The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is pushing its spotlight candidates this election cycle in an effort to expand its one-seat majority in the Virginia House of Delegates, with a strategy update this week discussing pressing issues Virginians currently face and its plan to get more Democratic candidates in power.
Del. Nadarius Clark, Lindsey Dougherty, and the Democratic nominee for Virginia Lieutenant Governor, Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, joined DLCC to discuss what’s at stake and the current political landscape.
The group looked at federal issues to punctuate the need for local Democratic leadership.
DLCC President Heather Williams pointed to chaos in Washington D.C. among federal lawmakers, and noted there are Democrats in state seats — not just in Virginia — who are stepping up.
“We’ve got state legislators who are filling that gap, who are standing up, holding town halls, meeting with community members, meeting with community groups who are going to be impacted, who have concerns, who are expressing their fears,” Williams said. “And that is happening not just in Virginia today, although the election, of course, makes that a very meaningful moment.”
Williams said President Donald Trump’s recently passed tax bill and budget is unfair to states.
“They can’t just keep raising their debt ceiling. This is a problem that Republicans have put red states, blue states, and purple states in,” Williams said, pointing out that there are many stories coming from communities detailing damaging and long-term effects of the budget bill.
Virginia Commonwealth University research administrator and candidate Dougherty, said that while she is personally feeling the effect of Trump’s policies, as her own job is at risk, her concern is with the people in her community.
“What I’m hearing and what I’m seeing across my district and across the Commonwealth is that my neighbors are also losing their jobs and losing their ability to provide for their families,” Dougherty said.
Dougherty added that with unemployment claims increasing, as well as prices going up across the board, Trump’s actions since taking office are “manufactured chaos.”
“We need a Delegate that will be a very strong brick in this firewall to protect our families across the commonwealth,” Dougherty said. “There is going to be a very stark difference in how Democrats versus Republicans govern, and Republicans at the state level are complicit in what is happening at the federal level.”
Suffolk Del. Clark, one of Virginia’s youngest lawmakers at 29, said that every town hall that has been held recently has been packed by constituents ready to engage and voice their concerns on what is happening within government at the federal level.
“They’re coming to their state representatives and to their local leaders for answers because sadly we haven’t been able to hear from our congressional members here in CD-2,” Clark said. “Any reduction to our federal workforce, any cut to our budgets, is going to have a dramatic impact to how we fund our schools, how we invest in infrastructure, and how we invest in health care.
Clark levied a familiar argument, that elections have consequences, noting that before 2022, when Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin took office and Republicans won a majority in the House of Delegates, Virginia had been a top destination for business.
“Sadly, when we lost that in 2022, we lost our number one ranking,” Clark said. “When we were able to take back the House, we were able to get back in number one. So, we see when certain leadership and certain policies are in play, Virginia does better.”
Hashmi, who represents Virginia’s District 15 in parts of Chesterfield County and Richmond City, narrowly won the Democratic nomination in June.
She worries about the now-narrow Democratic majority in the Senate, where in the event of a tied vote, Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears will, in her opinion, vote against the best interests of Virginians as the tie breaker.
“That’s why it’s so essential that we have a Democratic LG in place in the Virginia Senate, so that we can ensure that our priorities and our critical issues are addressed, especially given what we see happening in Washington,” Hashmi said.
Hashmi said Virginia is facing disproportionate harm to its federal workforce, which impacts veterans through the closure of services to VA hospitals.
“Now with the Medicaid cuts, we’re going to see very direct and very severe impacts, not just to our rural hospital systems, but all throughout our hospital health care system,” Hashmi said. “We must maintain and grow our Democratic legislative majorities. We need new statewide leadership that’s going to move us forward, that’s going to protect our families.”
