When candidates agree to a debate, they have one rule – don’t lose.
By that standard, every candidate for Senate District 27 on the stage Wednesday night at Mary Washington University won.
Tara Durant
Tara Durant set the tone with her opening remarks.
I’m running for senate to make Virginia more secure. More secure for us financially. More secure for our kids in education. And more secure in our communities. I got into public service two years ago because of … my daughter …. And two years later, liberal democrats … continue to threaten our security. The only way we can stop them from controlling us is that we not only hold the house, but we flip the senate.
She would return to the themes of security and “liberal” or “extremist” Democrats all night.
Regarding traffic congestion: “Radical Democrats in Virginia have made it clear that they really don’t want us to be able to drive our cars.”
Regarding why undecided voters would want to support her: “I am running for senate because I care deeply about making us more secure.”
Regarding the looming federal shutdown and its impact on local citizens: “We’re seeing Washington at its worst. As I stated before, I care about the security of Virginia.”
Regarding the fentanyl crisis: “I’m running for the senate to make our communities more secure and more safe…. Make no mistake, there are no moderate Democrats on the ballot in Virginia this year. They lost their primaries. Only those [left] now are the most extreme candidates that have stood firmly to defund the police.”
And so it went the entire debate.
It’s a message that plays well to the Republican base. It’s a message that could just as easily been delivered by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Durant did her job. She held the base. She didn’t lose. She didn’t sway independent voters her way, however. But with the 27 Senate District a plus-8 for Republicans (based on Youngkin’s 2021 victory – Democrats won the district by plus-two in 2022), she doesn’t need their votes.
She won.
Joel Griffin
Those who have watched Griffin since he announced his candidacy in February noticed right away that he has made significant strides as a debater and public speaker. His opening marks were clear and had a poetic rhythm.
The biggest questions this evening are whether or not we will uphold equality under the law. Whether a woman’s right to choose is her own. Whether knowledge is something that we cherish or that we fear. And whether our robust economy should work for all Virginia families, or the wealthy corporations.
He returned time and again to his experience on the Stafford Economic Development Authority, to his work with Gwenyth’s Gift, and to his experience as a business owner.
It’s a message that should appeal to moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats alike.
Like Durant, Griffin extended his claws at several moments.
Regarding transportation: “We’ve heard a lot about extremists, when the reality is it was the Democrats who expanded the HOT Lanes, it was the Democrats who started the third rail.”
Regarding the looming federal shutdown: “A government shutdown by an extreme wing of the Republican Party is not far from Virginia, and it’s not far from Tara’s policies herself. Eighty percent of her funding comes from out-of-state.”
Regarding protecting public education: “Tara Durant’s voted for bills that makes banning books easier, when the reality is teachers want to teach.”
Regarding the fentanyl crisis: “Tara Durant talks about extremism; she’s making it easier for domestic abusers and the mentally ill to get access to weapons.”
And so it went throughout the evening.
It’s a message that plays well to the Democratic base. It’s a message that could just as easily have been delivered by Abigail Spanberger.
Griffin did his job. He held the base. He didn’t lose. He probably didn’t sway many independent voters his way, however. That means he can win if the area votes the way it did in 2022.
He won.
Monica Gary
Gary won tonight, too.
As an independent candidate, she didn’t have a base to protect. And she made that point repeatedly, stressing her ability to listen to voters and represent their interests.
From her opening statement:
We have a chance to do something different this year…. I am the most in-touch with our community and its needs. I’m on the ground … I listen a lot, and I care about all of you. And something I want to say specifically about leadership. Real leaders do not divide the room in half, tell them to call themselves by a different symbol, a D or an R, then pit them against one another. But they bring people together and do the hard work that no one else is willing to do and stand on principles instead of narratives that hurt people and are causing our country to deteriorate.
Throughout the evening, she would return to this line of reasoning, stressing that she is beholden to voters, and not a political party or a blind ideology.
It was most apparent on the first question of the night about protecting abortion rights in the state. As Durant backed Youngkin’s plan and branded her opponents extremists, claiming they support abortion up to the minute the child is born and a minute after, and Griffin “refuse(s) to stand by while politicians tell my wife and my daughter what they can do with their own bodies,” Gary humanized the issue by referring to her personal experience.
I’ve actually had abortions, unfortunately…. I understand … there are many reasons a woman would seek an abortion, what people go through when seeking these services.
And like her opponents, she could go on the attack.
She went after Durant on education funding, pointing out that Durant had not communicated with local officials about needs. “If I come to you and I say ‘I need school funding, I need school funding’ for two years and you do nothing, where do you think the money’s going to come from…. I’m tired of hearing about how rich we are in this area but we don’t take care of our children.”
And in the most charged moment of the night, she attacked Griffin directly in the discussion over a rainy day fund. Gary did this by first referring to Griffin’s saying repeatedly that he would work with anyone, then she dropped this line:
What I did hear was I’ll work with anyone a lot … which is interesting …. I don’t know how many of you know, but I’m sure he’d work with anyone, he’s donated to my opponent on the left [referring to Durant].
And so it went throughout the evening.
It’s a populist message that plays well to many who have grown tired of party politics. But it’s a message that probably no one else could have delivered but Gary.
She did her job. She appealed to the disaffected. She didn’t lose.
She won.
Now What?
Everyone can win in debates simply by not losing. That happened Wednesday night.
Come November, just one will be left standing.
Who that will be is for the voters to decide. What they decide may well come down to whether voters are tired enough of politics as usual to pull the lever for an Independent like Gary.
We won’t have to wait long to find out. Election Day, after all, is just 39 days away.
