Caroline County
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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.
7th Congressional District
Virginia’s 7th district includes 9 counties and parts of Prince William County and Albemarle County. With a population of 798,820, this district leans Democratic and Republican.
On the Issues
⭐ Considers himself an ally for LGBT rights
⭐ Asserts he will stand up to MAGA Republicans and protect a woman’s right to an abortion
⭐ Supports common sense gun violence prevention legislation
⭐ Advocates for fair, safe, and strong immigration reforms
⭐ Pledges to support family farms
⭐ Wants to expand access to rural broadband and rural healthcare
⭐ Pushes for restoration of Roe with the passing of the Women’s Health Protection Act
⭐ Says he will stop attempts to ban abortion, IVF, or contraceptives
⭐ Wants to improve resources for veterans
⭐ Supports public education and stands against book bans
⭐ Supports unions and says he will co-sponsor the PRO Act
⭐ Advocates for supporting Ukraine
⭐Stands against Project 2025
NOTE: We could find few sources for Vindman’s positions outside of his website. Nearly all of the news about him pertains to his role as a whistleblower in the Trump White House and his service in the Army.
The opposition
Eugene Vindman is facing off against Republican Derrick Anderson. Anderson worked in the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the White House during former President Donald Trump’s administration. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science (Legal Option), and then joined the U.S. Army as an infantry officer. In 2019, Derrick graduated from Georgetown University Law Center. Anderson applauded the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 😡He celebrated the March for Life, whose goal is to “end abortion,” and enthusiastically campaigned with Yesli Vega even after she doubted women could get pregnant from rape. Anderson has also unsurprisingly spewed some anti-immigrant rhetoric. There’s more, but we doubt you need more convincing that this guy is not the one.
Recommendation (Note: Not an endorsement!)
Anderson tries to fashion himself as your everyday working man. Still, his policy positions and intentional alignment with Donald Trump make it clear that his number one priority is preserving a Christian nationalist state at the expense of millions’ human rights.
Vindman’s policy positions are broadly progressive and align generally with our values. We must include a caveat, as it has been noted many times during the primary that Vindman is not as well integrated into the area as some of the other candidates were and does not appear to know as much about local politics as many would like. That said, he seems intent to put in the work to fill in the gaps there and has earned support from many local officials. Eugene Vindman is the more progressive choice in this race.