All three Republicans who are running statewide this fall appeared together for the first time Tuesday night in Northern Virginia.
Republicans are presenting themselves as the party of common sense, and they’re running against what they say is nonsense.
"My opponent in the attorney general's race is the most left-wing candidate to every run for this office," said incumbent Attorney General Jaso Miyares, who is running for reelection. "He wants to be Virginia’s top prosecutor, but he's never prosecuted a single case in his entire life."
John Reid is the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, and he's the first openly gay candidate to run for statewide office in Virginia.
"I'm the guy, long before it became popular, who stood up for women and girls and said we need to protect girls sports and women's private spaces," Reid said. "And that the truth, the biological truth, no offense to anybody, not trying to hurt anybody, biological truth still has to matter."
At the top of the ticket is the Republican candidate for governor, Winsome Ealre-Sears.
"You've seen where my old hometown, New York, has nominated a socialist. A socialist," Sears said. "And make no mistake about it, the ideas that my opponent has are socialist in nature."
The unity event came after a protracted period of silence between the candidates, including an unsuccessful attempt by Governor Glenn Youngkin to force John Reid off the ticket. Now, they’re trying to patch things up and move toward November.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
