Virginia Beach, District 8
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Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th
The Virginia Progressive Voters Guide compiles the information that allows you to make informed decisions about the races on your ballot, based on your values. Please share this guide with your friends and family.
Federal
For her running mate, Vice President Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. For his running mate, former president Trump chose JD Vance.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is the Democratic candidate for Vice President of the United States. He previously served as a congressman for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District. Governor Walz is a National Army Guard veteran and retired school teacher.
Together on the Issues
⭐ They support reproductive freedom and access to abortion and will never allow a national abortion ban to become law!
⭐ They support affordable housing!
⭐ They support investing in small businesses–especially when it comes to entrepreneurs from marginalized communities!
⭐ They support making healthcare more accessible and affordable!
⭐ They support affordable quality childcare and education!
⭐ They support high-quality clean energy jobs and environmental justice!
⭐ They support passing the Equality Act and protecting the rights and freedoms of LGBTQIA+ communities!
⭐ They support common-sense gun violence prevention legislation!
There’s definitely more, but you get it by now.
The Opposition
Former Republican President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance are facing off against Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz.
The Republican candidate for president is Donald Trump. If you’ve found yourself looking at our voter guide, we probably don’t need to tell you all the reasons not to vote for him–so we’ll just do a few. Donald Trump’s administration is responsible for legislation and deregulation that led to disasters such as deregulated meat distribution and increases in working class tax payments due to his 2017 tax law. Trump also fired the CDC team that was responsible for detecting zoological diseases in wildlife in China, which was a decision that directly led to the mishandling of Covid-19. Even before his presidency, Trump had a terribly long history of racism, homophobia, sexism, violence against women, and fraudulent activity. One paragraph is not enough to cover his record of being an absolutely horrible human being, let alone a deplorable president.
Let’s not forget: thirty-four counts. And an insurrection. 🤬
JD Vance, on the other hand, is just your run-of-the-mill racist. He’s not even exceptionally good at it, seeing as how he admitted to creating false stories about Haitians on national television. He also talked about single childfree women (who are free to have children or not if they wish) using “childless cat ladies” as an insult. JD Vance’s pivot from his previous statements about Trump exposes how weak his constitution is, and how it has affected his political motivations. At best, JD Vance is a grifter who was extremely critical of Trump before he realized there was money in extreme MAGA Trumpism. At his worst, Vance is your everyday sexist who knows that the general public will excuse him for being fatally boring if he spews racist and sexist rhetoric. Please, for the love of all that is good and even somewhat enjoyable, do not vote for these vile men.
Recommendation (Note: Not an endorsement!)
For many–maybe even countless–reasons, Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz are without a doubt the progressive candidates in this race. We don’t even need to say anything more about the other two.
United States Democratic Senator Tim Kaine was first elected to the Senate in 2012. He served as Virginia’s governor from 2006 until 2010. Prior to that, he was the lieutenant governor. Additionally, Senator Kaine served as Richmond’s mayor from 1998 until 2001 and City Council District 2 representative from 1994 until 2001. In 2016, Hilary Clinton announced Senator Kaine as her running mate in her bid for the presidency. He is married to Anne Holton, former Virginia Secretary of Education.
On the Issues
⭐ Champions reproductive rights and access to abortion
⭐ Was a deciding vote to protect the Affordable Care Act
⭐ Advocated for quality public education since his time in Virginia local and state politics
⭐ Helped pass the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act
⭐ Strong supporter of DACA
⭐ Passed his EMBRACE Act to improve climate resiliency at military facilities
⭐ Supports Equality Act
⭐ Popularly known as America’s Dad
The Opposition
Senator Kaine is facing a challenge from Republican candidate Hung Cao, a retired Navy captain. Cao unsuccessfully ran for Virginia’s Congressional District 10 seat against former Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton in 2022. Cao is anti-abortion, regularly uses anti-immigrant rhetoric, and boldly supports former president Donald Trump. 🤬
Recommendation (Note: Not an endorsement!)
Because of his decades-long proven track record of being a champion for the people, Senator Tim Kaine is the progressive candidate in this race.
2nd Congressional District
Virginia’s 2nd district includes 6 counties and parts of Southampton county and Chesapeake City. With a population of 780,161, this district leans Republican.
On the Issues
⭐ Champions reproductive freedom and access to abortion
⭐ Supports codifying access to abortion
⭐ Stated she will never support cuts to Social Security and Medicare, urging action that ensures both remain strong
⭐ Advocates for expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower prescription prices
⭐ Supports fair share taxes on wealthy to increase revenue for social services
⭐ Against privatization of Social Security
⭐ Advocated for Virginia Beach’s ERA resolution
⭐ Expressed need to hold corporations accountable for price gouging
⭐ Advocates for policies that focus on economic growth in Coastal Virginia
⭐ Public Service is about delivering results for your community.
The Opposition
Missy Cotter Smasal is challenging Republican incumbent Congresswoman Jen Kiggans, who has served in Congress since 2022. Previously, she served as a Virginia State Senator from 2020-2021. She is a U.S. Navy veteran and nurse practitioner. Kiggans does not support access to abortion or common sense gun violence prevention legislation. While in the state legislature she introduced anti-trans legislation that targeted trans students. Progress Virginia has taken issue with her stances for years. Here are just some of her bad votes while in the state legislature and as a member of Congress:
🤡 Voted against establishing the Reproductive Health Protection Act
🤡 Voted against repealing the Abortion Prohibition in Virginia Health Insurance Plans
🤡 Voted against establishing gun-free zones on School Board property
🤡 Voted against prohibiting the possession of firearms within 40 feet of a polling place
🤡 Voted against establishing protections for transgender students
🤡 Voted to force schools to out transgender students to their parents regardless of their safety
🤡 Voted against increasing the amount of time the State Department has to complete firearm background checks
🤡 Voted against prohibiting individuals subject to a protective order from possessing firearms
She also co-sponsored a bill to prohibit mask mandates in schools at the height of the pandemic. 🤮 And she endorsed Donald Trump. Eww. 🤬
Recommendation (Note: Not an Endorsement!)
Missy Cotter Smasal is a strong advocate for reproductive freedoms, holding corporations accountable, and fair share taxes. Because of this, Missy Cotter Smasal is the progressive candidate in this race.
City of Virginia Beach
Due to the limited information we were able to find, we are unable to make a progressive recommendation in this race. We encourage you to reach out to the campaigns about the issues that matter to you most. Remember, there are other races to vote in this election!