, but below, check out the numbers for competitive VA02, VA07, as well as VA10 just for the heck of it, even though it’s almost certainly not competitive…).

P.S. Note that money is important, for sure, but it’s not everything. So, for instance, Missy Cotter Smasal still has a shot in VA02, despite trailing Rep. Jen Kiggans in fundraising.