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Video: DPVA Chair Lamont Bagby Says “Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Winsome Earle-Sears, and Glenn Youngkin are making it very easy for us to get our message across because they’re showing exactly what happens when you let extremists have power.”

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lowkell
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0

From DPVA – good interview with Chair Lamont Bagby.

ICYMI: Chairman Lamont Bagby “Wants to Send Trump a Message” In November

In recent interviews with ABC7 (WJLA) and NBC12 (WWBT), DPVA Chairman Lamont Bagby says he wants to send Donald Trump a message by flipping the Governor’s mansion and expanding Democrats’ margin in the House of Delegates this November.

NBC12 interview:
  • “[…] We are already competing all across the Commonwealth, in red areas and blue areas […] Kamala Harris did very well in Virginia. She won eight now-seated Republican seats in the House of Delegates. We’re going after those eight seats and more because we want to make sure we give Don Scott, the speaker of the House, the majority that he needs to deliver so that we can get this legislation to Abigail Spanberger’s [desk], that same legislation that we got to Glenn Youngkin’s desk and he’s vetoed most of it.”
  • “[…] Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Winsome Earle-Sears, and Glenn Youngkin are making it very easy for us to get our message across because they’re showing exactly what happens when you let extremists have power. It’s hurting everyone’s pocketbooks, it’s hurting our classrooms. Who ever thought that we’d be trying to defend the Department of Education? That we wouldn’t have a governor or lieutenant governor to stand up and say, ‘That’s not what we want here in Virginia.’”

ABC7 interview:

 

  • “[…] What we want to do is make sure we win in November. There’s a lot of things at stake, but it all hinges on winning in November. Folks are hurting, and it’s more pain to come not only from DC but right here in Virginia. The governor just handed us back a budget that vetoes a ton of stuff that helps working Virginians and our young students and teachers […] We want to protect them, the ballot box, and the only way to do that is for folks to show up in November and show Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Glenn Youngkin, Winsome Earle-Sears and the whole gang that we are committed to protecting democracy.”
  • “[…] The only way I see us being able to really combat what’s going on in D.C. is making sure that we have Democrats as governor, lieutenant governor, and AG, and we increase our margin in the House of Delegates. That is the way that we will be able to make sure that Virginians get fair wages, protect our education system, protect health care, Medicaid, social security, investments in schools, [and] roads. All those things are under attack.”
  • “And it’s not as if we’re speculating. It’s happening on a federal level in just [Trump’s] first two months. And Glenn Youngkin has been at it ever since he’s been governor, and he has not stopped, even up until as recent as this week when he passed down those vetoes on our budget and a lot of legislation that I just mentioned. He vetoed legislation where we were attempting to make lives better for Virginians.”

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Tuesday News: “Trump is plotting the biggest tax rise in global history”; “The Makeup Artist Donald Trump Deported Under the Alien Enemies Act”; “An ‘Administrative Error’ Sends a Maryland Father to a Salvadoran Prison”; “Democrats’ Message in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race: Reject Elon Musk”

By
lowkell
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13

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, April 1. THe best/most-creative headline of the day goes to David Rothkopf’s “Putting Descartes Before the Whores,” in which he argues, “Autocrats seek homogeneity…and regularly, as we have seen in our country recently, they do so under the guise of doing just the opposite…From Hitler to Stalin to Mao, from Putin to Orban to Erdogan to Modi to Netanyahu to Millei to Trump, that is why despots and dictators have conducted massive wars on knowledge and truth. To create the only environment in which their lies and twisted truths could be embraced, they have attacked the very well-springs of knowledge and independent thinking in their societies—the press, schools and universities, scientific innovators, artists, independent jurists, dissenting domestic political and philosophical voices.”

Video: UVA Prof. Larry Sabato Says We “Need to Take [Trump] Seriously” Regarding His Threat to Seek a Third Term

By
lowkell
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3

Interesting interview with UVA Professor Larry Sabato; see below for highlights and video.

  • Regarding Trump talking about the unconstitutional idea of him serving a third term as president, Sabato says: “Theoretically it could happen. It’s hard to see how Trump would be able to get away with it. When you really look at the options, a constitutional amendment would be the way to do it, and that’s an impossibility. You’d have to have both parties coming together to agree to change the 22nd amendment, which limits presidents to two elective terms. That isn’t going to happen. There’s isn’t a Democrat out there who would support that. But there are ways for Trump to do it. And as he said, he’s not joking. And one way, I’m sorry to say, is simply to ignore the constitution. All he really needs is for the Republican Party to nominate him for president again. And then he would maneuver to win the general election. There are ways for him to do that as well. And the constitution may say one thing, but he may determine that he’s going to get a third term regardless. Now, I don’t think it’s very likely, but we’ve learned to take him seriously when he repeats things like this over and over. And his key supporters are also talking about it.”

  • On the political impact of Trump’s tariffs, Sabato says: “Well, the payoff may be for Democrats, frankly, because Trump seems bound and determined to use tariffs and to make them relatively high and in such a way that Americans will end up paying a great deal more for many different goods and services. So inevitably, people are going to feel pain. And when they feel pain, they blame the incumbent president. Now he blames Biden for everything. But I think we’re coming to the end of the period when that sells, unless to his hard core. But beyond the hard core, most people aren’t going to take that as legitimate. So I think he will suffer for it. I think Americans will suffer for it. Or maybe he’ll rewrite the whole book on tariffs. Maybe he knows something no one else does.”
  • On Trump supposedly being angry with Putin and threatening potential sanctions on Russian oil, Sabato says: “I think what Trump is doing is sending Putin a message that Putin is also in his crosshairs. It isn’t just Zelenskyy in ukraine. Now, whether he follows through on this threat is or any other threat against Russia is another question. He certainly hasn’t been anything but friendly to Putin to this point. Maybe this, rhetorically is to balance things, and maybe it’s to get Zelenskyy to see that he’s serious about making Russia comply with his ideas as well. But we’ll all believe it when we see it, because so far, it seems that it’s been much more difficult for Zelenskyy in Ukraine than it has been for Russia and Putin.”
  • On the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, Sabato says: “Well, if you ever wanted an argument against judicial elections, this is it. A lot of us feel it is absurd to be electing judges. They should be appointed by governors, ratified by legislatures, much as they are at the national level. But essentially, this one seat in Wisconsin is the swing-state seat. It will determine whether liberals or conservatives control the Wisconsin Supreme Court. And Wisconsin, of course, is the fulcrum state. It’s the key swing state. So it’s very important, which is why, according to some reports, Elon Musk is spending somewhere around $20 million just on the election. Plus, he’s offering million dollar gifts to a couple of people who back his petition to have this kind of election. But we’ll see what the public thinks about this. They may be turned off by this massive amount of money that Elon Musk is contributing and that others are contributing on the other side. It’s really quite obscene.”

Ghazala Hashmi Campaign “Internal” Poll of the 2025 VA Democratic Lt. Governor Primary Has 46% Undecided; Prior to Bios, It’s Aaron Rouse (15%)-Levar Stoney (15%)-Ghazala Hashmi (13%)

By
lowkell
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2

A few weeks ago, the Levar Stoney for Lt. Governor campaign released an “internal” poll of the Democratic primary contest, showing 63% undecided, and among the rest, 16% for former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, followed by State Senator Aaron Rouse at 10%, State Senator Ghazala Hashmi at 8%, Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef at 2%. Now, we’ve got a brand-new poll from the Ghazala Hashmi for LG campaign – see below for that, and keep in mind the usual caveats (e.g., which campaign conducted the poll – in this case, Hashmi’s; whether the firm that did the poll is serious/legitimate – GBAO definitely is; whether the questions, including “neutral” descriptions of the candidates being polled, are fair/balanced – those aren’t provided in this memo, so…got me; whether the results make intuitive sense, based on what we already know about the candidates’ name IDs; etc – 46 undecided definitely makes sense at this point, and it’s not surprising to me that a woman leads the men, given that Democratic primary voters generally have a preference for women over men, at least here in Virginia the past few years).

With that, see below for the new “internal” poll by Ghazala Hashmir’s campaign. It finds the following:

  • With the June 17 primary about 2 1/2 months away, “This race is wide open, with many voters undecided. The vote starts off with Ghazala Hashmi, Aaron Rouse, and Levar Stoney in a statistical tie, and 46% of primary voters have yet to make up their minds.”
  • “Only a third of the electorate knows Stoney (34% ID) and just a quarter are familiar with Hashmi (25% ID) and Rouse (26% ID). Lateef and Salgado are each known by 16% of primary  voters.”
  • “Ghazala Hashmi stands out as the most well-liked, holding the highest favorable to unfavorable ratio (20% favorable to 6% unfavorable), ahead of Stoney (23% to 11%) and Rouse (18% to 7%). In the Richmond market, where she serves, Hashmi boasts an impressive +35 favorability rating (net favorable – unfavorable).”
  • “When voters learn more, Hashmi’s message breaks through, and she pulls into  the lead. After hearing positive profiles of each candidate simulating a campaign, Hashmi’s support jumps from 13% to 28%, while others only see modest single-digit  gains, and puts her in the lead. Her message particularly resonates with women, who after hearing it, back her 32% to Stoney’s 21% and Rouse’s 17%.”

So…yeah, this race appeares to be pretty wide open between Ghazala Hashmi, Aaron Rouse, Levar Stoney (with Babur Lateef and Victor Salgado significantly behind). In the end, with this many undecided voters, it’s going to come down to a significant degree to what extent each candidate is able to get its message – and its candidate – in front of voters, so that by primary day on June 17, a plurality show up and vote for that candidate (note: there’s no Ranked Choice Voting in this, unfortunately, so it’s “first past the post”). We’ll also see if there are any major endorsements that might move the needle, or whether debate performances, the campaigns’ field games, etc. can make the difference. Anyway…stay tuned!

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

To: Interested Parties
From: GBAO
Date: March 31, 2025

Virginia Democratic Primary Poll: Ghazala Hashmi Has A Clear Path To Victory

A survey of likely June 2025 Virginia Democratic primary voters shows State Senator Ghazala Hashmi has a clear path to victory.

With months to go until the primary, the race is up for grabs — name recognition is low across the board, and nearly half of voters are still undecided. But once voters hear from all sides, Hashmi’s message proves the most persuasive — and she pulls ahead.

These findings are based on a survey of 600 likely 2025 Democratic primary voters in Virginia conducted March 24-27, 2025.1

Key Findings

• This race is wide open, with many voters undecided. The vote starts off with Ghazala Hashmi, Aaron Rouse, and Levar Stoney in a statistical tie, and 46% of primary voters have yet to make up their minds.

Initial Vote: If the Democratic primary election for Lieutenant Governor were held  today, for whom would you vote?

• While no candidate is particularly well-known, Hashmi is the most popular. Only a third of the electorate knows Stoney (34% ID) and just a quarter are familiar with Hashmi (25% ID) and Rouse (26% ID). Lateef and Salgado are each known by 16% of primary  voters. Ghazala Hashmi stands out as the most well-liked, holding the highest favorable to unfavorable ratio (20% favorable to 6% unfavorable), ahead of Stoney (23% to 11%) and Rouse (18% to 7%). In the Richmond market, where she serves, Hashmi boasts an impressive +35 favorability rating (net favorable – unfavorable).

• When voters learn more, Hashmi’s message breaks through, and she pulls into  the lead. After hearing positive profiles of each candidate simulating a campaign, Hashmi’s support jumps from 13% to 28%, while others only see modest single-digit  gains, and puts her in the lead. Her message particularly resonates with women, who after hearing it, back her 32% to Stoney’s 21% and Rouse’s 17%.

Profile Vote: If the Democratic primary election for Lieutenant Governor were held  today, for whom would you vote?

The multi-modal survey was conducted using live phone interviews and text-to-web interviews. The sample was pulled from a voter file and is subject to a +/- 4.0 percentage point margin of error at the 95% confidence level.

Video: Abigail Spanberger Says Winsome Earle-Sears “thinks thousands of Virginians being fired from their jobs isn’t a big deal. That’s not leadership.”

By
lowkell
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3

Good stuff from 2025 VA Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger about her likely Republican opponent (Winsome Earle-Sears)’ appalling comments the other day, where she essentially said she “thinks thousands of Virginians being fired from their jobs isn’t a big deal.” As Abigail Spanberger puts it, “this is not leadership, this is capitulation” by Winsome Earle-Sears to Donald Trump. Bingo.

Spanberger Statement on the Lieutenant Governor Dismissing Virginians’ Concerns About Attacks on Virginia Jobs

Spanberger: “Virginians Deserve a Governor Who Will Always Stand Up for Virginia Jobs and Virginia’s Economy”

**Spanberger Responds to Lieutenant Governor Dismissing Concerns About Attacks on Virginia Jobs**

RICHMOND, Va. — Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger today released the following statement in response to the Lieutenant Governor downplaying the Trump Administration’s attacks on Virginia’s economy and workforce.

“Virginians deserve a Governor who will always stand up for Virginia jobs, no matter who is in the White House. Virginia’s federal employees are real people with real bills to pay, real mortgages, real rents, and real families to feed. Now is not the time for the Lieutenant Governor to put blind ideology and allegiance to a political party ahead of the livelihoods of our neighbors and the strength of Virginia’s economy.

“Over the last two months, I have heard from Virginians in every corner of our Commonwealth about how they fear these firings will impact Virginia’s economy — from small businesses in Virginia Beach to convenience stores in Northern Virginia. We need leaders who meet this moment with resolve, understand this threat, and will speak out against chaos inflicted upon the Commonwealth by the White House. As the next Governor of Virginia, I will never be afraid to do what is right for the people of Virginia.”

Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says He Was Talking Saturday in Norfolk/VA Beach Area with Friends/Family of Aircraft Carrier Truman Members, “their anger level was so high” Over Signal Leak; “This is a crazy foreign policy”

By
lowkell
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1

UPDATE 4/2 – Here are some video highlights!

On “Face the Nation” yesterday, Sen. Mark Warner had a lot to say; see below for video and a few highlights.

  • “Donald Trump’s America First is turning quickly into America alone. But the basis of going after the Houthis in a stronger, tougher way – I agree with.”
  • “Signal is better, but the Chinese, the Russians are trying to go  after Signal – they’ve made some successful efforts…Everyone is warned in the intelligence community, do not use Signal for classified information – it is bright, it is bold, it is cyber hygiene 101 in terms of how to stay safe.”
  • “If the Israelis are this mad and the Five Eye partners, our key allies, are upset [over the Signal fiasco], will they continue to share information with us if it’s treated\ this sloppily?...This administration does not treat classified information the appropriate way…I’ve asked the FBI director whether he’s launching an investigation; I’ve heard nothing back from him.“
  • “I was talking yesterday [in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area] with friends and family of members who were on the [aircraft carrier] Truman; their anger level was so high, because if that information had gotten out and the Houthis had been able to redirect their defensive tools, very likely we would have had American life lost.”
  • “Greenland has got a lot of rare earth minerals and has enormous value just as
    many other places around the world do. So legitimate interest and stronger ties
    with Greenland? Absolutely. The idea that we are going to threaten a military
    invasion against a population that at least everything I’ve read overwhelmingly the people in Greenland don’t want to become part of America, going against Denmark who is a NATO member who rules Greenland. Currently, this whole approach that Trump has of treating our allies, I mean we turned Canada into an enemy…and suddenly wanting to buddy up with Putin in Russia or with Xi in China. Think about it, America two weeks ago, three weeks ago voted with Russia, North Korea, I think it was Belarus, you know against everyone else who was a democracy, because we wouldn’t acknowledge that Putin started the war in Ukraine. This is a crazy foreign policy. And America is stronger when we have allies, America alone is weaker.”

.

P.S. Speaking of Sen. Warner’s trip to VA Beach/Norfolk on Saturday, check this out.

Monday News: “Of Course Trump Will Tank the Economy. It’s What Republicans Do.”; “Trump Says He’s ‘Not Joking’ About Seeking a Third Term in Defiance of Constitution”; “Tim Kaine: 250 years later, the Virginia flag still warns us about tyranny”; “This is what corruption looks like”

By
lowkell
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11

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, March 31.

Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says He Had “1,500 people at two town halls here in Hampton Roads, and people are pissed!”

By
lowkell
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4

Good stuff from Sen. Mark Warner. Also, this demonstrates the importance of showing up at town halls like this, even if you personally don’t plan on speaking or whatever…

“Today, we had about 1,500 people at two town halls here in Hampton Roads, and people are pissed! They’re angry at a government that treats our national security secrets with total sloppiness, they’re angry at an Elon Musk that nobody elected to anything and the damage he’s doing. They’re angry frankly at the idea that Medicaid, Social Security Medicare coudl all be under assault. And they’re angry as well that even on national security, the Republicans stay silent – are they ever going to find their voices? We need to keep that anger, increase the size of the crowds – stand up, speak out turn out, deal with this at the level level, let’s get local elected Republicans to acknowledge the pain their communities feeling. let’s make sure at the national level that we don’t put our national security in harm’s way. I’ve got a hell of a lot of fight left in me and the energy I saw today gives me energy to go back on Monday and keep this fight going.”

Amanda Chase Says “Don’t shoot the messenger,” But If She Doesn’t Make the Ballot, Winsome Earle-Sears Will Lose to Abigail Spanberger and “Many have said they are going to move out of Virginia”

By
lowkell
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4

The latest from Amanda Chase is a doozy! LOL

“Many Trump supporters have already said they cannot in good conscience support our Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears because of her harsh anti-Trump comments.

They can’t forget her words.

While you personally may have overlooked her comments, I hear many Trump supporters say they can’t get over it.

If we don’t get enough signatures to get on the ballot, we are destined to repeat history, with Spanberger for Governor. I’m just being honest here. It’s not politically correct to say this, but it is the truth.

If we don’t get the necessary signatures turned in before this coming Thursday, you will have to relive 2020 all over again. Many have said they are going to move out of Virginia if Spanberger gets elected in November. Don’t shoot the messenger. That’s what a number of Virginians are saying.

NOW is the time to do something. What is the cost of moving out of Virginia compared to the effort it will take for you and your family to collect 100 signatures and turn them into our campaign before this Wednesday at midnight. Which is more inconvenient? Living under a Democrat trifecta? Moving out of Virginia? Collecting 100 signatures? The choice is yours. I really can’t do this on my own.

Virginia is the most beautiful state in the United States.

I don’t want to move out of Virginia. Do you?

The Democrats have already passed tyrannical bills in both the House and Senate. This was the last session Governor Youngkin could veto those bills. Now his term is up. Governor Youngkin cannot run this time and he will not be there in January to veto these bills.

I’m begging you to put aside all excuses.

Trust me. We all have good excuses why we can’t circulate a petition. But excuses don’t get us to our goal.

Please do your part or we are destined to repeat 2020.”

So, when Abigail Spanberger wins this November, can we all help Amanda Chase pack up her stuff to move to West Virginia or wherever? So sad, haha!

Fmr. VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), Who Voted for Trump, Says “There is just no good reason for the manner in which we have soured our relationship with both Greenland and Denmark.”

By
lowkell
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1

As you read this by former/two-term VA Lt. Governor Bill Bolling (R), keep a few things in mind: 1) his analysis of Trump’s threats to Greenland are mostly accurate, although Bolling pulls his punches and downplays/normalizes what’s going on here; 2) Bolling voted for Trump, which means he voted for lunacy like this, and apparently Bolling STILL supports Trump, despite the MASSIVE damage Trump is doing to our alliances, not to mention our economy, our civil liberties, our federal government, our healthcare, our rule of law, etc, etc.; 3) most if not all of this was 100% predictable if you voted to put Trump back in the White House…which Bolling did, because he was hysterical that Kamala Harris was some sort of “socialist” who would have “open borders,” blah blah blah – that’s how Bolling – and millions like him – talked himself into voting for the fascist candidate in the November 2024 elections…

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