In the Democratic primary currently underway that culminates with election day June 17, the News-Press endorses Levar Stoney for lieutenant governor and Jay Jones for attorney general. They are in the only two contested races on the primary ballot now.
Democrats nationwide are rightly buoyed by the election returns in South Carolina this week. In a district that Kamala Harris won by a margin of eight percent last November, the Democratic candidate, a 24-year-old Keishan Scott, in a special election for a state senate seat won in a huge landslide by over 70 percent of the vote.
It is a promising harbinger for what is likely to happen wherever there are elections in 2025 (like the major statewide ones in Virginia this year) or in the congressional midterms next year as well. Hopefully the impact of the South Carolina race will strengthen the hand of those in Congress now who are being called on to resist the extremism of the MAGA forces.
It is not attracting a lot of attention now, even though early voting is currently open, but there are primaries around the commonwealth right now culminating in a June 17 primary election day.
In Falls Church, while the only races on this ballot are for lieutenant governor and attorney general, the other significance of June 17 is that it marks the deadline to file for local candidates who will be on the ballot in November to run for four seats on the Falls Church City Council and School Board.
As for the statewide races being contested in the current primary run, we are pleased to endorse our long-time friend Mr. Stoney for lieutenant governor and Mr.Jones for attorney general. Stoney was a very close aide to former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and now serves as the mayor of Richmond. With governors allowed by law to serve only one consecutive term, winning the lieutenant governor job would likely become a stepping stone for Stoney to follow his former boss’ path there, though he of course will not admit that.
But he has the same kind of outgoing, energetic personality as McAuliffe and we’ve known him to always be responsive and positive. We will look forward to his leadership if he wins, as we hope he will. As for Mr. Jones, former state senator from the 89th district, we don’t know him personally but he is also endorsed by McAuliffe and others whose judgment we respect.
Adjacent Falls Church there are also two special races being held now, one to the west of us in Fairfax County’s 11th district to fill the U.S. Congressional seat so masterfully held by the late Gerald Connolly, where we endorse former Connolly aide and now county supervisor James Walkinshaw and the other for a seat on the Arlington County Board, where we endorse Takis Karantonis.
Voters should be reminded that all these races, as perhaps less important as they may seem, are hardly that in reality.