Winsome Sears is projected to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor, according to NBC.
Sears is expected to defeat her Democratic opponent, Del. Hala Ayala.
Sears will be the Commonwealth’s first female lieutenant governor.
PROJECTED ELECTION RESULTS
Winsome Sears(R) 1,659,919 51%
Hala Ayala(D) 1,602,975 49%
95.4% of Precincts Reporting (2,723 / 2,855)
UPDATE NOVEMBER 3, 2021: WINSOME SEARS WINS VIRGINIA LT. GOVERNOR RACE
Virginia voters will make a historic choice Tuesday: They'll almost certainly elect the commonwealth's first woman lieutenant governor and the first woman of color to statewide office, cracking the glass ceiling in a state that has never elected a woman to its highest office.
Democrat Hala Ayala faces off against Republican candidate Winsome Sears for a role that is widely seen as a launching pad to the governorship — a role that's never been held by a woman, let alone a woman of color — in the state.
"I want the children, when they see me, to say to themselves: 'Well, Winsome is there. If she can do it, then I can do it.' And then you know, we move on," Sears, who is a former state delegate, told USA TODAY.
But, she added, making history only goes so far: It's the governance that matters. "If all you do is shatter the glass ceiling, and then no one can trust you, then what's the point?"
Ayala, who has Lebanese, Afro-Latina and Irish ancestry, told USA TODAY in an interview that while "representation matters," the election isn't solely about electing a woman of color.
"We must first and foremost elect the right woman of color to statewide office," Ayala said. "This is about the future of the Commonwealth. We must work very hard to continue the progress we built on," Ayala said.
A Christopher Newport University poll released Wednesday showed the two candidates in a statistical tie. Ayala has a one-point lead over Sears, 49% to 48%, which is within the survey's 3.5% margin of error.
The candidate who wins the race in Virginia will join three other Black female lieutenant governors in the nation, as Black women continue to transform their political power into leadership positions and aim for higher offices they have long been denied: No state in the U.S. has elected a Black woman as governor.
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Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax kicked-off his campaign for governor Saturday morning at the Old Court House in Fairfax, Va.
Fairfax had announced last Thursday that he is formally entering the governor's race. Virginians will elect a new governor in 2021.
Fairfax was elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 2017 and is only the second African-American to be elected to statewide office in Virginia.
Before running for office, Fairfax served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria.
Dr. Cameron Webb has won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House seat in Virginia’s 5th District, according to the Associated Press.
Webb will face Republican Bob Good in November. He said that his work continued election night to flip the district.
“I think in some ways it’s kind of a litmus test for the nation, it runs the gamut of political spectrum, I think some folks would try to classify it as a bright red street, but I think that’s wrong, I think this is a district that spans the political spectrum,” Webb said.
“(My message is one) of inclusivity and a message of unity at a time when our nation sorely needs it and I’m excited to be in a position, and I’m humbled to have the opportunity to hopefully represent this district,” Webb added.
Virginia’s state Senate on Tuesday voted to eliminate the Lee-Jackson Day holiday, commemorating Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and make Election Day a state holiday.
The two provisions passed as part of a single bill, SB 601, which passed the Senate 22-18 after being introduced by state Sen. Louise Lucas (D). It will now head to the state’s House of Delegates. Both chambers are majority Democratic.
Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has said he supports the bill, saying earlier in January, “I don’t think there’s any secret that it’s in honor of two individuals who fought to prolong slavery, which is not a proud aspect of Virginia’s history.”
Mr Trump flew to Jamestown, Virginia to mark the anniversary – one of a series of events planned this year to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the colony by British settlers in 1619. Virginia will mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first slaves to the state next month.
But the event was overshadowed by Mr Trump’s controversial comments on race in recent days, with several members of the state assembly in Virginia skipping the event. In a statement, members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus (VLBC) said it was boycotting the event because of Mr Trump’s “repeated attacks on black legislators and comments about black communities”.
“The absence of the VLBC will send the message that the members do not condone the president’s participation . . . those who have chosen to attend and remain silent are complicit in the atrocities that he incites,” the statement said.
Read the VLBC's full statement below:
VLBC Press Release On Boyco... by Councilman George L. Cook III on Scribd
Here's a clip from “CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King's interview with Ralph Northam in which Northam stated that he would not resign. The full interview airs Monday on CBS This Morning.
"Saturday Night Live" took aim at the blackface scandal in Virginia, where Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring admitted they wore blackface in college. In a sketch the African American chairman of the ethics committee, portrayed by Kenan Thompson tries to explain why blackface is wrong under any circumstances to group of clueless elected legislative officials. Watch the sketch below:
Via Twitter U.S. Senator Cory Booker called for the resignation of Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax after a second woman accused Fairfax of sexual assault.
The multiple detailed allegations against the Lt. Gov. of Virginia are deeply troubling. They are serious, credible, and corroborated by others. It is no longer appropriate for him to serve. He should resign.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) February 8, 2019
A second woman has come forward to say that she was raped by Democratic Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.
Meredith Watson alleged that Fairfax's assault on her was "premeditated and aggressive" when they both attended Duke in 2000 and that the two were friends but not romantically involved, according to a statement from her legal counsel, the firm Smith Mullen.
"Ms. Watson shared her account of the rape with friends in a series of emails and Facebook messages that are now in our possession. Additionally, we have statements from former classmates corroborating that Ms. Watson immediately told friends that Mr. Fairfax had raped her," the statement reads.
Watson is the second woman to accuse Fairfax of sexual assault this week. Vanessa Tyson, a professor in California, released a lengthy statement early this week detailing her alleged encounter with Fairfax during their time at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.
"Ms. Watson was upset to learn that Mr. Fairfax raped at least one other woman after he attacked her. The details of Ms. Watson's attack are similar to those described by Dr. Vanessa Tyson." Fairfax has previously denied Tyson's allegation.
Watson is not seeking financial damages and has alerted Fairfax through her legal team that she would like him to resign, the statement adds.
Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax is the man who would take over if Governor Northam of Virginia resigned because of a racist yearbook photo in which Northam is in either blackface or wearing a KKK robe. Fairfax released the following statement on the controversy:
Like so many Virginians, I am shocked and saddened by the images in the Governor’s yearbook that came to light yesterday.
They are an example of a painful scourge that continues to haunt us today and holds us back from the progress we need to make.
As we commemorate 400 years since the first enslaved Africans were brought to Virginia, it is painful to experience such a searing reminder of the modern legacy of our nation’s original sin. And, as someone whose great-great-great grandfather was enslaved in Virginia, this episode strikes particularly close to home.
The Governor needed to apologize, and I am glad that he did so. He also reached out to me personally to express his sincere regrets and to apologize.
I have worked closely with Ralph Northam over many years. He has been a friend to me and has treated my family and me with hospitality and respect.
While his career has been marked by service to children, soldiers, and constituents, I cannot condone the actions from his past that, at the very least, suggest a comfort with Virginia’s darker history of white supremacy, racial stereotyping, and intimidation.
At this critical and defining moment in the history of Virginia and this nation, we need leaders with the ability to unite and help us rise to the better angels of our nature.
I remain committed to serving and helping to heal the Commonwealth moving forward. Now more than ever, we must make decisions in the best interests of the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D), the only African-American official elected to a statewide position, was the lone protester on Friday during a tribute in the state Senate honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s birthday.
Fairfax delegated his typical duties of presiding over the state Senate chamber in Richmond and let Republican state Sen. Richard Stuart lead the tribute.
As a descendant of slaves, Fairfax told The Washington Post that he didn’t believe Lee was someone to honor on the floor of the statehouse.
“I think it’s very divisive to do what was done there, particularly in light of the history that we’re now commemorating — 400 years since the first enslaved Africans came to the commonwealth of Virginia," he said.
“And to do that in this year in particular was very hurtful to a lot of people. It does not move us forward, it does not bring us together. And so I wanted to do my part to make it clear that I don’t condone it,” Fairfax continued.
DNC Chair Tom Perez has released a statement on the violence during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville Virginia. Unlike Trump's statement on the protest, Perez's is not ambiguous when it comes to who is at fault for the violence. Read his statement below:
"The demonstrations by white supremacists this weekend have no place in our country. This vile display of racism is an attack on our democracy and an affront to humanity.
"America is no place for bigots. And to be silent in the face of their hatred is to condone it. That's why it is on all of us to stand up to these reprehensible acts and speak out against white supremacy. We cannot allow a group of cowards instill fear in our communities.
"The Democratic Party stands with Governor McAuliffe, Lieutenant Governor Northam, the people of Virginia, and every American united against these vicious and violent attempts to divide us."
A state government building that once served as headquarters of the “Massive Resistance” campaign against racial integration of Virginia’s public schools was renamed Thursday in honor of Barbara Johns, a student activist who played an important and often overlooked role in the civil rights movement.
Johns was only 16 when she led a student protest that would one day become part of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
Like most segregated schools at the time, the all-black high school Johns attended in Farmville, Virginia, was overcrowded, underfunded and dilapidated in comparison to the white schools in the Prince Edward County. On April 23, 1951, Johns persuaded all 450 of her classmates to stage a strike and march to City Hall in protest of the school’s substandard conditions.
“When she took a stand like that, it was a dangerous time, and I was the one who was worried about what might happen to us. She didn’t seem to have any fear at all,” said Barbara Johns‘ sister, Joan Johns Cobb, who marched alongside her.
Johns enlisted the help of the NAACP, which filed a suit on behalf of 117 students against Prince Edward County, challenging Virginia’s laws requiring segregated schools.
“This was before Little Rock Nine, this was before Rosa Parks, this was before Martin Luther King. This was a 16-year-old girl who said that we will not tolerate separate but not equal,” said Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who announced in January that the newly renovated Ninth Street Office Building would be renamed in Johns‘ honor.
[SOURCE]
When two new members of the Virginia congressional delegation are sworn in Tuesday, they can partially thank a panel of federal judges for their seats in Congress.
The judges fiddled with the boundaries of the districts enough to allow a Democrat to win in Richmond and a new Republican to oust an incumbent in the Virginia Beach area.
That means hello, Rep.-elects Donald McEachin (D) and Scott Taylor (R). Goodbye, seven-term congressman J. Randy Forbes (R).
Their unexpected paths to victory — or early retirement — reveal the extent to which the nuances of an elections map can help determine winners and losers.
The Virginia map changes started with a lawsuit filed by Democratic lawyer Marc E. Elias in 2013.
He argued a district represented by Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D) illegally packed enough African Americans into its boundaries to diminish their influence elsewhere. Elias said the Virginia congressional case in some ways was a model for lawsuits in North Carolina and at the state level in Virginia, for which he is awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
“We learned a lot in Virginia about how the Republican legislature approaches redistricting, and the Republican legislature hopefully learned that it can’t abuse its powers,” Elias said Friday.
The federal judges eventually handed down a new map that moved a significant number of African American voters, a group that tends to vote for Democrats, into Forbes’s district.
Read more: Court-imposed election map paved way for new Virginia congressmen
One term after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the consideration of race in college admissions, and in a new term that already has cases on racial issues in the administration of the death penalty and in jury deliberations, one more race-infused subject will get the justices’ attention: redistricting.
The court will hear appeals on Dec. 5 from special three-judge federal panels that involve race considerations in redistricting in North Carolina and Virginia.
In the North Carolina case, McCrory v. Harris, the justices will consider whether two of the state’s 13 congressional districts, as drawn under a 2011 redistricting plan, represent unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.
In Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections, the court will weigh whether race was an improperly predominant factor in 12 challenged state House of Delegates districts (out of 100 districts in the state legislature’s lower house).
They’re the latest in a long line of redistricting battles to reach the high court, which has less flexibility on whether to hear such challenges than it does in most other areas of the law.
Read more: Supreme Court considers challenges to racial gerrymandering
Democrat Justin Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor and 2013 attorney general candidate, is running for lieutenant governor in Virginia
.He is the first Democrat to officially jump into the statewide contest, while Republicans already have a crowded field including Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier, and Del. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach.
The candidacy of Fairfax, 37, an African American, would inject diversity and an energetic style into a Democratic ticket that includes the comparatively low-key Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring.
“I am passionate about creating and protecting economic security and opportunity for all Virginians,” Fairfax said in a statement. “As a former federal prosecutor, I know just how fragile security and stability for hard-working families can be.”
Read more: Democrat Justin Fairfax to run for lieutenant governor
Virginia Sen. A. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico) has filed paperwork to run for Congress.
“As I said all along I’m very interested in the fourth congressional seat, but right now I’m busy doing the people’s business here at the General Assembly,” McEachin said through a spokeswoman. “I will have a lot more to say about Congress right after we adjourn.”
