DFA backs eight VA House, Senate candidates in 2019 “Purple to Blue” program
Today, Democracy for America (DFA) announced its endorsement of in four races for Virginia's House of Delegates and four races for Virginia State Senate viewed as top priorities for the grassroots progressive organization in 2019.
The candidates being endorsed today include:
VA Senate
- Ghazala Hashmi (VA SEN - 10)
- Amanda Pohl (VA SEN - 11)
- Amy Laufer (VA SEN - 17)
- Qasim Rashid (VA SEN - 28)
VA House of Delegates
- Danica Roem (VA HOUSE - 13)
- Josh Cole (VA HOUSE - 28)
- Elizabeth Guzman (VA HOUSE - 31)
- Mavis Taintor (VA HOUSE - 33)
With just two seats in each house needed to flip them to Democratic control, victory in these races would be the culmination of six years of work on DFA’s “Purple to Blue” Project, a national, multi-year effort to win state House and Senate chambers across the country, that started in 2013 with the goal of making “purple” state legislative seats in Virginia decisively Democratic.
Statement from DFA CEO Yvette Simpson on today’s slate of 2019 Virginia Purple to Blue candidates:
“When Democracy for America started saying in 2013 that we were going to help flip Virginia’s legislature from “Purple to Blue,” many folks thought we were out of our minds. Now, in 2019, Democrats are just two seats shy of a Democratic majority in both chambers and we’re ready to finish the job.
“The eight top priority candidates we’re endorsing today feature candidates running for the first time, like Ghazala Hashmi and Amanda Pohl, and state leaders, like Danica Roem and Elizabeth Guzman, who we’ve proudly supported before and are now working to reelect. While each comes to this race from a different community and range of life experiences, they are united by their commitment to fighting for a Commonwealth that works for working families and running campaigns that welcome the leadership of the New American Majority of Black, brown, and progressive white voters who have been transforming Virginia over the last six years.
“Democracy for America is honored to stand with this amazing slate of House and Senate candidates in Virginia this fall. Flipping Virginia's legislature from ‘Purple to Blue’ will not only be a huge victory for the people of the Commonwealth, it will be a powerful reminder to grassroots leaders all across the country that big, transformative change is possible in our state houses if we put in the time and the work over the long haul to make it happen.” -- Yvette Simpson, CEO, Democracy for America
DFA has 34,246 members in the Commonwealth of Virginia and more than one million members nationwide.