Op-ed: Let’s make a statement in Virginia!

Nov. 8, 2016 was a moment of reckoning for me, as it must have been for many others. I watched, slack-jawed and dumbfounded, as Donald Trump was elected to the highest office in American politics. Instantly, the world seemed to be a much darker and less promising place than the one I had known only a few moments prior.

While it is not surprising that this momentous defeat left many people feeling demoralized and pessimistic about the future, time has shown that this state of affairs was nothing if not fleeting. Proof of this came in January, when the presidential inauguration brought out a wave of political activism and showed the American spirit to have been undimmed by the events of the preceding few months. The outpouring of protest and civic engagement surrounding the event was heartening, not only because it showed a deep displeasure with the outcome of the election, but also because it demonstrated the willingness of the general public to take political action in response to the challenges and outrages of the Trump administration.

The healthcare fight that has dominated politics for the past few months has proven the efficacy of public protest as a means of affecting policy. However, there is only so much that protesting and calling members of Congress can accomplish. If Democrats want to put a stop to Trump’s agenda and regain control of the government, they need to contest and win elections on a large scale.

Much of the attention paid to politics has been cannibalized by the ridiculous antics and machinations of the president and his White House. It can, therefore, be extremely tempting to look ahead to the 2020 presidential election and the opportunity to unseat him. However, we will have the opportunity to make a major impact on the political landscape and send an unequivocal message to the White House long before 2020, and even well before the 2018 midterm elections. Next month, voters in New Jersey and Virginia will go to the polls to elect new governors and state legislatures. Though in a post-Trump world political certainties are largely nonexistent, the gubernatorial race in Virginia is expected to be by far the closer of the two.

Though polls are currently showing Democrat Ralph Northam leading Republican Ed Gillespie by a margin in the mid-single digits, the race is expected to be extremely close. This race is not just expected to be exceptionally close, but it will also be extremely consequential. Over the last four years, Virginia has made exceptional progress under the leadership of Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe. Over the course of his administration, the state expanded access to affordable healthcare, thousands of Virginians had their voting rights restored and discrimination against state employees on the basis of sexual orientation and identity was prohibited. Much of this progress would be lost by electing an extremely conservative Republican candidate, who has not only supported the policies of the Trump administration on a wide variety of issues, but has also adopted Trump’s hateful rhetoric on immigration and stated that he would like to see abortion banned.

The office of governor is not the only position up for election. The state’s Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General will also be elected on the same day, as will all of the members of the state legislature. The composition of the next legislature will likely be just as important as who occupies the Governor’s Mansion. Despite the accomplishments of the last four years, the McAuliffe administration was often stymied by the large Republican majority that they faced in the House of Delegates (the lower house in the state legislature) which blocked a variety of reforms including a full Medicaid expansion. Although Democrats hold all three statewide offices and won the state in the past three presidential elections, they only hold approximately one third of the seats in the House of Delegates, and Republicans are therefore able to block progressive reforms.

By winning the three statewide races and making a strong showing in the legislature, we can send a strong message to the Trump administration, while also continuing to enact progressive reform in the state of Virginia. These elections will have national implications and luckily there are a large number of opportunities to get involved in the races and help make sure that Democrats win in Virginia.

Tufts Democrats will be holding phone banks and other campaign events to support Democrats up and down the ballot in the state from Ralph Northam to candidates for the state legislature. We have an exceptional opportunity in Virginia and we cannot afford to squander it.