2021 VA Governor's race: on Principles & Values


Jennifer Carroll Foy: If you have been blessed, then be a blessing to others

She was raised by her grandmother--a leader in the community. Jennifer's grandmother instilled in her the values and principles of honor, commitment, and service. Her grandmother would say, "Jenn, if you have it, you have to give it." What she meant was: If you have a warm home, you open your door. If you have strength and compassion, you lend it. If you have been blessed, then be a blessing to others. Jennifer saw her grandmother giving all she had--even when she didn't have much to give.
Source: 2021 Virginia governor campaign site JenniferCarrollFoy.com Feb 21, 2021

Amanda Chase: Put "In God We Trust" in public schools

Amanda is also a staunch defender of religious freedom who supports legislation that would put our national motto "In God We Trust" in public schools.
Source: 2021 Virginia Governor campaign website Chase4Senate.com Dec 13, 2020

Justin Fairfax: Denies two allegations of sexual assault

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is launching a run for governor despite facing two high-profile allegations of sexual assault he has strenuously denied. The lieutenant governor position is a traditional launchpad for gubernatorial bids, and Fairfax would normally be considered a strong candidate. But unsettled allegations of sexual assault, made by two women will complicate his ability to raise money and build support.
Source: Associated Press on WSLS-10 on 2021 Virginia Governor race Sep 10, 2020

Pete Snyder: Discrepancies in IRS filing for non-profit on money raised

The IRS filing, submitted under penalty of perjury, certified the group had not raised, and did not expect to raise, more than $50,000 per year during its first three years. Days before the filing Snyder told The Washington Post he and his wife had put up $100,000 in seed money for the group. And Snyder told Richmond's NBC affiliate the group had already "raised over a quarter of (a) million dollars."
Source: Axios.com on 2021 Virginia Governor race May 18, 2021

Jennifer Carroll Foy: Our faith leaders among people making a strong community

I grew up in Petersburg, Virginia, one of the poorest communities in our commonwealth. Petersburg is a strong community thanks to the people I grew up with: our faith leaders; my teacher, Sgt. Maj. Frost; and my grandmother, Mary Lee. People in our community fought to keep Petersburg alive when politicians of the past turned their backs on us. It's a town that had been left behind.
Source: Charlottesville Tomorrow on 2021 Virginia Governor race May 24, 2021

Ralph Northam: Now is not the time for divisiveness, time for leadership

Our president has been unable to deliver on tests. Now he has chosen to focus on protests. This is not the time for protest. This is not the time for divisiveness. This is time for leadership that will stand up and provide empathy, that will understand what's going on in this country of ours with this pandemic. It's the time for truth. It's the time to bring people together. We're fighting a biological war. We have been asked, as governors, to fight that war without the supplies we need.
Source: CNN 2020 "State of the Union": 2021 Virginia Governor race Apr 19, 2020

Amanda Chase: Describes herself as Donald Trump in heels

Chase, who announced her bid early this year and has been pounding the pavement ever since, describes herself as Donald Trump in heels. The gun-toting legislator has buddied up with high-profile far-right groups and her antics inside and out of the state Senate have drawn ire from her GOP colleagues.
Source: Courthouse News Service on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race Dec 9, 2020

Jennifer Carroll Foy: Almost died after childbirth: motivated run for governor

She almost died after giving birth because, as is the case for many Black women, white doctors and nurses downplayed and dismissed her excruciating postpartum pain. That, combined with her experience growing up poor and without health care in rural Virginia, has motivated her run to be the first Black woman governor in American history. "When people say identity politics don't matter, what they're also saying is that other people's lived experiences don't matter," she says.
Source: Elle Magazine on 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race Feb 16, 2021

Lee Carter: I'm a socialist, "democratic socialist" is redundant

I don't describe myself as a democratic socialist. I describe myself as a socialist, because I feel that democratic socialism is a redundant term. One of the core pieces of socialism is that you have to have democratic control over the economy and politics. If it's not democratic, then it can't be socialism, just definitionally. The thing that makes me a socialist is that commitment to worker ownership.

Our choice really is socialism or barbarism. That's not a rhetorical device. It's not a catchy slogan. It's a reality. We saw at the Capitol that liberalism does not have an answer for the rise of fascists. They will continue getting more and more violent. They will continue getting bolder and bolder. The choice we have at this moment is to either build a mass working-class coalition that is militant in the defense of our people and our gains. Or we let the fascists win and that's unacceptable.

Source: Jacobin magazine on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race Jan 1, 2021

Pete Snyder: God-given right to gather to worship during pandemic

He pledged to roll back pandemic-related restrictions. He singled out the limitations that have been placed on worship gatherings. "Never again can we let the left get in between us and our relationship with God, never again. And when I'm governor, you'll be able to worship when you want, where you want and with as many people as you want. That is a God-given right for us," he said.
Source: Loudoun Now on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race Apr 27, 2021

Amanda Chase: When you back citizens into the corner, they'll push back

Virginia state Sen. Amanda Chase attended Trump's rally and said in a video posted to her Facebook page, "When you back good people--law-abiding citizens--into the corner, they will push back." Chase, who said she left Trump's speech early on the advice of her security team, blamed the riots on "antifa or BLM agents of destruction." A spokesperson for Chase said in an email that she "was on her way home when the violence broke out."
Source: Mother Jones magazine on 2021 Virginia Governor race Jan 16, 2021

Justin Fairfax: Had ancestor's manumission documents at swearing in

Fairfax is a descendant of Virginia slaves and carried their manumission documents with him when he took the oath of office for the number-two job in Richmond, the capital of the former Confederacy. "As I raised my right hand to take the oath of office as lieutenant governor of Virginia, I had in my breast pocket the papers that freed my three-greats-ago grandfather," Fairfax told NBC affiliate WWBT. "I think it represents the progress we as Virginian's have been able to make."
Source: NBC News on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race Feb 2, 2019

Terry McAuliffe: Would accomplish more with Democrats controlling legislature

Part of the appeal for McAuliffe to return to the governorship, veteran Democratic strategists in Virginia say, is because he'd be able to accomplish more now than when he was first elected in 2013, since Democrats now control both chambers of the state legislature. McAuliffe supporters argue his track record as governor shows he's best equipped to handle the pandemic and economic recovery in the commonwealth.
Source: Politico.com blog on 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race Dec 8, 2020

Amanda Chase: Rebuked by Republicans for claim Democrats hate white people

Three fellow Republican state senators took to social media to rebuke Sen. Amanda Chase, a GOP candidate for governor, for charging that Virginia Democrats "hate white people" and are seeking the Richmond registrar's ouster because she is white. Sen. Mark Obenshain tweeted: "I've been repeatedly asked to comment on Amanda Chase's most recent offensive statements. Quite honestly, I just don't have the time to address every crazy thing she says. It would be a full time job."
Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch on 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race Dec 9, 2020

Glenn Youngkin: Firm offered matching gifts for social justice donations

Less than a week after the police murder of George Floyd, Youngkin's company, sprawling private equity firm the Carlyle Group, put out a press release, signed by Youngkin and his co-CEO, Kewsong Lee, promising "a special match" offer to employees who donate up to $1,000 to any one of three social justice organizations: the Equal Justice Initiative, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the NAACP.
Source: The Daily Beast on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race Oct 12, 2021

Jennifer Carroll Foy: I don't have to empathize, because I understand

Carroll Foy, a former public defender, spoke quickly and emphatically, repeatedly vowing to "fight" for Virginians and invoking her working-class roots. "I don't have to empathize, because I understand," she said, describing her own family's economic struggles.
Source: Washington Post on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial debate Apr 6, 2021

  • The above quotations are from 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Principles & Values.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Terry McAuliffe on Principles & Values.
Candidates and political leaders on Principles & Values:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
Click for details -- or send donations to:
1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140
E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org
(We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023