The November 7, 2023, election is upon us

On November 7, 2023, we will vote for state and local officials.  Here is a list of the seats that will be on the ballot and names of the incumbents.
State offices

Virginia State Senate, District 25:  Richard Stuart (Republican of Westmoreland County; four-year term)

Virginia House of Delegates, District 67:  Margaret Bevans Ransone (Republican of Kinsale; two-year term)

County offices

These are Constitutional Officers who do not run with a party affiliation.  All are four-year terms except the Clerk of the Circuit Court, which is an eight-year term.

Sheriff:  John Beauchamp

Clerk of the Circuit Court:  Deborah Bingham (Serves an 8-year term)

Commissioner of Revenue:  Todd Thomas

County Treasurer:  Ellen Booker Kirby

Commonwealth’s Attorney:  Jane Wrightson

Supervisor, District One:  James Brann

Supervisor District Four:  Thomas Tomlin

Supervisor District Five:  Ronald Jett

School Board, District One:  Dana O’Bier

School Board, District Four:  Betty Christopher

School Board, District Five:  Gale Haynie Sterrett

Soil and Water Conservation Board: Robert G. Van Landingham

Soil and Water Conservation Board: Robert B. Pickett

It’s about that “red wave”

While our candidate Herb Jones did not win the First District Congressional Seat held by Republican Rob Wittman, we Democrats have big reasons to cheer about the outcome of the 2022 election.

The big news is that the predicted “red wave” turned out to be nothing more than a small ripple.

Yes, Republicans took the US House of Representatives, however:  (1) Their margin is slim, only 2-3 votes; (2) They are at war with themselves with the Trumpsters and the normal Republicans at each others’ throats;  and, (3) their agenda is focused on useless investigations of the Biden administration.  Everyone I have heard predicts that the antics of the Republican House of Representatives will drive voters away, which will help Democrats in 2024.

Meanwhile, we have held the US Senate and if Senator Raphael Warnock (D, GA) wins the  December 6 runoff election, we will have 51 Senators.

Two other bits of good news from Nov 8:

  1. Several states replaced Republican governors, state officials, and legislators with Democrats.
  2. Candidates endorsed by Trump went  down in flames.

The 2022 election is behind us.  It’s now time for use to get ready for November 7, 2023, when we have a critical election here in Virginia that will give us the opportunity to regain control of the House of Delegates and increase our hold on the State Senate.

We must also pay attention to the local races on the ballot in November 2023.  Of course, looming over all this is the November 5, 2024, Presidential election in which our Senator Tim Kaine will be up for re-election to the US Senate.

See a separate item on this website for the list of local offices on the ballot in November 2023.  See this link for a list of elections and offices through 2025.

“Governor” Youngkin is running from Virginia and for himself

This article from BlueVirginia sums up Virginia’s absentee “Governor” Glenn Youngkin’s first year in office.  Remember:  In November 2023, we will elect the entire Virginia General Assembly and it is critical that Democrats hold the State Senate and re-take the House of Delegates.

Glenn Youngkin and his phony red vest campaigning in Arizona with election-denier Kari Lake.

There are many different philosophies and religions out there, but most of them hold as a central or important tenet that our lives should be judged by our ACTIONS – what we DO (or fail to do), as opposed to what we believe or whatever. For instance, as this rabbi explains about Judaism:

Yes, the Jewish ideal is right action coupled with right attitude and hopefully right belief. However, at the end of the day, we are measured, in this world and on high, by what we do, not merely what we believe.

Or take Hinduism, which believes:

“One fundamental principle of the religion is the idea that people’s actions and thoughts directly determine their current life and future lives.”

Or Islam:

“One of the fundamental creeds of Islam is about the Day of Judgment. All humans who have lived on earth are accountable and answerable on that day for their beliefs and willful actions.”

This could go on all day, but you get the point: that in most major religions and moral codes, our lives are very much defined by the totality of our actions – the choices we make – for good or for ill. This year, for instance, we all faced the choice of whether or not to get involved in the fight for our democracy (against the forces of authoritarianism, Trumpism, etc.): whether to stay on the sidelines, or whether to actively work to undermine and/or destroy our democracy. The stakes were high and the choice was clear, so nobody can really claim ignorance.  So what did the governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, CHOOSE to do? Let’s look at his actions, which speak louder than any words he might say to try to justify what he did.

Here’s a brief summary of what Youngkin did in 2022: went around Virginia and the country, working relentlessly to elect election deniers, extremists and enemies of our democracy such as Yesli Vega (celebrated her July 4th with a notable insurrectionist who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021“), Jen Kiggans (wouldn’t say that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 elections, literally running away from a reporter who asked her!), Hung Cao (After the January 6th insurrection, Hung Cao defended violent insurrectionists saying “these are my people, set them free”) in Virginia; Paul LePage in Maine (“met eight times with members of the sovereign citizen movement between January and September 2013″)Tudor Dixon in Michigan (“in a May 2022 debate, when asked ‘do you believe Donald Trump legitimately won the 2020 election in Michigan?,’ Dixon responded ‘Yes.’”), Derek Schmidt in Kansas (“brought Kansas into an unsuccessful lawsuit after the 2020 presidential election seeking to overturn the results in battleground states as Trump and other Republicans spread baseless claims of widespread voter fraud”), Heidi Ganahl in Colorado ( “refuses to denounce John Eastman, former CU professor and author of the fraudulent legal memo used to justify the Jan 6 plot), Tim Michels in Wisconsin (said “that illegally decertifying the 2020 presidential election will be ‘on the table’ if he becomes governor, and wouldn’t say whether he would certify the 2024 election”); Kari Lake in Arizona (“repeatedly pushed the baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen – even going further casting doubt on the 2022 elections); etc. Sensing a pattern here?

So fortunately, the vast majority of the far-right extremists Youngkin campaigned for lost their elections (hopefully, that will include Kari Lake, who currently trails Democrat Katie Hobbs) – and thank goodness, or our democracy would be in truly grave danger. But that doesn’t even come close to absolving Glenn Youngkin of personal, moral and practical responsibility for doing everything he could to try and elect these anti-democracy extremists.

Now, sure, part of why Youngkin did this was out of cynical, calculated political ambition, namely his burning desire to be president (which is highly unlikely to ever happen), and his awareness that the only way to accomplish this goal is to win the nomination of a radicalized, Trumpist Republican Party. But the fact is, Youngkin COULD HAVE made another choice, such as the one Rep. Liz Cheney made, which was to stand on principle and specifically to stand up for American democracy, our constitution, our values and ideals.

In the end, disgracefully, Youngkin’s cynical, ambition-driven calculations led him to the course of action and conclusion that somehow it was worth throwing our democracy, constitution, etc. into the trash heap in order to advance his own political career. And yes, in its own way, Youngkin’s amoral, craven approach is even more appalling than if you actually BELIEVE the “Big Lie,” as the Amanda Chases of the world truly appear to do. But regardless of what he actually believes, the fact is that Youngkin relentlessly campaigning against our democracy in 2022 was a conscious CHOICE he made, even as he was strongly urged by Liz Cheney not to do so. And no, that choice should never be forgotten – or forgiven – EVER.