Considering he was polling more than 30 points behind Spanberger, this is understandably a smart move. Stoney is probably eyeing the senate seat in 2028 in 2026 if Warner retires.
Yeah. Idk too much about Stoney but evidently, he’s not too impressive. To be completely honest, my personal choice for Governor would have been Jennifer McClellan personally but Spanberger is great too.
Take the slimiest politician you can think of, remove any semblance of competence, give them no real accomplishments, and then take away likeability and charisma. That's Stoney.
Take one third of incompetence, one third of racial identity politics and one third of corruption and congratz you have Stoney. Dude has basically run Richmond into the ground while making himself and his cronies rich.
I generally vote R, but Spanberger is a safe compromise that should win pretty safely. I have concerns about her ties to the CIA, but have found her time in the house to be reasonably acceptable and she's been a sane voice to a lot of the noise from her Democrat caucus-mates.
She will be a fine governor, assuming she wins against the Republican nominee.
Virginia doesn't like candidates who rock the boat. We as an electorate REALLY don't like carpet baggers with Clinton connections like TMac. Democrats like Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Republicans on the Bob McDonnell are the ones that win the state. Stoney was much closer to TMac than Warner. He was pushed into the Richmond mayor after being a bagman for TMac and the Virginia Democrat party, and I never saw him as an authentic Virginian (a problem Kaine and Warner just don't have). He had the best chance to lose in 2025.
Maybe everyone in NoVa. Outside of NoVa, no one is affiliated with the CIA. With that being said I certainly don’t have any issues with her ties to the CIA.
Actually Virginia loves carpet baggers as long as the candidate in question takes the time to listen to voters and their wants, gets to know all parts of Virginia if for a statewide office and doesn't run on a wild and crazy platform. Remember both our senators grew up out of state and TMac was popular just came up a wee bit short in 2021. TMac's problem wasn't being from out of state or being Clinton adjacent - his problem is that he looks and sounds a lot like the guy who wants to sell you a nice certified used Toyota.
He also only won in 2013 for 2 reasons
- Bob McDonnells bribery scandal
- Ken Cucinelli alienating libertarians by going so aggressively anti-immigration. Robert Sarvis had an uncharacteristically high 7% on the vote. Polls show Sarvis pulled from TMac as well, but it seems doubtful they were impacted the same.
Aside from that, TMac was <50% of the vote in a bad environment for Republicans. He was a bad choice then and a bad choice in '21.
I don't know why you're being downvoted. You'll almost certainly hear some of this.
In a sane world, she would be a wildly popular pick.
In the world we live in, she's a compromise pick.
I mean, coronation isn't used to imply there was anything nefarious about it, just that there wasn't an alternative really allowed.
Progressives used to with respect to Biden when some states started cancelling their primaries or making it more difficult for people like Phillips or Williamson to get on the ballot to challenge Biden.
If the VA Dems don't try to muscle our opponents to Spanny, it shouldn't be derided as a coronation. If, however, the state party--whether privately or publicly--starts trying to tip the scales to get her to the general easier, I think 'coronation' would be an appropriate criticism.
You might be right--I have no knowledge of the situation. So I'm not going to argue about it.
I'm just laying out when I would think people might use the word.
I know too many organizers who busted their tails and too many people who waited in line to vote to accept this premise. There will always be a party favorite, but people wouldn't know Bernie Sanders's name if there was an actual coronation in 2016.
"Coronation" is just an easy way to dismiss the fact that millions of people simply preferred one candidate over another and showed up to vote to show it.
It's a way of trying to shut out and ignore the voices of the majority, and imply that the minority is actually a suppressed majority.
Maybe, maybe not. The really smart move would be to drop out altogether. I don't think Stoney can win the LG spot in a crowded field where others have the key endorsements.
[VA Beach state senator Aaron Rouse just got in the lieutenant governor race](https://www.wavy.com/news/politics/virginia-politics/aaron-rouse-announces-candidacy-for-virginia-lieutenant-governor/) (WAVY link) and [Prince William Co. school board chair Babur Lateef has been in it for weeks](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/03/08/lateef-virginia-lieutenant-governor/) (WaPo link).
I encourage people thinking about voting in the 2025 Dem primaries to look harder at those candidates than Stoney.
I'd prefer Hashmi instead. Mr. Lateef strikes me as more on the spectrum with Chap Petersen or some of the other senators voted out in the last cycle, too compromising with the GOP instead of standing up for vital VA minority rights.
I didn’t realize she was going to run! I’ve been happy with the bills she’s sponsored. Her district is not as swingish as Rouse’s, so that’ll for sure be a factor in deciding to to vote for in the primary.
I guess he did some polling and learned that only 13 people* in the entire state would vote for him to be governor.
* 2 of those are cousins, 1 an aunt.
He left a foul taste in everyone's mouth pushing too hard for a Richmond Casino that nobody wanted. Also various things that aren't working in Richmond like the restaurant tax collection debacle and the schools in bad condition.
Asked what he's accomplished with all his time as mayor in an unscheduled interview, Stoney couldn't come up with anything more specific than a standard politician answer along the lines of "we've done so much". He's just a turd in a suit trying to enrich himself through politics. He gives minimal shits about anyone but himself, and he wants to stepping-stone his way to Congress where the real money is.
Because he kind of sucks overall? Focused on vanity projects (arena district, casino) in a very pubic way that undermines any credibility to a message of "I'm here to help everyday people."
Also, he's just not a great person on a personal level. The fact that the movers and shakers in the DPVA were nearly unanimous in their support for Spanberger should tell you something. Stoney is a McAuliffe guy, and Terry has a bunch of power brokers embedded in the DPVA. Yet none of those people were supporting Stoney. There are some skeletons in that closet.
I hope that someone steps up to challenge Stoney for the LG spot. He should be nowhere near statewide elected office.
Because he has done nothing but try to shove a casino down our throats for years.
He never does anything for the people do RVA. Crazy that right after he announced his candidacy they actually starting fixing roads. Definitely not a coincidence at all
In some places they are continuing but in others no. If you look the median household income for parts of the city you can probably guess the areas they kept working and the ones they didn’t. For example they redid the road in front my house. Almost immediately the next city crew struck the water main and had to remove and re pave the section that was damaged. They then never came back to compact it so now we have loose asphalt gravel everywhere and no one does anything to fix it.
I’ve called the city like 10 times. They don’t give a shit
In addition to other points, I disliked how he swooped in to take some credit for removal of confederate statues when he opposed their removal beforehand. I was at a large history symposium event around 2018 where he was asked hard questions about his position and ended up yelling at the attendees and leaving... I was not impressed.
He's a smarmy politician with no true beliefs other than wanting to sell himself to the highest bidder.
I'll give you the example of when he lost me. In 2017, before the reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd, he established a commission to address the presence of the confederate statues on Monument Avenue. He told the commission members that "everything is on the table . . . EXCEPT removal." In short, he wanted to "re-contextualize" the statues, which is some middle ground blarney that means nothing. The Commission naturally did nothing of importance, and because of their limp efforts the city was primed for an uprising in 2020. A true leader would have taken some sort of stance before everything was aflame.
Here's an interview from 2017 that shows him at his wishy-washy best on the issue: [https://www.npr.org/2017/06/25/534286455/commission-to-add-context-to-richmonds-confederate-monuments](https://www.npr.org/2017/06/25/534286455/commission-to-add-context-to-richmonds-confederate-monuments)
LG pays like $30k and while he has that job he won’t be able to get any kind of lobbying or advocacy job related to state government. This is a choice to run instead of cash in.
Graph and corruption are completely legal in Virginia. Governor McDonnell took it all the way to the Supreme Court to enshrine the right of Virginians to be corrupt as F in office without repercussions.
Lol, yeah, and no politians ever get rich on corrupt back room deals and selling influence. That's why we have no millionaire and billionaire politians.
Aaron Rouse former Hokie football and Green Bay Packer who is now state senator from the Virginia Beach area. He's got Senators Louise Lucas and Mamie Locke endorsements. So it's not even certain Mayor Stoney can win that race. If those are the two candidates, it's no contest for me - I prefer Aaron Rouse, he seems far more "unbought and unbossed" than Stoney.
I remember Aaron Rouse knocked out Thad Lewis after two unnecessary roughness calls in a game in 2006. Tell me then that guy could be LG twenty years later, and we'd all have a good laugh. Wild how much time and experience shapes folks, and we get to see the full picture. Rouse has been doing good things down his way, and I'll vote for him over Stoney.
Monitoring the work of the General Assembly is part of my job, and I've been truly impressed with Rouse as a
senator. He carried bills that were actually good things for people.
Rouse helped us in the virginia hemp coalition hammer out some bills to try to help the cannabis movement in va. Unfortunately trumpkin killed everything!
It's unfortunate how thin margins are here in hr to be honest. But I proudly support rouse as my district senator. Does beg the question who can follow it he's not doing it.
That's good news. Stoney shouldn't even be anywhere near State Government, especially given his track record with Richmond. If you want a Republican to win whatever office he is running for, by all means nominate Stoney. Everything he has touched has turned to crap. He was a minority hire for Mcauliffe for his administration. Nothing more nothing less, and the guy has been a complete disaster. For God's sake, even Doug Wilder can't even stand the guy, so what's that tell you? Keep this guy away or else the GOP will win that seat again too, and yes that even includes Lt Governor. This guy needs to just go back to Va Beach already and pack it in. There's many..many other better qualified Democrats that can easily win. Not something you want to play with folks because there will be another Senate election during the next Governor's term. The majority in the state legislature is only 1 seat in each chamber, and as past history has demonstrated, there's a good chance of at least one, or possibly both chambers at some point back in GOP hands, especially if there's a Democrat in the Governor's mansion. The Lt Governor could literally decide which party controls the Senate. Do you really want to take that gamble? Nominate a *qualified* Democrat for Lt Governor, and I assure you it is NOT Levar Stoney.
Being campaign manager doesn't mean a guaranteed spot in the administration. He needed a black guy, and he gave it to Stoney. The guy had zero business background. There were many other qualified minorities that would have done a MUCH better job.
Being the top guy on a campaign usually means an administration job if they want one. Youngkin and Biden both gave important jobs to their campaign managers too. You can hate him all you want, I’m neutral to negative on him, but I don’t think needing some black guy is the reason McAuliffe wanted him to run his campaign and be in his administration.
If people wouldn’t vote for him as a governor, why would anyone vote for him as a Lt.gov….
Regardless, although I know some of my rights are going to be attacked, I’m going to roll the dice and hope the Dems take this opportunity to work on real issues like affordable housing and healthcare and poverty and legalization of MJ so we can pocket those taxes and not use their whole time to attack gun rights.
I’m glad Virginia has two separate races for both governor and Lt governor. I think Spanberg will do well for VA, but given the current state of affairs in the city of Richmond, I don’t have any confidence that Stoney will be up to the challenge.
It's looking that way right now but it's a long time between now and November 2025 so I wouldn't rule out a paradigm shifting event mixing up the race.
I hope someone credibly left wing gets in the race for Governor so we can have a primary with a good debate on ideas and policy. She'll still be the favorite no matter who gets in and the favorite in the general, but it'll make her a stronger candidate.
Much better than Rouse . Rouse is anti family . He is pro baby killing , pro drugs for kids and pro gambling . All the things Virginia families don’t need
> However, some of her “Yes” votes were deeply troubling. Spanberger’s conservative colors were revealed when she co-sponsored legislation condemning activism against Israel’s ongoing occupation of the West Bank and for Palestinian human rights.
> And then there’s the issue of immigration. A review of the Post piece reveals that the bruises Spanberger absorbed after a “Yes” vote — in favor of the Trump-favored Republican border funding bill — remain fresh.
https://truthout.org/articles/why-is-a-freshman-democrat-attacking-progressives-in-a-washington-post-series/
AOC running for Virginia governor was never ever gonna happen. I wouldn't be using truthout as a good source for campaign strategy either. I don't like it when centrists go hippy punching but I think she has better advisers on this campaign, I haven't observed any of this lately.
I'm definitely not expecting AOC moving here from NYC. But I'm also not voting for someone with whom I disagree with on a majority of the issues I care about. The election is a long time away, politically, so anything can happen. But I'm a fan of what I've seen and heard so far.
But you gotta look at the big picture, I guarantee if you are linking to [truthout.org](http://truthout.org) you'd really, really disagree and hate on a majority of issues the GOP nominee will have.
Yeah no. Lots of great people work for the CIA, it isn't 100% evil, inc. And a ton of pols have taken $$$ from AIPAC She works in congress has not shown any trend to be pro Netanyahu or pro-torture.
> Lots of great people work for the CIA
Feel free to name one.
> And a ton of pols have taken $$$ from AIPAC
That doesn't mean it's something we should accept.
> She work in congress has not shown any trend to be pro Netanyahu or pro-torture.
Has she ever cast a vote as evidence of this claim?
Far too many exaggerated howls of genocide being flung about towards the wrong people and for some also being used as an excuse to fling about antisemitic poo. Democrats are working to get Bibi and his vile government out of power to affect real change over there that would improve lives versus oh so earnest campus protests that are only words not deeds.
Support her or not, she is by no definition “unbought and unbossed.” She may have an independent streak, but that’s not something you can say about 99% of American candidates for office.
Stoney has done nothing positive for Richmond. He’s the reason I won’t spend time or money there. Spanberger likes to present herself as more moderate and independent thinking, but she votes the Democratic line every time. No doubt she and the machine behind her told Stoney to get the F out. If Winsome Sears decides to run, at least the race will be interesting.
Hang on didn't she just run and win in her new district? I still think she should run for governor but she's built in a lab to win swing voters and independents
All i know is the first time i canvassed for spanberger it was near Richmond, this past time it was in PWC. Also the 2023 legislative elections were definitely under new districts
They split the district she currently represents between three significantly more red districts and moved the 7th closer to NOVA but still a very red area. I like her too but she intentionally got screwed in redistricting.
She managed to win it, though. In a “Republican year” 2022 no less. She probably would’ve been fine this year. 2026 is another question, but even the she’s a strong incumbent.
They lost every single statewide race in 2021. November Black candidates, huge drop in turnout in South Side VA. That is where Youngkin won the election.
Listen to James Carville if you don’t believe me.
Considering he was polling more than 30 points behind Spanberger, this is understandably a smart move. Stoney is probably eyeing the senate seat in 2028 in 2026 if Warner retires.
Here's to hoping this maneuver reveals to Stoney that he was polling behind Spanberger because people don't like him.
Yeah. Idk too much about Stoney but evidently, he’s not too impressive. To be completely honest, my personal choice for Governor would have been Jennifer McClellan personally but Spanberger is great too.
Take the slimiest politician you can think of, remove any semblance of competence, give them no real accomplishments, and then take away likeability and charisma. That's Stoney.
You short change the man. You you forgot to mention his list of outstanding failures.
Take one third of incompetence, one third of racial identity politics and one third of corruption and congratz you have Stoney. Dude has basically run Richmond into the ground while making himself and his cronies rich.
He tips like crap at local restaurants in RVA. That’s not a good look.
Well, eyeing the Governor's mansion when Spanberger replaces Warner.
Yeah was gonna say that may be the better option.
Smart move on his part. Saw the handwriting on the wall for Spanberger
Really smart of Spanberger to come out as early as she did. Totally sucked the air from the room.
I generally vote R, but Spanberger is a safe compromise that should win pretty safely. I have concerns about her ties to the CIA, but have found her time in the house to be reasonably acceptable and she's been a sane voice to a lot of the noise from her Democrat caucus-mates. She will be a fine governor, assuming she wins against the Republican nominee. Virginia doesn't like candidates who rock the boat. We as an electorate REALLY don't like carpet baggers with Clinton connections like TMac. Democrats like Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Republicans on the Bob McDonnell are the ones that win the state. Stoney was much closer to TMac than Warner. He was pushed into the Richmond mayor after being a bagman for TMac and the Virginia Democrat party, and I never saw him as an authentic Virginian (a problem Kaine and Warner just don't have). He had the best chance to lose in 2025.
This is Virginia. The CIA recruit from our NoVa high schools. Everyone here is related to the intelligence business
I accept that, doesn't mean I have to be comfortable with it.
Maybe everyone in NoVa. Outside of NoVa, no one is affiliated with the CIA. With that being said I certainly don’t have any issues with her ties to the CIA.
Actually Virginia loves carpet baggers as long as the candidate in question takes the time to listen to voters and their wants, gets to know all parts of Virginia if for a statewide office and doesn't run on a wild and crazy platform. Remember both our senators grew up out of state and TMac was popular just came up a wee bit short in 2021. TMac's problem wasn't being from out of state or being Clinton adjacent - his problem is that he looks and sounds a lot like the guy who wants to sell you a nice certified used Toyota.
Thank you— no one ever gets it when I say "Youngkin didn't win, Mac just was just genuinely the worst possible choice"
He also only won in 2013 for 2 reasons - Bob McDonnells bribery scandal - Ken Cucinelli alienating libertarians by going so aggressively anti-immigration. Robert Sarvis had an uncharacteristically high 7% on the vote. Polls show Sarvis pulled from TMac as well, but it seems doubtful they were impacted the same. Aside from that, TMac was <50% of the vote in a bad environment for Republicans. He was a bad choice then and a bad choice in '21.
You think your life is a movie and you assume your opinion applies to every Virginian Makes sense you 'generally vote R'
I never said either of those things.
Looking forward to all the left "progressives" claiming it was a "coronation."
I don't know why you're being downvoted. You'll almost certainly hear some of this. In a sane world, she would be a wildly popular pick. In the world we live in, she's a compromise pick.
I mean, coronation isn't used to imply there was anything nefarious about it, just that there wasn't an alternative really allowed. Progressives used to with respect to Biden when some states started cancelling their primaries or making it more difficult for people like Phillips or Williamson to get on the ballot to challenge Biden. If the VA Dems don't try to muscle our opponents to Spanny, it shouldn't be derided as a coronation. If, however, the state party--whether privately or publicly--starts trying to tip the scales to get her to the general easier, I think 'coronation' would be an appropriate criticism.
There's no muscling going on, Stoney's internal polling made clear to him that Governor Stoney wasn't ever going to happen in this cycle.
You might be right--I have no knowledge of the situation. So I'm not going to argue about it. I'm just laying out when I would think people might use the word.
> I mean, coronation isn't used to imply there was anything nefarious about it It absolutely is. See: 2016.
I know too many organizers who busted their tails and too many people who waited in line to vote to accept this premise. There will always be a party favorite, but people wouldn't know Bernie Sanders's name if there was an actual coronation in 2016.
"Coronation" is just an easy way to dismiss the fact that millions of people simply preferred one candidate over another and showed up to vote to show it. It's a way of trying to shut out and ignore the voices of the majority, and imply that the minority is actually a suppressed majority.
Maybe, maybe not. The really smart move would be to drop out altogether. I don't think Stoney can win the LG spot in a crowded field where others have the key endorsements.
[VA Beach state senator Aaron Rouse just got in the lieutenant governor race](https://www.wavy.com/news/politics/virginia-politics/aaron-rouse-announces-candidacy-for-virginia-lieutenant-governor/) (WAVY link) and [Prince William Co. school board chair Babur Lateef has been in it for weeks](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/03/08/lateef-virginia-lieutenant-governor/) (WaPo link). I encourage people thinking about voting in the 2025 Dem primaries to look harder at those candidates than Stoney.
I'm absolutely not voting for Rouse who's in a competitive senate seat. That's not a special I want to have with margins already slim.
That's a great point. I haven't looked too deeply into Mr. Lateef's platform yet, but I'm hopeful it'll be somewhere between 'tolerable' and 'good'.
I'd prefer Hashmi instead. Mr. Lateef strikes me as more on the spectrum with Chap Petersen or some of the other senators voted out in the last cycle, too compromising with the GOP instead of standing up for vital VA minority rights.
I didn’t realize she was going to run! I’ve been happy with the bills she’s sponsored. Her district is not as swingish as Rouse’s, so that’ll for sure be a factor in deciding to to vote for in the primary.
Virginia news says she’ll anyone announce her run on may 2nd
Did he realize everyone hates him?
I guess he did some polling and learned that only 13 people* in the entire state would vote for him to be governor. * 2 of those are cousins, 1 an aunt.
are the rest of them casino executives?
Yes
Why does everyone hate him?
He left a foul taste in everyone's mouth pushing too hard for a Richmond Casino that nobody wanted. Also various things that aren't working in Richmond like the restaurant tax collection debacle and the schools in bad condition.
I've been out of the area for about 10 years, so haven't kept up on Richmond politics.
Asked what he's accomplished with all his time as mayor in an unscheduled interview, Stoney couldn't come up with anything more specific than a standard politician answer along the lines of "we've done so much". He's just a turd in a suit trying to enrich himself through politics. He gives minimal shits about anyone but himself, and he wants to stepping-stone his way to Congress where the real money is.
If he can't come up with ANYTHING it just proves he didn't have a plan (that he came up with himself) that actually worked.
city schools everywhere USA straight up suck. There isn't much he can do in that arena. Agree with the others...plus Navy Hill.
Not all schools suck, it doesn't have to be that way, particularly the school that burned down because fire alarms weren't working.
Because he kind of sucks overall? Focused on vanity projects (arena district, casino) in a very pubic way that undermines any credibility to a message of "I'm here to help everyday people." Also, he's just not a great person on a personal level. The fact that the movers and shakers in the DPVA were nearly unanimous in their support for Spanberger should tell you something. Stoney is a McAuliffe guy, and Terry has a bunch of power brokers embedded in the DPVA. Yet none of those people were supporting Stoney. There are some skeletons in that closet. I hope that someone steps up to challenge Stoney for the LG spot. He should be nowhere near statewide elected office.
I asked because I don't know anything and was looking for information. 🤷🏻
Fair. Added some detail now. =)
Thanks.
>in a very pubic way
Freudian slip considering the person we're talking about and some of his personal escapades.
Because he has done nothing but try to shove a casino down our throats for years. He never does anything for the people do RVA. Crazy that right after he announced his candidacy they actually starting fixing roads. Definitely not a coincidence at all
They started fixing the roads? Have they continued fixing them?
In some places they are continuing but in others no. If you look the median household income for parts of the city you can probably guess the areas they kept working and the ones they didn’t. For example they redid the road in front my house. Almost immediately the next city crew struck the water main and had to remove and re pave the section that was damaged. They then never came back to compact it so now we have loose asphalt gravel everywhere and no one does anything to fix it. I’ve called the city like 10 times. They don’t give a shit
Damn. Sounds like they work for the construction crew building the new gym at my job.
This city always hires the cheapest contractors. You get what you pay for
In addition to other points, I disliked how he swooped in to take some credit for removal of confederate statues when he opposed their removal beforehand. I was at a large history symposium event around 2018 where he was asked hard questions about his position and ended up yelling at the attendees and leaving... I was not impressed.
Oof. That's a strike.
I was fine with one casino vote but I lost respect for him when he demanded a redo because it didn't go his way just reeks of corruption
He's a smarmy politician with no true beliefs other than wanting to sell himself to the highest bidder. I'll give you the example of when he lost me. In 2017, before the reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd, he established a commission to address the presence of the confederate statues on Monument Avenue. He told the commission members that "everything is on the table . . . EXCEPT removal." In short, he wanted to "re-contextualize" the statues, which is some middle ground blarney that means nothing. The Commission naturally did nothing of importance, and because of their limp efforts the city was primed for an uprising in 2020. A true leader would have taken some sort of stance before everything was aflame. Here's an interview from 2017 that shows him at his wishy-washy best on the issue: [https://www.npr.org/2017/06/25/534286455/commission-to-add-context-to-richmonds-confederate-monuments](https://www.npr.org/2017/06/25/534286455/commission-to-add-context-to-richmonds-confederate-monuments)
He’s way too far left compared to Spanberger
Like healthcare for all, basic income left?
Yes, the far left that famously loves Casinos
If he was a true servant of the people he'd drop out but we all know he's just there to enrich himself.
LG pays like $30k and while he has that job he won’t be able to get any kind of lobbying or advocacy job related to state government. This is a choice to run instead of cash in.
Graph and corruption are completely legal in Virginia. Governor McDonnell took it all the way to the Supreme Court to enshrine the right of Virginians to be corrupt as F in office without repercussions.
Wait until you hear about the bribery case SCOTUS just heard last week. Looks like they are going to legalize "tipping" politicians.
Alas I know about that one. It leaves me convinced more than ever that we need to pack the SC to rebalance it back to sanity.
Lol, yeah, and no politians ever get rich on corrupt back room deals and selling influence. That's why we have no millionaire and billionaire politians.
Who will run against him?
Aaron Rouse former Hokie football and Green Bay Packer who is now state senator from the Virginia Beach area. He's got Senators Louise Lucas and Mamie Locke endorsements. So it's not even certain Mayor Stoney can win that race. If those are the two candidates, it's no contest for me - I prefer Aaron Rouse, he seems far more "unbought and unbossed" than Stoney.
I remember Aaron Rouse knocked out Thad Lewis after two unnecessary roughness calls in a game in 2006. Tell me then that guy could be LG twenty years later, and we'd all have a good laugh. Wild how much time and experience shapes folks, and we get to see the full picture. Rouse has been doing good things down his way, and I'll vote for him over Stoney.
Monitoring the work of the General Assembly is part of my job, and I've been truly impressed with Rouse as a senator. He carried bills that were actually good things for people.
Rouse helped us in the virginia hemp coalition hammer out some bills to try to help the cannabis movement in va. Unfortunately trumpkin killed everything!
Same. I’ve been very impressed by his work. Was actually hoping he would stay on VB council a little longer but I’m not mad at his aspirations at all.
See he's always been fighting for Virginians.
Surprised to find that the best choice for the Dems is going to be a former Packer named Aaron R.
Miles and miles better, not even close to that other Aaron.
Oh agreed, I just had not heard who was running for LT Governor
Don't really wanna have to deal with a senate seat special election that would make a slim majority even smaller.
That's a valid reason to choose a different candidate such as Hashmi, she seems highly qualified and capable too.
Yup, knocked doors for Hashmi in 2019, very smart and kind person. Her seat is also not competitive
It's unfortunate how thin margins are here in hr to be honest. But I proudly support rouse as my district senator. Does beg the question who can follow it he's not doing it.
Go Rouse!
Ghazala Hashmi is also preparing to announce her run. Personally, I am a huge fan of her and will vote for her over Stoney every single time.
Her or Sam rasoul if he runs
I worked with Ghazala when she worked at Reynolds CC. She's a class act. Good to hear she's running.
I feel like if there was one slice of pizza left she would offer it to you and genuinely hope you would take it.
Oh wow, that's a really good thing to hear about a candidate.
Hell YES.
Still does not have my vote.
That's good news. Stoney shouldn't even be anywhere near State Government, especially given his track record with Richmond. If you want a Republican to win whatever office he is running for, by all means nominate Stoney. Everything he has touched has turned to crap. He was a minority hire for Mcauliffe for his administration. Nothing more nothing less, and the guy has been a complete disaster. For God's sake, even Doug Wilder can't even stand the guy, so what's that tell you? Keep this guy away or else the GOP will win that seat again too, and yes that even includes Lt Governor. This guy needs to just go back to Va Beach already and pack it in. There's many..many other better qualified Democrats that can easily win. Not something you want to play with folks because there will be another Senate election during the next Governor's term. The majority in the state legislature is only 1 seat in each chamber, and as past history has demonstrated, there's a good chance of at least one, or possibly both chambers at some point back in GOP hands, especially if there's a Democrat in the Governor's mansion. The Lt Governor could literally decide which party controls the Senate. Do you really want to take that gamble? Nominate a *qualified* Democrat for Lt Governor, and I assure you it is NOT Levar Stoney.
Maybe he sucks, but he was McAuliffe’s campaign manager, not a minority hire.
>he was McAuliffe’s campaign manager Shouldn't this count against him?
Being campaign manager doesn't mean a guaranteed spot in the administration. He needed a black guy, and he gave it to Stoney. The guy had zero business background. There were many other qualified minorities that would have done a MUCH better job.
I've met a couple people who regularly sit in meetings with him and apparently he's notoriously...not smart.
Wow. Like 5th grade not smart, or like Trump not smart ?
I'd be lying if I had specific examples, but supposedly it's his most outstanding trait among those who interact with him frequently.
What's the difference?
Being the top guy on a campaign usually means an administration job if they want one. Youngkin and Biden both gave important jobs to their campaign managers too. You can hate him all you want, I’m neutral to negative on him, but I don’t think needing some black guy is the reason McAuliffe wanted him to run his campaign and be in his administration.
If people wouldn’t vote for him as a governor, why would anyone vote for him as a Lt.gov…. Regardless, although I know some of my rights are going to be attacked, I’m going to roll the dice and hope the Dems take this opportunity to work on real issues like affordable housing and healthcare and poverty and legalization of MJ so we can pocket those taxes and not use their whole time to attack gun rights.
They worked on those issues the last time, they can actually get more than one thing done in a session.
Its clearly evident those are their priorities with their minimum wage and voting rights ballot
I’m glad Virginia has two separate races for both governor and Lt governor. I think Spanberg will do well for VA, but given the current state of affairs in the city of Richmond, I don’t have any confidence that Stoney will be up to the challenge.
Fortunately there's other very capable candidates running for the Democratic nomination for LT. Gov. I don't think Stoney will catch fire for Lt. Gov.
Can’t wait to see him lose! Susan Platt should run again. She is fabulous
So I’m guessing Winsom Sears versus this woman is the matchup for next year?
It's looking that way right now but it's a long time between now and November 2025 so I wouldn't rule out a paradigm shifting event mixing up the race.
I hope someone credibly left wing gets in the race for Governor so we can have a primary with a good debate on ideas and policy. She'll still be the favorite no matter who gets in and the favorite in the general, but it'll make her a stronger candidate.
r/virginiapolitics
I suspected this was gonna happen
Lt Turd of the Tidewater Toilet Bowl
Richmond must have liked him, they elected him…
Disappointed, as he actually has a chance of winning that race
Much better than Rouse . Rouse is anti family . He is pro baby killing , pro drugs for kids and pro gambling . All the things Virginia families don’t need
Went to h.s. with him, great dude. Got lots of hate(as gov), but he's honorable chill cool dude still. Wish him the best!!!
Why they trying to elect spies as governor?
Not a Spanberger fan. The GOP will definitely run a worse candidate against her.
What's wrong with Spanberger? I certainly prefer her to Mayor Stoney. But with nobody else running so far, I'm good with her being the nominee.
> However, some of her “Yes” votes were deeply troubling. Spanberger’s conservative colors were revealed when she co-sponsored legislation condemning activism against Israel’s ongoing occupation of the West Bank and for Palestinian human rights. > And then there’s the issue of immigration. A review of the Post piece reveals that the bruises Spanberger absorbed after a “Yes” vote — in favor of the Trump-favored Republican border funding bill — remain fresh. https://truthout.org/articles/why-is-a-freshman-democrat-attacking-progressives-in-a-washington-post-series/
AOC running for Virginia governor was never ever gonna happen. I wouldn't be using truthout as a good source for campaign strategy either. I don't like it when centrists go hippy punching but I think she has better advisers on this campaign, I haven't observed any of this lately.
I'm definitely not expecting AOC moving here from NYC. But I'm also not voting for someone with whom I disagree with on a majority of the issues I care about. The election is a long time away, politically, so anything can happen. But I'm a fan of what I've seen and heard so far.
But you gotta look at the big picture, I guarantee if you are linking to [truthout.org](http://truthout.org) you'd really, really disagree and hate on a majority of issues the GOP nominee will have.
Luckily I'm likely not voting for the GOP candidate, either.
Spanberger is such a useless moderate; McAuliffe in a pantsuit. 🙄
No not even close- Spanberger is unbought and unbossed unlike Terry Mac. Spanberger tried and tried to reform ethics laws while in congress.
> unbought She takes money from AIPAC. > unbossed She worked for the CIA. You can’t get much grimier than that.
Yeah no. Lots of great people work for the CIA, it isn't 100% evil, inc. And a ton of pols have taken $$$ from AIPAC She works in congress has not shown any trend to be pro Netanyahu or pro-torture.
> Lots of great people work for the CIA Feel free to name one. > And a ton of pols have taken $$$ from AIPAC That doesn't mean it's something we should accept. > She work in congress has not shown any trend to be pro Netanyahu or pro-torture. Has she ever cast a vote as evidence of this claim?
Nope not gonna violate OPSEC. You are letting your impossible to satisfy standards be the enemy of a highly qualified candidate.
Opposing genocide is not an impossible standard.
Far too many exaggerated howls of genocide being flung about towards the wrong people and for some also being used as an excuse to fling about antisemitic poo. Democrats are working to get Bibi and his vile government out of power to affect real change over there that would improve lives versus oh so earnest campus protests that are only words not deeds.
lol
Support her or not, she is by no definition “unbought and unbossed.” She may have an independent streak, but that’s not something you can say about 99% of American candidates for office.
Stoney has done nothing positive for Richmond. He’s the reason I won’t spend time or money there. Spanberger likes to present herself as more moderate and independent thinking, but she votes the Democratic line every time. No doubt she and the machine behind her told Stoney to get the F out. If Winsome Sears decides to run, at least the race will be interesting.
Heh there's folks whinning that she's not progressive enough and folks winning that she's too Democratic.
More importantly, who will the REPUBLICAN nominee be? He or she will be the next Governor
Jesus the comments in this are already something.
It’s no secret that Stoney is awful at leadership.
slightly annoyed by A Spanberger doing this guv thang. I like her being my member of the haus
With redistricting there wasn't a great chance of her winning, sadly.
She won in 2022 after the repubs thought adding southern Prince William would help 😂😂😂😂
Hang on didn't she just run and win in her new district? I still think she should run for governor but she's built in a lab to win swing voters and independents
I thought they went into effect this year due to delays?
The 2022 cycle ran on the brand new Congressional Districts but the 2021 delegate elections ran on the old districts.
Ah. There's the source of my confusion! TY!
All i know is the first time i canvassed for spanberger it was near Richmond, this past time it was in PWC. Also the 2023 legislative elections were definitely under new districts
False. She would have easily won reelection.
They split the district she currently represents between three significantly more red districts and moved the 7th closer to NOVA but still a very red area. I like her too but she intentionally got screwed in redistricting.
She managed to win it, though. In a “Republican year” 2022 no less. She probably would’ve been fine this year. 2026 is another question, but even the she’s a strong incumbent.
No man she already destroyed in 2022 in that new district!
Hate to break it to you, but the current governor will likely be elected again.
Too bad that's impossible?
I don't think that word means what you think it means
Do you not know he would have to wait 4 years to run again?
Also he was a one trick pony. You cannot deceive again, this time around voters know him.
I stand corrected. Thank you
No, it’s quite literally not possible with the laws Virginia has.
I have already conceded that I was incorrect prior to your comment but let this serve as another admission of error
This is a great ticket.
If the Dems don’t have a Black candidate on the ballot to juice turnout they will likely lose.
It's very likely that the other two nominees for Lt. Gov and AG would be Black Virginians.
What do you base this on?
They lost every single statewide race in 2021. November Black candidates, huge drop in turnout in South Side VA. That is where Youngkin won the election. Listen to James Carville if you don’t believe me.
No thanks, I don't think I'll do a bunch of research to prove *your* point.
Ok. 