Will the Arlington electorate deliver a record-setting vote for Democrats in November’s statewide elections?
Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) proposed this goal at the Feb. 5 Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting.
Local vote totals could determine winners at the state level, he said.
“We need 85% [of the vote in Arlington] for Abigail Spanberger,” Beyer said of the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor, urging county Democrats to get in front of voters early and often, promoting the party’s cause.
“The most important job in politics is the precinct captain,” Beyer said at the meeting.
Spanberger is expected to face off against Republican Winsome Earle-Sears in the Nov. 4 race for governor. The incumbent, Republican Glenn Youngkin, is prohibited from seeking a second consecutive term.
Races for lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates also are up for grabs in November.
“Everything we do in Arlington is incredibly important,” said former party chair Kip Malinosky.
Like several other party leaders, Malinosky’s focus appeared to be foremost on ousting Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, who will be seeking a second term.
Beyer’s 85% figure for support of the Democratic ticket would be an Arlington record-breaker — but could be challenging to achieve.
In the past seven gubernatorial elections, Democrats have won Arlington’s vote each time, but they have never cracked 80%. Ralph Northam came closest at 79.9%, as Arlington Democrats were able to mobilize those angered by Donald Trump’s election a year before.
In 2021, with Trump out of office and less of a visceral factor, Democrat Terry McAuliffe received 76.7% of the Arlington vote, losing statewide to Youngkin.
In the pre-Trump era, Arlington’s support for Democratic gubernatorial candidates typically ranged from 65% to 75%. In 1997, when Beyer was the Democratic nominee against Republican Jim Gilmore, he won 62% of the Arlington vote, but garnered only 42.6% statewide.
At the packed Feb. 5 meeting, the party rank-and-file seemed even more stunned by the first weeks of Trump’s second presidency than local Democrats had been immediately after his election.
“This time around, there are no checks and balances,” party chair Steve Baker said.
But Baker, an eternal political optimist, said the best solution for local Democrats was to knuckle down and get to business on the 2025 campaign.
“There’s plenty we can do right now, a lot of ways to connect to the community,” he said.
“We’re in this together,” said Paul Ruiz, the party’s deputy chair.
But others voiced concerns.
J. Michael Cavanaugh, watching the meeting online, responded that many in the community “are badly discouraged” after losing what they believe were winnable 2021 gubernatorial and 2024 presidential races.
Democrats need “changing and improving strategy and tactics going forward,” Cavanaugh said.
Arlington Democrats are planning a mini-retreat for new precinct captains. The party typically has two or three captains for each of the county’s 54 precincts, leading get-out-the-vote efforts.
Also at the meeting, Democrats announced their three Joint Campaign co-chairs, who will lead the coordination of local races this year.
The trio includes party activist Yint Hmu, Arlington Young Democrats’ vice president Austin Locke and Commissioner of Revenue Kim Klingler.
At the local level, one County Board seat and one School Board seat will be on the Nov. 4 ballot.
