The past 11 months, and very likely for a while longer, have been a kind of tough a lot of us have never experienced before in our lifetime. It is difficult to wrap our heads around the moment because we are still in the thick of it. As if a global pandemic is not bad enough already, the display of incompetence and callousness by many of our governments and leaders in responding to the crisis compounded the trauma and hurt for so many. Our hearts go out to all those who have been impacted directly and indirectly by the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time of writing this, the US has had over 500,000 Covid deaths and 28.2 million cases so far. Let’s continue to take care of each other in these dark times.
Like everyone else, 2020 did a number on us in ways we could not have anticipated. For a scrappy political action group such as VAJD, it presented a particular set of challenges. We needed to adapt to this new reality we’re living in. So, we took stock of our successes and failures thus far, as well as our current capacity as a group, in achieving our stated mission: “To help elect progressive candidates to office at the state and local levels in VA.” We recognized that we needed to formulate a working strategy that would allow us to grow the VA progressive movement so that we can become more effective in helping to elect more progressive candidates down the line.
Therefore, for the 2021 VA election cycle, we will only be endorsing 1 or 2 candidates for statewide offices, namely Governor and possibly Lieutenant Governor (LG). This would allow us to laser focus all our energy and resources on fewer races and thus increase our chance of success. We are also partnering with other VA progressive groups, who align with our values of intersectional justice, to coordinate and pool our resources. A big win at the top of the ticket, and going up against establishment corporate Democratic candidates like Terry McAuliffe with a lot of money from big corporate donors, will help to demonstrate our effectiveness as a movement. It is the public’s perception of what is electorally possible that we need to change in all this. As AOC says, “They have money. We have people.”
In January, we announced our official endorsement for Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy for the next Governor of Virginia who we believe to be the strongest progressive candidate in the field and one who has the leadership to help grow our movement and pave the way for more progressives running for office down the line. Afterall, as much as it is about the individual candidate it is also very much about the movement. We have to “Grow the Squad”. The more progressives are elected the greater our chances of achieving our policy goals and make the kind of “radical redistribution of political and economic power” that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. talks about is needed to solve the problem of racial and economic injustices.
The past few years have yielded a lot of interesting lessons-learned from the progressive movement, such as that of Justice Democrats (JDs), Rhode Island Political Cooperative, and other progressive electoral organizing elsewhere. We have also been watching how JDs in Congress, like AOC, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Pramila Jayapal, have been able to expand the Overton window on political discourse and elevated the public’s understanding of intersectional justice issues. Their ability to articulate, communicate, and reach folks where they are at is unparalleled. And we are inspired.
What we came to appreciate is how the initial wins, even a very small number of candidates, can help shift the public perception of what is possible in electoral politics. Then those candidates, like “The Squad” with their superpower ability to communicate and message, are able to use their platform to help grow the movement. Now JD is able to raise more funds and attract more public support, which in turn enhances their capacity to support more progressive candidates. The more progressives are elected to office in a given legislative chamber, the greater the chance of success in achieving progressive policy agendas thereby delivering real meaningful change that actually helps people. There is power in numbers when progressive representatives work together as a caucus. As more and more progressives are elected to office they can work as a block to push for democracy reforms thereby leveling the playing field and making it easier for future working class progressive candidates to run for office. Like lowering down the ladder to help others who come after you have an easier time to get there. VAJD believes that it is in delivering on policies that will keep voters turning out to vote for a given elected official.
While we have decided not to endorse candidates for other VA state and local level races in 2021, we have created a Pledge where candidates can choose to sign on to, but which would NOT constitute an endorsement from VAJD. This way candidates can identify themselves and signal to their voters as being aligned with our values. It is an accountability tool and we leave it up to the candidates to decide if they can and are willing to keep their Pledge if they choose to sign on.
With the Democratic Primary race for Governor of VA in 2021 being what it is — split 5 ways — it is even more critical that, if we are to have any real chance at defeating a candidate like Terry McAuliffe, we band together behind a single progressive candidate. It’s just math.
(To learn more on why having McAuliffe as Governor of VA again at this point in time would be disastrous, see these resources: I can’t believe Terry McAuliffe is going to be Governor of VA (Nov. 2013); Three-Time Sellout: Terry McAuliffe’s Secret Mountain Valley Pipeline Deals and The Smoking Gun They Reveal (Feb. 2018); McAuliffe would lock us into fossil fuel for decades (Feb. 2021))
We know that folks are tired of the “Virginia Way” status quo, as we have daily proof of in the VA General Assembly even now during this 2021 Legislative session. Such as here and here. There are many of us out there who yearn for real meaningful change. With multiple intersectional crises bearing down upon us such as the climate emergency, global pandemic, and growing socio-economic inequity, we no longer have the luxury of time to wait for incremental change. WE are the ones who have to bring about the change ourselves. Our journey in VA is just beginning. Join the movement and help us win big in 2021 and beyond!
** And in case you want to do a deep dive, here are some resources:
Building the Dream podcast — from the original co-founders of JDs, Corbin Trent, Saikat Chakrabarti, & Zack Exley
The Political Revolution Comes to the Statehouse — how the RI progressives are building power at the state & local levels