VA voting - democrat thinking about not voting all blue

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here we go again with a post by a Virginia MAGAt claiming to be a democrat. It’s getting exhausting on this board.

I'm the OP and I know you won't believe me, but I have never voted for a Republican. As I get older, though, I just am tired of feeling like I have to vote Democrat even though I'm embarrassed by the candidates they put forward.

You all are convincing me on Jones but I'm not quite there yet.

[Anonymous]

Voting for Miyares helps him run for governor in 4 years. So it’s more than just an AG race, it’s a larger office positioning race.

Beyond that, as others have said, states standing up to this administration is going to be pivotal since Congress has abdicated their responsibilities to do so. I wish we had a better candidate than Jones, but he is the candidate that will join the right side of lawsuits and Miyares is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vote Blue to get things back in balance. Later vote for whomever but this election is critical on so many fronts!

Can you please explain why? I'm in the same boat as OP. I cannot vote for WES and probably not for Jones. Not sure I want a republic AG tho.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here we go again with a post by a Virginia MAGAt claiming to be a democrat. It’s getting exhausting on this board.

I'm the OP and I know you won't believe me, but I have never voted for a Republican. As I get older, though, I just am tired of feeling like I have to vote Democrat even though I'm embarrassed by the candidates they put forward.

You all are convincing me on Jones but I'm not quite there yet.

I agree with you on the quality of candidates, but that problem is addressed in primaries.

In the general, you vote for the person who is most open to persuasion on the things you care about and that are in their control.

Their position on issues not in their control (e.g., international politics or hyper local politics, in a state election) is irrelevant. So is the "I'd have a beer with them" test, because you don't need to have a beer with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here we go again with a post by a Virginia MAGAt claiming to be a democrat. It’s getting exhausting on this board.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not a political guy previously, but Trump and his followers are the bottom of the moral bucket. I get that Jay Jones texted some nasty, nasty things, but do you think he really wanted those things to happen? He wrote something very regrettable, and I'm sure he would take it back if he could. I know I've probably said and texted some nasty things about MAGA leadership over the past year but I would never act on it. Miyares seems like a decent candidate but where is he denouncing Trump's actions. What about Sears? Are they denouncing the J6 pardons after Trump incited a riot that actually killed people? Are they denouncing MAGA wanting to euthanize homeless people? Are they denouncing Trump's involvement with the Epstein child rapes? These candidates are no better than Jones on this front.

Exactly. Why all of the extreme scrutiny over the D candidates while completely overlooking what the Rs have done? That’s what makes these “concerned Dem voters” so disingenuous.

[Anonymous]

I don't want either party in full control.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a Democrat and I do not vote all blue no matter what. That’s ridiculous. I use my judgment. If there is a bad Democratic candidate, I would not vote for them. If there’s a good Republican candidate, I will vote for them.

And this is why we have an WH that is not paying Federal employees, many of whom are working and live in VA. Elected republicans support Trump, no matter what. Despite the harm to VA constituents, Youngkin and Miyares have supported Trump. Any Republican vote is a vote for Trump and his policies.

For better or worse, Democrats dont always vote only party lines. Republicans do. They will toe the line or get primaried because Trump doesnt like them. No matter what their policies are, they will vote with the admin because they will be squeezed by party leadership. Democrats will 100% vote against the bloc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jones is a hot mess, but remember that each of these positions are relatively independent of each other. If Spanberger wants to sue the federal government for any one of the million things that it’s doing illegally at the moment that affects Virginians, the AG has to agree to do it. At this point in time, do you trust any Republican to address the issues of the average person, minorities, or even push back against Constitutional violations? As for Lt. Gov, a) do you think they get the deciding vote on something like a casino and b) which candidate is more likely to be in the pocket of big developers?

That's one of the most important reasons to vote for Jones.

Here's an interesting article about the cancellation of CDC grants and how blue states were able to get back some of the funding after suing the Trump administration.

Initially, grant cancellations hit blue and red states roughly evenly. Four of the five jurisdictions with the largest number of terminated grants were led by Democrats: California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, and Massachusetts.

But after attorneys general and governors from about two dozen blue states sued in federal court and won an injunction, the balance flipped. Of the five states with the most canceled grants, four are led by Republicans: Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Ohio.

In blue states, nearly 80% of the CDC grant cuts have been restored, compared with fewer than 5% in red states, according to the KFF Health News analysis.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/26/health/states-cdc-grants-kff-health-news

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Voting for Miyares helps him run for governor in 4 years. So it’s more than just an AG race, it’s a larger office positioning race.

Beyond that, as others have said, states standing up to this administration is going to be pivotal since Congress has abdicated their responsibilities to do so. I wish we had a better candidate than Jones, but he is the candidate that will join the right side of lawsuits and Miyares is not.

Exactly this. I will be voting straight Dem to protect VA as much as possible during the Authoritarian power grab happening by the GOP in the Federal Gov. If you don't understand that, you are not paying attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here we go again with a post by a Virginia MAGAt claiming to be a democrat. It’s getting exhausting on this board.

DP. I could have written OP’s post. Really do not like either Hashmi or Jones and struggling to decide how to vote. Angry that the Democrats could not find better candidates than these two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Voting for Miyares helps him run for governor in 4 years. So it’s more than just an AG race, it’s a larger office positioning race.

Beyond that, as others have said, states standing up to this administration is going to be pivotal since Congress has abdicated their responsibilities to do so. I wish we had a better candidate than Jones, but he is the candidate that will join the right side of lawsuits and Miyares is not.

Exactly this. I will be voting straight Dem to protect VA as much as possible during the Authoritarian power grab happening by the GOP in the Federal Gov. If you don't understand that, you are not paying attention.

100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Among all the issues facing our country, I think ensuring free and fair elections is the most important. The republican administration has been clear that they will do whatever it takes to ensure that Republicans maintain control of the government. They’re pardoning J6 rioters, gerrymandering, intimidating voters and candidates, restricting access to voting, and so much more. Having an AG in VA that will defend against the attacks on elections in VA is vital.

+1. We are not in a moment where we can risk a mixed party state government. I don't think people have fully grasped the moment we are in - the federal government is in a full-on right wing authoritarian power trip. Your state government is going to be really, really important. A co-opted, right wing LT. Governor or AG have no loyalty to the citizenry. They only have loyalty to Trump and MAGA.

And I also know people think this is a crazy, out there viewpoint, but you really have to let go of the idea that things are as they were. They are not. State leaders are going to have to step up and react to federal overreach, or in some cases, inaction, in new ways. We are already seeing it happen with things like state health compacts. The next fight is money - if the President is going to unilaterally exercise control over the tax dollars you send to the IRS and disburse them (or not) according to political fealty to him, then the states are going to have to come up with ways to combat that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am voting blue, but not for Jones. I will vote for Miyares for attorney general.

I’m not going to drop my basic standards of decency.

But you did. Republicans are not decent. Tell me you’re a privileged white person without telling me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Among all the issues facing our country, I think ensuring free and fair elections is the most important. The republican administration has been clear that they will do whatever it takes to ensure that Republicans maintain control of the government. They’re pardoning J6 rioters, gerrymandering, intimidating voters and candidates, restricting access to voting, and so much more. Having an AG in VA that will defend against the attacks on elections in VA is vital.

+1. We are not in a moment where we can risk a mixed party state government. I don't think people have fully grasped the moment we are in - the federal government is in a full-on right wing authoritarian power trip. Your state government is going to be really, really important. A co-opted, right wing LT. Governor or AG have no loyalty to the citizenry. They only have loyalty to Trump and MAGA.

And I also know people think this is a crazy, out there viewpoint, but you really have to let go of the idea that things are as they were. They are not. State leaders are going to have to step up and react to federal overreach, or in some cases, inaction, in new ways. We are already seeing it happen with things like state health compacts. The next fight is money - if the President is going to unilaterally exercise control over the tax dollars you send to the IRS and disburse them (or not) according to political fealty to him, then the states are going to have to come up with ways to combat that.

+1. We’re not in Kansas anymore, kids. We’ve gone full States Rights. It matters who is in charge of your state. Like, really really matters.