Northumberland County Democrats

Our February 2020 meeting will be:

• Thursday, February 20, 2020

• 7:00 PM

• Bring a snack to share at 6:30 PM

• Northumberland Public Library, 7204 Northumberland Hwy, Heathsville (Hwy 360)

This promises to be a busy meeting featuring:

• Democratic Congressional Candidate Qashim Rashid will speak with us.
• Local authors Gwen Keene and David Cariens will address the “born-here come-here”gap.
• Joe Schlatter will review legislation now before the General Assembly that affects elections and voters.
• And — don’t forget:  Treasurer Badger Godwin will pass the donation jar!!

Everyone is invited — Democrat, Republican, Independent, Unaffiliated, Interested, Curious, or just looking for a place to meet friendly folks.

We are disappointed to report that Kevin Washington has announced his withdrawal from the Democratic Party’s race for Congress from Virginia’s First Congressional District.

We received the following announcement from Mr. Washington.

Dear Chairs (First District Democratic Party chairs),
We have, with much deliberation, decided to suspend our campaign. I truly appreciate all of the support and consulting you have provided. Without the financial backing required to run a strong campaign, we cannot proceed. I look forward to working with you in the future. The fight for change and equality is not easy. I plan to be on the front lines of that fight until our ultimate goal is achieved. Please, feel free to contact me anytime.

We all should be concerned at Mr. Washington’s reason for withdrawing:  Money.  Running for office has become almost prohibitively expensive, leaving our elections open only to those with deep pockets or wealthy donors who can afford to run for office.  This fact is a threat to our Republic.

Mr. Washington’s withdrawal still leaves three excellent candidates who are competing for the Congressional seat held by Republican Rob Wittman.

Vangie Williams – Strategic Planner, Program Manager, & 2018 CD1 Nominee

Phil Cox – Home Builder & Businessman

Qasim Rashid – Attorney, Human Rights Activist, & 2019 SD28 Nominee

Here is the schedule of candidate appearances as of February 8:

• February 20:  Northumberland County Democratic Party meeting
• April 27:  Lancaster County Democratic Party meeting

VANGIE WILLIAMS

• March 23:  Lancaster County Democratic Party meeting

PHILIP COX

• To be scheduled

All four candidates will be at a Candidate Forum jointly sponsored by the Lancaster and Northumberland County Democrats:  Monday, May 18, 6:00 PM, Lancaster Community Library, 16 Town Centre Drive, Kilmarnock.

Northumberland County Democratic Party meetings are held:  Third Thursday of each month; 6:30 social; 7:00 PM meeting; Northumberland Public Library; 7204 Northumberland Hwy (Hwy 360), Heathsville

Lancaster County Democratic Party meetings are held:  Fourth Monday of each month; 6:30 PM social; 7:00 PM meeting; Lancaster Community Library, 16 Town Centre Drive, Kilmarnock.

Anyone who wants to meet these candidates is welcome to attend any of the meetings listed above — Democrat, Republican, Independent, whatever — come, join us and meet the candidates.

2020 is time for the US census that occurs every ten years.  Soon, we will receive letters from the Census Bureau asking for household information.

HOWEVER, The Republican National Committee is sending  phony census letters that are an attempt to collect names and addresses, as well as raising funds for the RNC.  These phony letters are showing up in Michigan and likely will show up in other states.

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Here is a photo of a GENUINE Census Bureau letter from the 2010 census.

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Here is a photo of the PHONY “census letter” being sent out by the Republican National Committee.

Note the phony letter is titled “2020 Congressional District Census.”  This letter is a fund-raising letter for the RNC and for Trump.

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Please warn your family, friends and neighbors — especially older folks and those who perhaps will not be able to discern the real from the fake.

It’s official: We have 4 candidates running for the 2020 1st Congressional District Democratic nomination! The candidates are:

Vangie Williams – Strategic Planner, Program Manager, & 2018 CD1 Nominee

Phil Cox – Home Builder & Businessman

Kevin Washington – Veteran, Cloud Computing Architect, & 2019 HD97 Nominee

Qasim Rashid – Attorney, Human Rights Activist, & 2019 SD28 Nominee

The Northern Neck is in Virginia’s First Congressional District; we are currently represented by Representative Rob Wittman (Republican, from Montross).  Rep. Wittman has been in Congress since 2010.

The four Democratic candidates listed above are competing for the Democratic Party nomination to challenge Wittman in the November 2020 election.

Before running in November 2020, these candidates must face each other in a PRIMARY ELECTION on JUNE 9, 2020. These candidates are coming to Northumberland and Lancaster counties to meet local folks, answer your questions, and present themselves as candidates.

Here is the schedule as of January 29:

• February 20:  Northumberland County Democratic Party meeting
• April 27:  Lancaster County Democratic Party meeting

VANGIE WILLIAMS

• March 23:  Lancaster County Democratic Party meeting

KEVIN WASHINGTON

• February 24:  Lancaster County Democratic Party meeting

PHILIP COX

• To be scheduled

All four candidates will be at a Candidate Forum jointly sponsored by the Lancaster and Northumberland County Democrats:  Monday, May 18, 6:00 PM, Lancaster Community Library, 16 Town Centre Drive, Kilmarnock.

Northumberland County Democratic Party meetings are held:  Third Thursday of each month; 6:30 social; 7:00 PM meeting; Northumberland Public Library; 7204 Northumberland Hwy (Hwy 360), Heathsville

Lancaster County Democratic Party meetings are held:  Fourth Monday of each month; 6:30 PM social; 7:00 PM meeting; Lancaster Community Library, 16 Town Centre Drive, Kilmarnock.

Anyone who wants to meet these candidates is welcome to attend any of the meetings listed above — Democrat, Republican, Independent, whatever — come, join us and meet the candidates.

Qasim Rashid may be coming to our February meeting — more later.

As you know, 2020 will be a busy year with three elections:

• Presidential primary, March 3, 14 Democratic candidates on the ballot — choose one.
• House and Senate primary, June 9.
• Presidential, Senate, House election, Nov 3.

Here in Virginia’s First Congressional District, two candidates have announced their intention to run for the Democratic Party nomination to face incumbent Republican Rob “Donald Trump clone” Wittman in November.  These two candidates are:

• Vangie Williams, who ran against Wittman in November 2018 and earned 45% of the vote.  Vangie’s website.

• Kevin Washington, a newcomer to politics who announced his candidacy recently.  Kevin’s website.

We will invite both candidates to speak with us at upcoming meetings.  We also anticipate several candidate debates where these two — and any other Democratic candidates — will have the opportunity to meet with First District Democrats and discuss their positions on issues.

Our first meeting of 2020 will be:

• Thursday, January 16, 2020

• 7:00 PM

• Bring a snack to share at 6:30 PM

• Northumberland Public Library, 7204 Northumberland Hwy, Heathsville (Hwy 360)

Remember our ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING, Saturday, Jan 11; starting at 9:00 AM.  See the announcement of the call for this meeting — scroll down this page to see the announcement.

The Northumberland County Democrats will hold a re-organization and caucus:

• Saturday, January 11; 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM EST

• Northumberland Public Library, 7204 Northumberland Hwy, Heathsville

Doors open at 9:00 AM, close at 10:00 AM.  No one admitted after 10:00 AM.

All attending will complete a statement of adherence to the Democratic Party after which election for officers will be held as well as other organizational business.

There will be three elections in Northumberland County in 2020 (along with the rest of Virginia).  The schedule for 2020 elections follows below.

To check and ensure that you are registered to vote, visit the State of Virginia Dept of Elections website.  Click on the link to REGISTRATION at the top of the page.

IF YOU HAVE MOVED OR CHANGED YOUR NAME SINCE THE LAST ELECTION, contact the county voter registrar to update your information.

March 3, 2020:  Presidential Primary

The purpose of this primary election is for both parties to select their candidate for the November 3, 2020 Presidential election.  As of mid-December 2019, there are fourteen candidates on the Democratic ballot.  There will NOT be a Republican Presidential primary because Virginia Republicans will hold a convention in June to select their Presidential candidate.

Here is the schedule of events leading up to the March 3 Presidential primary.

• Absentee voting, both by mail and in-person, starts on January 17, 2020.
• The deadline to request an absentee ballot BY MAIL is February 25, 2020.
• The deadline to register to vote or to update your registration is February 10, 2020.
• Last day to vote absentee in person, at the registrar’s office, is Saturday, February 29, 2020, 4:30 PM.

June 9, 2020:  Senate and Congressional Primary

Virginia Senator Mark Warner (Democrat) and First Congressional Representative Rob Wittman (Republican) must run for re-election in the November 3, 2020 general election.  A primary election will be held on June 9, 2020, in which the parties will select their candidates for these two seats.  Depending on Democratic and Republican Party decisions, there may/may not be a primary for both seats.

Here is the schedule of events leading up to the June 9 Senate and Congressional primary.

• Absentee voting, both by mail and in-person, starts on April 24,  2020.
• The deadline to request an absentee ballot BY MAIL is June 2, 2020.
• The deadline to register to vote or to update your registration is May 18, 2020.
• Last day to vote absentee in person, at the registrar’s office, is Saturday, June 6, 2020, 4:30 PM.

November 3, 2020:  President, Senate, House of Representatives General Election

In addition to the President, Senate, and Representative election, there may be a proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution on the ballot for this election.

Here is the schedule of events leading up to the November 3 President, Senate and Congressional election.

• Absentee voting, both by mail and in-person, starts on September 18,  2020.
• The deadline to request an absentee ballot BY MAIL is October 27, 2020.
• The deadline to register to vote or to update your registration is October 13, 2020.
• Last day to vote absentee in person, at the registrar’s office, is Saturday, October 31, 2020, 4:30 PM.
• IMPORTANT: Effective with the November 3, 2020, election, Virginia will permit voters to vote early by simply going to a polling place, showing identification, and voting — no absentee ballot application is required.  Early voting for the Nov 3 election will be on October 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31.  More details as they are available.