Due to the unexpectedly large turn-out for the recent House debate between Josh Cole and Lee Peters, Wednesday night’s debate at 7 pm with Tara Durant (R), Monica Gary (I), and Joel Griffin (D) has been relocated to George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium (See map below).
Image courtesy of Google Maps
This race is being closely watched, as it will be one of a small number of contests in the commonwealth that determines the balance of control in the Senate.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has aired radio spots encouraging Republicans to flip the Senate so that he can fully implement his agenda, assuming the House stays in Republican hands.
While Durant is the odds-on favorite at the moment, this race is filled with twists that make the outcome all but certain. Dark money groups have launched at least one fact-challenged ad against Joel Griffin, and an ad released by the Durant campaign has tried to tie Gary to Griffin as a “radical” liberal.
Gary, for her part, has stubbornly defied categorization and reflects the growing movement of truly independent candidates. She has defied the odds before, winning as an independent in the Stafford Board of Supervisors’ race. She is currently gaining momentum and, according to some internal polls, is pulling voters from both Griffin and Durant.
Griffin, meanwhile, is running on a platform that is strong on issues traditionally popular with Republican voters (small business and growth), and on the issue of preserving a woman’s right to make her own choices regarding reproductive health. This played well for Democrat Abigail Spanberger and others in the 2022 congressional races. It remains to be seen if this issue will carry the same impact in November for Democrats.
Matt Strickland, a write-in candidate who was defeated by Durant in the primary is an unknown factor. His Trump-infused extremism has been raging war with members of the Republican Party, and with Durant and Youngkin in particular. How deep his base of supporters runs is unknown. He will not be on the debate stage Wednesday night.
The Advance will be covering the debate, so watch for our report Thursday morning.
