Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Virginia GOP candidates rallied at the CPAC Latino event in Sterling, addressing redistricting, voter outreach, and campaign issues.
STERLING, Va. — A packed crowd filled Ministerio Internacional Maná del Cielo in Sterling on Saturday afternoon for the CPAC Latino Virginia event.
“We really do believe that our faith and our values, especially our traditional values, is what’s motivating us and encouraging us to go out and vote, and we just wanted to continue just encouraging that in our community,” said Reverend Jonathan Avendano.
Governor Glenn Youngkin joined several Virginia Republican candidates, including Winsome Earle-Sears who is running for Governor, John Reid, who is running for Lieutenant Governor and Jason Miyares, who is hoping to get reelected as the Attorney General.
Youngkin also emphasized that Republicans “better represent those values,” referring to shared priorities within the Latino community.
Governor Glenn Youngkin said the special session scheduled for Monday, focused on redistricting, is an attempt by Democrats to override voters’ choices.
“We have Democratic leadership trying to take the vote of the people and take away their choice of who they’re gonna vote for,” Youngkin said. “I think it’s a desperate grab for power.”
Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate for Governor also voiced frustration about it.
“It’s gonna be our tax money that’s being used against us because we’re gonna be in session. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and the taxpayers of Virginia are going to have to pay for every single one of us to come back. That’s a terrible thing,” said Earle-Sears.
Lieutenant governor candidate John Reid said he’s focused on connecting with voters across the state.
“We’re trying to get out and meet every type of voter there is in the state,” Reid said.
Reid recently drew attention for posting a video debate with an artificial intelligence-generated version of his Democratic opponent, Ghazala Hashmi. Hashmi’s campaign called the video a “desperate move” and said Reid “only cares about shoddy gimmicks and not governing.” Reid defended the video Saturday.
“If I were them and had denied a debate for 120 days, then I guess I’d be panicked and try to discredit it,” he said.
This week, WUSA9’s Matthew Torres spoke one-on-one this week with Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones. He has faced criticism over 2022 text messages in which he imagined violence against another politician. Jones apologized and said he is taking accountability.
Republican attorney general candidate Jason Miyares dismissed Jones’ criticism that he follows former President Donald Trump’s orders.
“That’s both laughable and tells me he doesn’t even know the job he’s running for,” Miyares said. “The largest division in the attorney general’s office is the criminal division. This is a crime-fighting operation. He’s running for the wrong office. If he wants to pick fights with politicians in Washington, run for Congress or U.S. Senate.”
Two weeks after her debate with Democratic opponent Abigail Spanberger, Earle-Sears said she remains upbeat.
“You see this big smile on my face,” she said. When asked how she felt the debate went, she laughed: “I think you should ask Abigail and it’s apparent now that she’s human after all.”