Democrat Memo Outlines the ‘Threat’ for Virginians If GOP Takes Control of State Legislature

A voter casts her ballot with her child at a polling station at Rose Hill Elementary School during the midterm primary election in Alexandria, Va., on June 21, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate sent out a memo on Oct. 10, summarizing what they consider to be the dangers facing the state if Republicans take control of the Senate and keep control of the House and governor’s office.

The Virginia House Democratic Caucus, Senate Democratic Caucus, and The Majority Project wrote in the Oct. 9 memo that the Nov. 7 elections in Virginia are a “battle between extremism and commonsense.”

“The threat is real. We’ve seen the extreme policies they’ve put forward in the past and know if elected, they will do everything they can to ban abortion, weaken gun safety laws, and put middle class families at risk,” the memo states.

The Democrats believe that if Republicans have full control, they will ban abortion after 15 weeks.

The memo also noted the importance of winning the support of suburban women and young voters, which “will be critical to stopping the MAGA takeover in Richmond, Hampton Roads, and Northern Virginia.”

According to NBC exit polls after the 2021 election in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, then a Republican gubernatorial candidate, won 57 percent of white women voters compared to 43 percent who voted for Democrat Terry McAuliffe.

In addition, the Democrat group criticized Mr. Youngkin for collecting donations from billionaires. According to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), Mr. Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia political action committee has been raising funds for Republicans in down-ballot races.

Democrat Fundraising

Democrats have also been pouring money into the state, including millions from the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee.

“The good news is that Democratic candidates are keeping pace in their fundraising against Republicans,” the memo said. “Per VPAP, of the seven House seats that are considered most competitive, four have Democratic fundraising advantages and one has a GOP advantage, the other two are even. On the Senate side, the four Senate seats that are toss-ups are split evenly in terms of fundraising, with one Democratic advantage, one GOP advantage, and two split evenly.”

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks to media after a "Parents Matter" town hall in Leesburg, Va., on Sept. 12, 2023. Terri Wu/The Epoch Times

The Democrats said they will also stress to voters the risk of a government shutdown in mid-November, again accusing Republicans of being “extreme.”

“While every Virginia Democrat voted to keep the federal government open, the majority of Virginia Republicans in Congress voted to shut it down. As we approach election day, we’ll also approach the next point where the MAGA extremists will try to shut down the government (November 17), putting this issue front-and-center for voters again,” the memo said. “If the government shuts down, our troops and federal government workers won’t get paid, kids won’t get the food they were counting on, and everyday Virginians won’t get the benefits they need.”

However, many of the “America First” Republicans who have voted against the budget legislation say they do not want to vote in favor of a package that includes sending more money to Ukraine.

They have asked congressional leadership to separate aid for Ukraine from the budget and said they would then vote to keep the government funded.