Democracy for America celebrates Justin Fairfax victory for Lt. Gov., 14 Delegate wins in Virginia
Tonight, DFA-endorsed candidate Justin Fairfax won his race for Lieutenant Governor in Virginia -- and, as of 9:54 pm ET, 14 of DFA’s 16 endorsed candidates for VA State House have also won.
Statement from Charles Chamberlain, Executive Director of Democracy for America, on Justin Fairfax’s victory and the rapidly growing number of victories in Virginia’s House of Delegates:
“Justin Fairfax’s historic win tonight is not only a huge victory for Virginians, it’s a big victory for anyone hungry for new leaders standing up to the wealthy and powerful and working toward racial and economic justice for every American.
“As just the second African-American to ever win statewide office in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Justin Fairfax has already made history just by winning this seat. For Democrats, he’s also made history by showing doubters in Richmond and Washington that progressives dedicated to an inclusive populist political agenda can win big in Virginia.
“We were proud to support Justin Fairfax early in this contest, back him up to the very end, and we simply can’t wait to keep fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with him as Virginia’s next Lieutenant Governor.
“We are also celebrating several huge victories tonight among DFA-endorsed House of Delegates candidates including Jennifer Carroll Foy (VA-HD-2), Hala Ayala (VA-HD-51), Wendy Gooditis (VA-HD-10), Chris Hurst (VA-HD-12), Elizabeth Guzman (VA-HD-31), David Reid (VA-HD-32), Mark Levine (VA-HD-45), Lashrecse Aird (VA-HD-63), Delores McQuinn (VA-HD-70) Jeff Bourne (VA-HD-71), Jennifer Boysko (VA-HD-86), Jeion Ward (VA-HD-92), and Marcia Price (VA-HD-95).
"Of particular note are the history-making victories of Danica Roem (VA-HD-13), who will be the nation’s first transgender state legislator, and Elizabeth Guzman (VA-HD-31), who will be the first Latina and one of the first first-generation immigrants to serve in the Virginia General Assembly.
“Virginians deserve a House of Delegates that represents their proud progressive values and tonight they got a huge step closer to realizing that goal.” -- Charles Chamberlain, Executive Director, Democracy for America
As a part of its 2017 “Purple to Blue” work in Virginia, Democracy for America:
- Endorsed 19 candidates across the state, beginning in January, and began immediate support for strategy, field, fundraising and media
- Delivered big with DFA Dialer. In partnership with Indivisible, Democracy for America led the country’s largest volunteer-led national calling program with more than 600,000 dials to mobilize sporadic Democratic Virginia voters, focusing on Black and Brown voters across the state
- Led the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus Training, training 15 candidates and their campaign teams on the ground on expanding the electorate, voter targeting, win number strategy, field planning and more
- Connected our members into on-the-ground canvassing, phonebanking, and fundraising events, in partnership with our local sister group, DC for Democracy