Before we get into it, this is a reminder that on Fridays at Noon, I host a Zoom to better inform Virginia FREE members on the world of politics with an emphasis on Virginia. Today I am, once again, opening up this opportunity to you since our guest is Stan Lockhart who is considered to be a national expert on Ranked Choice Voting.
Lockhart, a conservative, originally was opposed to the use of RCV during his time in Utah Republican politics, where he chaired the party and his late wife was Utah’s first female Speaker of the House, but now he heartily endorses it.
Click Here at Noon to learn more about Ranked Choice Voting.
Thanks to Brian Cannon for helping set that up.
Now to the title of today’s newsletter - Delegate Guzman’s response to yesterday’s newsletter in which I wrote:
Last night, I received word that Delegate Elizabeth Guzman is seriously considering dropping her bid for the Democratic nomination for Lt. Governor so she can concentrate on winning back her House of Delegates seat. It seems newly announced candidate Rod Hall - click to visit his website here - is coming on strong in this primary.
Here is the entire quote attributable to Guzman forwarded to me by her Media Relations consultant Katie Baker whom you can find over on Twitter @muckrakerbaker.
I am proudly running to become the first woman, woman of color, and Latinx person to ever serve as Virginia’s lieutenant governor and have already earned the endorsements of 7 labor unions, Our Revolution Richmond, and CASA in Action, which is the largest electoral organization advocating for immigrants rights in the mid-Atlantic. I am in this race to win it and anyone who suggests otherwise is probably afraid of my candidacy and doubting that a woman of color can run two successful campaigns.
Baker has done a good job representing her candidate having called me earlier in the race to discuss where I thought Guzman was in a crowded field of Democratic candidates for Lt. Governor. Originally due to her early fundraising and labor support, I had Guzman leading but then falling to the middle of the pack as the other campaigns got going.
And I love the fact that she has gone with the muckraking brand as it takes me back to my journalism classes with Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Clark Mollenhoff a.k.a “the Boomer” who made us read muckrakers like Lincoln Steffens. I’ll never forget the day “the Boomer” was uncharacteristically late for class. We’re all sitting around getting agitated when in comes Boomer with his deep baritone voice saying:
Sorry, gentlemen. I was on the phone with the President of the United States. He was calling about the article I wrote.
You could almost feel forty chins hitting forty chests. Honestly, the excuses some people came up with in the mid 80s. Want to get the attention of Mike Allen of Axios? Just say Mollenhoff.
<end scene>
I thought about calling Baker to get their official denial but in the end my Democratic source is rock solid and has been for many years. Naturally, my interest was piqued so I googled up Rod Hall to see if he was a credible threat to the Guzman re-election campaign. It had to make sense, right? Otherwise, why bother.
When I saw the Prince Williams Times’ article noting that some of Guzman’s colleagues from her Prince William delegation had endorsed her opponent, I was quite surprised. Especially when you consider who they are - Senators Scott Surovell and Jeremy McPike along with House Appropriations Committee Chair Luke Torian. Combined with Board of Supervisors Victor Young and Andrea Baker, that’s a big problem for an incumbent running two heavily contested primaries simultaneously.
It’s not that I doubt Guzman can win both primaries. She most certainly can, after all she’ll be on both ballots and it’s possible. It’s just not likely at this point. In fact, she’s more likely to lose both than win either. Surovell, McPike, and Torian are openly opposing her renomination to the House, as is Prince William Delegate Hala Ayala (woman of color) who is not running for re-election because she has decided to go all in for the Lt. Governor nomination.
They all could have easily just not endorsed Hall and stayed out of the race. But they didn’t, did they? That’s a big tell.
And no one doubts that
a woman of color can run two successful campaigns
but these are highly competitive campaigns against very good candidates. There is only so much time and so much money to do both at a high level.
One should be mindful of what Confucius said:
The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.
I don’t think Confucius was being sexist when he said that and please don’t try to cancel him. I don’t need the Chinese Embassy up in my business. It’s just a quote, but an instructive one. Ayala took it to heart.
Guzman, whose very compelling personal story is in the clip below, only has 88 days left to find out whether or not she can, in fact, do both. My source says she is considering picking one rabbit - the House rabbit over the LG rabbit.
And it’s about the time to make that decision - A), B), or C) Both A and B.
“We’ll see…” said the Zen master.
Recently, Guzman debated Delegate Glenn Davis on The Future of Education in a forum conducted by JMU Civic. Link below.
Davis is also running (again) for the Republican nomination for Lt. Governor while he campaigns for his House of Delegates seat. Davis is unopposed for the nomination of his House seat.
Davis is locked in a tight battle for the LG nomination with former Delegates Tim Hugo and Winsome Sears. I think he’s ahead right now in that race and will more than likely win his currently uncontested House primary.
Monday is going to be a bit chilly and dreary, so here’s Marcella Hazan's Bolognese Ragu recipe. Serve with tagliatelle please. I know she uses tomatoes, but it has never failed me. I think the carrots and nutmeg are critical. Cheers!
Hope to see you at Noon!