RICHMOND — The war for the Virginia suburbs has begun, with the Republican caucus of the House of Delegates unleashing attack ads in 12 districts seen as crucial to keeping control of the chamber in this fall’s elections.
On Tuesday, Youngkin rolled out an online campaign to encourage early voting by Republicans — taking advantage of voter access laws passed by Democrats that Republicans in the General Assembly have tried to roll back.
All 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for election Nov. 7. Republicans are defending a narrow edge in the House and trying to flip the Democratic-controlled Senate, while Democrats hope to take both chambers to thwart Youngkin’s conservative agenda.
Democrats also are preparing a coordinated campaign to try to pick up seats, but have yet to unveil any details.
Youngkin continues to flirt with a possible presidential bid, and national money and attention are flooding into the state. His political action committee, Spirit of Virginia, is raising record amounts of cash.
The House GOP caucus said Wednesday evening that it began a two-week, “six-figure” ad buy July 3, unveiling the themes its candidates will carry into the fall.
The caucus is taking aim at largely suburban districts in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads, where the vote might be close. That includes two races in western Prince William County: House District 21, where Republican John Stirrup is taking on Democrat Josh Thomas, and House District 22, where Republican Ian Lovejoy is competing with Democrat Travis Nembhard.
All the ads, which are posted on various digital platforms, accuse the Democratic candidates of being “too extreme” for Virginia — saying the Democrats favor high taxes and are soft on crime. Each ad directs viewers to individual websites for more information about the candidates.
In House District 65 in Stafford County and Fredericksburg, for instance, the ad targets former delegate Joshua Cole, a Democrat running against Republican Lee Peters. With big orange lettering against sinister backdrops of storm clouds, a hooded figure pointing a gun and President Biden with his mouth open and teeth bared, an announcer accuses Cole of “pushing the extreme Democrat agenda.”
“Reject Joshua Cole,” the 15-second spot concludes.
Like all but one of the other targeted candidates, Cole is running in an open district without an incumbent — the product of Virginia’s new political boundaries, which have led to historic turnover in the General Assembly and made this year’s elections more wide-open than usual.