As part of a day trip around Virginia ahead of Tuesday’s elections, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore made a stop Saturday to support Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, and Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico.
VanValkenburg, who has represented the area in the House of Delegates since 2018, is challenging Sen Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, in the 16th District.
Willett, a delegate since 2020, is hoping to ward off Republican challenger Riley Shaia to represent Henrico’s 58th District in the House of Delegates. Both contests are among a handful of competitive races this year, offering both parties the chance to control each chamber.
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While Republicans have the advantage of Virginia’s current governor — Glenn Youngkin — supporting them, Moore is pinch hitting from Maryland to support Democrats in his neighboring state.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (center foreground) campaigns Saturday with Del. Rod Willett, D-Henrico (left) and Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg (right). Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney stands behind Moore.
“This election matters because it comes at a unique moment for us to make sure we’re showing that we understand the assignment,” Moore said. He noted the national spotlight Virginia’s elections have garnered this year.
He added: “It’s not just the folks in Virginia. It’s not just the folks around the country. It’s the ancestors. It’s our future generations looking.”
Moore was elected Maryland’s governor in 2022, receiving 64% of the vote. He is the fifth African American governor in U,S. history. Virginia’s Doug Wilder was the nation’s first elected Black governor.
(Youngkin, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares are headlining GOP get out the vote rallies this weekend around the state, including one Saturday in Chesterfield County and one Sunday that will include Henrico candidates Dunnavant, Shaia and David Owen, who faces Democrat Susanna Gibson in House District 57.)
Before Moore gave a speech Saturday, the candidates spoke to the crowd. VanValkenburg and Willett reflected on Democratic efforts to reduce gun violence, expand voting access and goals to make health care more affordable.
VanValkenburg called the 2018 Medicaid expansion vote one of the highlights of his political career. He stressed that if elected, he’ll keep working to bring down prescription drug costs.
Moore noted how Marylanders will be voting on a ballot referendum next year to enshrine abortion protections into the state’s constitution. The measure was made possible by Maryland’s state legislature, and another reason Moore stressed support for Democrats to win in Virginia’s legislative elections this year.
In order to succeed, proposed constitutional amendments in Virginia must pass the legislature two years in a row, with an election in the House of Delegates in between, before going to voters in a statewide referendum. A Democratic push for a constitutional amendment failed earlier this year, as did various Republican bills to restrict or ban abortion access.
Most Republicans have since coalesced around Youngkin’s proposal to stop most abortions after 15 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the pregnant person. There is no exception for severe fetal anomalies. Current state law stops most abortions after 26 weeks with three physicians required to approve later abortions.
As Democrats have made opposing the 15 week proposal a pillar of their campaigns, Youngkin said at a recent rally that Democrats are “running on fear” and Republicans are “running on hope.”
The overlapping goals for many GOP candidates this year has been to give parents more authority in public education curriculum and student policies and more support for law enforcement. Both parties have emphasized addressing inflation and they diverge on abortion limits.
Hope was a theme during Saturday’s gathering with Moore, VanValkenburg, Willett, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and a crowd of about 50 people preparing to door-knock for the campaigns.
“Never forget what our hope and opportunity looks like,” he said enthusiastically to energize the crowd. “The work we’re doing right now is not just about what we’re going to push back against. It’s about what we will actually accomplish.”
Early voting, which began in late September, wrapped on Saturday. With Election day on Tuesday, candidates are making their final pushes through door-knocking, ads and mailers. Though all 140 seats in the House and Senate are on the ballot, only a handful are competitive – like the Henrico seats in which VanValkenburg and Willett are competing – and will help determine which party controls each chamber next year.
Today in history: Nov. 3
1868: Ulysses S. Grant
In 1868, Republican Ulysses S. Grant won the presidential election over Democrat Horatio Seymour.
1936: Franklin D. Roosevelt
In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a landslide election victory over Republican challenger Alfred “Alf” Landon.
1954: “Godzilla”
In 1954, the Japanese monster movie “Godzilla” was released by Toho Co.
1961: Agency for International Development
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the U.S. Agency for International Development.
1970: Salvador Allende
In 1970, Salvador Allende (ah-YEN’-day) was inaugurated as president of Chile.
1986: Iran-Contra
In 1986, the Iran-Contra affair came to light as Ash-Shiraa, a pro-Syrian Lebanese magazine, first broke the story of U.S. arms sales to Iran.
1992: Bill Clinton
In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd president of the United States, defeating President George H.W. Bush.
1994: Susan Smith
In 1994, Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina, was arrested for drowning her two young sons, Michael and Alex, nine days after claiming the children had been abducted by a Black carjacker.
2004: George W. Bush
In 2004, President George W. Bush claimed a re-election mandate a day after more than 62 million Americans chose him over Democrat John Kerry; Kerry conceded defeat in make-or-break Ohio rather than launch a legal fight reminiscent of the contentious Florida recount of four years earlier.
2011: George Papandreou
In 2011, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou abandoned his plan to put a European rescue deal to a popular vote.
2012: Brooklyn Nets
New York’s newly relocated NBA team, the former New Jersey Nets, hosted the first regular-season game by a major sports team in Brooklyn since the Dodgers left in 1957; the Brooklyn Nets beat the Toronto Raptors 107-100.
2014: One World Trade Center
In 2014, 13 years after the 9/11 terrorist attack, a new 1,776-foot skyscraper at the World Trade Center site opened for business, marking an emotional milestone for both New Yorkers and the nation.
2016: Tim Kaine
In 2016, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine delivered a speech entirely in Spanish as he addressed a small crowd in a largely Hispanic area of Phoenix as part of Hillary Clinton’s push into traditionally Republican Arizona.
2017: Rand Paul
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky suffered five broken ribs in an attack by a longtime next-door neighbor as Paul did yard work at his home. (Rene Boucher pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of Congress and was sentenced to 30 days in prison.)
2020: Election
In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won the presidency in an election that saw more than 103 million Americans vote early, many by mail, amid a coronavirus pandemic that upended a campaign marked by fear and rancor, waged against a backdrop of protests over racial injustice. As vote counting continued in battleground states, Biden’s victory would not be known for more than three days; Republican President Donald Trump would refuse to concede, falsely claiming that he was a victim of widespread voter fraud. Kamala Harris made history as the first woman, Black person and person of South Asian descent to become vice president. Democrats clinched two more years of controlling the House but saw their majority shrink. Republicans emerged with a two-seat Senate majority that would be erased by Democratic wins in two runoffs in Georgia in January.
2021: Cleo Smith
Police in western Australia used a battering ram to enter a locked house and rescue a 4-year-old girl, Cleo Smith, who’d been abducted from a camping tent more than two weeks earlier; the suspect in the kidnapping was arrested nearby. (Terence Kelly pleaded guilty to the abduction.)
2021: Heather Mack
One year ago: After serving more than seven years in an Indonesian prison for killing her mother at a luxury resort on the island of Bali, Heather Mack of Chicago was indicted on murder conspiracy charges in the United States and taken into federal custody on her arrival at O’Hare International Airport.
Charlotte Rene Woods (804) 649-6254