• Thomas and Michael discuss the top competitive races in the upcoming election, where Democrats are largely out-fundraising their Republican opponents. The races include:

• Russet Perry vs Juan Pablo Segura in Senate District 31

• Monty Mason vs Danny Diggs in Senate District 24

• Susanna Gibson vs David Owen in House District 57

• Michael Feggans vs Karen Greenhalgh in House District 97

• Kimberly Pope Adams vs Kim Taylor in House District 82

• Josh Thomas vs John Stirrup in House District 21.

• At the Watercooler: Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton announced that she will not be seeking re-election on account of a serious medical diagnosis

• Plus the facts about what really happened with Susanna Gibson--and why there's nothing immoral about sleeping with your husband.

Episode Transcript

Michael Pope  

I'm Michael Pope.

Thomas Bowman  

I'm Tom Bowman.

Michael Pope  

And this is Pod Virginia, a podcast that has kept its dress code the same. We're still in tuxedos.

Thomas Bowman  

Well, you're in a tuxedo, Michael. I am in the coziest clothes I've got because I am staying up all night with a new baby. And we're excited to have them Theodore Arnold, born August 31st, 7lbs. And we call them Theo, and he's already had a hospital stay, Michael. So we had to go on his fourth day of life; he turned blue, which is scary as hell. And everything's okay. Don't worry, like he's fine. But they had to figure it all out. So we got rushed to Children's Hospital at VCU, and a big heckin' shout out to VCU Children's Hospital. It's a wonderful resource. The nurses were fantastic. The doctors were phenomenal. And I learned, of course, that people come from all over the region and the Commonwealth to go to VCU Children's Hospital. And it's, of course, right across the street from the General Assembly. So, I was looking at my old digs. Or at least the location in geography where my old digs used to be. And actually, we got the best night of sleep we had had yet since going in for an induction the week before. So it was not all bad. But it was definitely scary. And they were great. 

Michael Pope  

Well, it's great to talk to you. I missed you. I know our listeners missed you. I hope Lauren and I didn't totally destroy the podcast while you were gone. But we're glad to talk to you again.

Thomas Bowman  

You know, I heard good things. And I haven't really thought about Virginia politics in a few weeks. So I'm really excited for you to tell me what's going on with these campaign finance numbers. 

Michael Pope  

Great. Well, then, let's get to the news. Following the money, Democrats are out-raising Republicans in most of the key toss-up races. That's four key toss-up races in the House and two in the Senate. These are the elections that could determine control of the General Assembly, says Mark Roell, Dean of the Schar School at George Mason University.

Mark Rozell  

So the fact that Democrats are out raising the Republicans, good news for the Democrats, it doesn't necessarily portend a particular outcome. But I think there is a certain amount of energy out there on the Democratic side, given the intensity of the abortion issue.

Michael Pope  

Okay, so let's start with our two key toss-up races in the Senate. So these are the marquee elections this year. We're going to start in Loudoun County, where we've got Senate District 31. This is where we've got Democrat Russet Perry vs. Republican Juan Pablo Segura. So Perry raised $1.8 million total, including $1.3 million and the latest filing. That's a huge number, by the way, the largest amount of money that we're going to talk about today. Segura, on the other hand, raised $1.8 million in total. That's no slouch. Plus, more than half a million dollars in this latest filings.

Thomas Bowman  

Is that all that all?

Michael Pope  

Thomas, what do you make of these numbers? These are really, I mean, it's funny because, like, Juan Pablo Segura actually raised a lot of money, almost $2 million, total, more than half a million in the latest filing, and yet he's coming in second place to Russet Perry.

Thomas Bowman  

Yeah, well, Democrats definitely have the energy. This is the race that many people predict is going to decide the outcome of the chamber and who controls it. And because Virginia is the last Southern State protecting women's access to reproductive health care, there's going to be so much money dumped into Loudoun County. It's always a battleground county, no matter which election cycle you're looking at. And now we're going to see the fruit of that here with Russet Perry vs. Juan Pablo Segura.

Michael Pope  

I'm curious about your thoughts, Thomas, on the use of a PAC. So, cigarettes father created the New Virginia PAC to help finance his son's campaign. Of course, we see Leadership PACs in Virginia, but this kind of PAC is something that we don't normally see. Right?

Thomas Bowman  

Right. Although when you have a lot of money, sometimes it can make sense, and there's a lot of the time the reason it makes sense is that there are some donors who may or may not be partisan, or may or may not be, business donors and they don't want to necessarily donate to an individual campaign committee; people have their own internal rules for that. But they're more comfortable donating to a PAC. And it creates a layer of separation. So when you're watching on TV, you see paid for an authorized by, in this case, Renewed Virginia rather than Segura for Senate. But in this case, because we can see who funded it, thanks to VPAP, it's funded with a half-million dollar chunk of change from his daddy. So my guess is if I were a betting man, and I'm not, as listeners know, I hate gambling. But if I were a gambler, I would bet that the reason that this PAC exists is so that there is not a story directly tying Juan Pablo Segura's dad giving them half a million dollars to self-fund this race.

Michael Pope  

Another thing that jumps out at me about the fundraising in this race is the huge amount of money from Clean Virginia. $100,000 to Russet Perry here from Clean Virginia. That is the biggest dollar amount from Clean Virginia. Of all these races we're going to be talking about, and like all the House races that we will be talking about. It's sort of clean Virginia versus Dominion. And you don't really see that, that in this race. Juan Pablo Segura is not an incumbent; it's usually incumbents who get money from Dominion. So this is not a race where we've got Clean Virginia vs. Dominion. But gosh, Clean Virginia sure is helping Russet Perry here; $ 100,000, what do you make of that?

Thomas Bowman  

Quite simply because this is that race that is most likely to decide the Senate or one of a couple of races that are most likely to decide the Senate, then it doesn't matter, in many respects, how many votes Clean Virginia has if it doesn't have the chamber. So, this is not necessarily a clean Virginia versus Dominion campaign. This is a campaign that Clean Virginia and Democrats, generally speaking, need to win in order for them to be able to accomplish anything else on their agenda, regardless of how Russet Perry, if she is elected senator, would vote on issues.

Michael Pope  

Yeah, it's interesting because we've got money from Clean Virginia and this Senate race, and then the other toss-up race that we'll be talking about, we've got money from Dominion, but not Clean Virginia. So that's an interesting parallel. The other marquee race in the Senate is out in Hampton Roads, where we've got Senate District 24 and Newport News. This is where we've got incumbent Democrat Monty Mason vs. Republican Danny Diggs. So Monty Mason raised $1.8 million total, including $1 million in this most recent filings. It's so big money for Monty Mason. Diggs is struggling a little bit; he raised $1.3 million total, including more than half a million in the recent filings. So that's actually pretty good. Those fundraising numbers would be great in any other election cycle, but we're in this outsized election year here. So Danny Diggs has kind of fallen behind all the other candidates in the toss-up. Senate races. What do you make of this election out in Hampton Roads?

Thomas Bowman  

Yeah, well, you're starting to see some attention paid to Danny Diggs by Republican leadership PACs and the caucus as well. I saw on X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter, a hit against Mason for something that his fraternity allegedly did, something like a slave auction thing, which is bad. But I don't know that it's the Republican strongest attack against somebody like Monty Mason in a general election with that district. Really, what this tells me is that Diggs is way behind on money. And most of it is leftover from his sheriff's race because the Democratic caucus isn't really worried about losing that race. And the Republican caucus doesn't seem to think it's the best use of their cash to try to pick it up. So Republicans aren't investing because they don't think it's really on the table or they're not ready to invest yet. It's one of those things.

Michael Pope  

Yeah, that hit from Republicans has to do with Monty Mason's time in college at William and Mary, where his fraternity had this slave auction. And this, this kind of politics reminds me of the whole blackface era, like, we're gonna go back to people's college yearbooks and figure out embarrassing stuff that they did, which cuts both ways. I mean, like, we had a number of Republicans having to answer questions about their college yearbooks, including Tommy Norman. So this is interesting. Also, I think it's kind of noteworthy, like, this is the best you've got, you're going to do, like the hit piece is some crazy thing that happened with his college fraternity. 

Thomas Bowman  

Yeah, so I Tweeted out, you know, it's a silly general election hit from the Virginia GOP against Senator Mason because it's just gonna depress their own voter turnout. Suppose their base perceives Senator Mason as a Dem who shares their values. This is a great thing for a progressive Democrat to hit Mason on in a primary. This doesn't really work in general. And I'm not saying it. I'm not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing. Obviously, these are not our values. I'm sure he's not proud of this. Obviously, it's embarrassing, and the Republicans hope it might depress the Black vote. But this just is not a very salient attack. And it doesn't really work coming from Republicans who have endorsed, like hard R republicanism.

Michael Pope  

Alright, another thing that really jumps out at me with the fundraising numbers in this particular race is that Monty Mason is taking money from Dominion Energy, which is really interesting because he's the only Democrat in any of these toss-up races that has money from Dominion, we're about to talk about a bunch of House races that are Clean Virginia vs. Dominion. Where the Democrat is taking money from Clean Virginia and the Republican is taking money from Dominion. We don't see that here in this race; we see a really interesting, different scenario here, where you've got the incumbent Democrat taking money from Dominion, and it really gives you a sense that Monty Mason is much more of a centrist Democrat, even a conservative Democrat if such a thing exists anymore. And so this race is really interesting because you don't have a super progressive Democrat in this race. You've got someone who's a centrist, maybe even slightly right-leaning in terms of being a Democrat. And the dynamics that we're talking about here is this is a 50/50 Senate district. And so, like, does that end up helping Monty Mason?

Thomas Bowman  

So, as far as the money from Dominion goes, yeah, Monty Mason is a centrist Democrat; he's persuadable. So it's true for Dominion. It's true for other organizations that often lobby in front of the General Assembly. Mason is somebody who they can educate on their issues. And that's true for advocates, too, because he's got a pretty clean voting record overall, as far as things Democrats care about, and yeah, maybe if you are in Northern Virginia, it's not as progressive and liberal as you hoped for. But he's a good vote; he comes home for democratic issues, especially when it counts. So yeah, that money from Dominion definitely helps. The way I kind of look at it when it comes to money from Dominion is they're more or less trying to make sure that their friends are not even friends, but non-members can come back, especially if they're incumbents.

Michael Pope  

All right, moving over to the House races. We've got four toss-up races in the House of Delegates, and we've got to start Thomas with the one that's grabbing all the headlines, House District 57 in Henrico. This is a short pump district featuring Democrat Susanna Gibson vs. Republican David Owens. Gibson raised almost a million dollars, including $600,000 in July and August. Owens, on the other hand, has raised more than half a million total, including almost $200,000 in the latest filing. So it is worth noting that Gibson here has raised more money than any of the other candidates in toss-up House races, while Owen has raised the smallest amount of money among the toss-up House candidates. Also worth noting is the huge fundraising total from Susanna Gibson, which all happened before the scandal before the Washington Post did all that pearl-clutching, so I would imagine that she probably raised a lot more money after that Washington Post story. Thomas, what are you hearing about this marquee race in the House, this Henrico contest here between Susanna Gibson and David Owen?

Thomas Bowman  

Michael, what pearl-clutching are you talking about? 

Michael Pope  

Yeah, you've been away; you might not have heard about it. I don't want to go into shocking detail. But yeah, there was a Washington Post story that grabbed a lot of eyeballs; basically, the headline was sex acts for tips.

Thomas Bowman  

Just the tips, huh? Michael, Susanna Gibson is tearing up the Republicans, especially in this race, and that unfortunate choice to publish what she thought were private streams and not saved videos but private streams for banging her husband basically, really is going to backfire on the Republicans bigley. Because every actual human being, some rational people who look at this, thinks that what the Republicans have resorted to here is pretty disgusting. Obviously, it's awkward for everybody. The goal is to humiliate and embarrass her, and obviously, she feels most likely embarrassed and humiliated. But she's not letting it stop her. In fact, she's just making this galvanize it further because this is all they have on her, Michael, so they can predict from that what they will do. Their strategy through November is going to be trying to keep this in the news. So she has to keep talking about this and can't talk about how Republicans want to ban abortion if they can take the entire General Assembly. So, she is not letting it stop her response on the doors. Her campaign reports allegedly are very positive. She hasn't lost a single Democratic vote. And we can talk about this a little bit more in the water cooler. Since that's what everybody is talking about at the water cooler. She hasn't lost a single Democratic vote. Republicans are never going to vote for her anyway. And it's certainly not necessarily galvanizing them to come out and vote against her. 

Michael Pope  

All right. So one of the other interesting things about the fundraising in this race is that we've got a Clean Virginia vs. Dominion kind of disparity here, which we're going to see with most of these House races. Susanna Gibson got $25,000 from Clean Virginia. Owen got $15,000 from Dominion. This is really interesting because I think you pointed out on a previous podcast, Thomas, that Dominion usually gives to incumbents, and it's kind of rare for Dominion to give money to someone who is not an incumbent. And yet, we've got $15,000 here from Dominion to David Owen.

Thomas Bowman  

Yeah, it's one of those exceptions that prove their general rule. And $15,000 is a lot of money. I would point out that with the amount of money going around in this race, $25,000 to Susanna Gibson is really just getting on the board for Clean Virginia. It's not a lot of money compared to what they're doing. For example, that's the exact same amount of money they gave to Marcus Simon, who doesn't even have a real opponent.

Michael Pope  

Also worth noting that in all these races, where you got the Clean Virginia candidate and the Dominion candidate, Clean Virginia is giving more money than Dominion and all of these One One races, which is worth noting. So it's not like Dominion has the dollar advantage in terms of fundraising, and all of these toss-up races that we will be talking about where you got to clean Virginia candidate and a Dominion candidate Clean Virginia is giving not just more money, but way more money than Dominion. Alright, let's move over to Virginia Beach, where we've got House District 97. This is where we've got Democrat  Michael Feggans vs. Republican Karen Greenhalgh. So Thomas, one of the things I think is really interesting about fundraising here is that this is pretty much a race that we've got parody. Feggans raised almost a million dollars total, more than half a million in the latest filing. Greenhalgh also raised almost a million total, more than half a million, according to the latest filing. So we've got kind of a one-to-one in terms of fundraising. Feggans got a ton of money from Clean Virginia. In fact, this is the highest dollar amount that we've got from Clean Virginia, $70,000 from Clean Virginia to Michael Feggans. Greenhalgh got $26,000 from Dominion. Yeah. So, what do you make of this race in Virginia Beach?

Thomas Bowman  

This is clearly a race that Democrats would like to win. Karen Greenhalgh is a true believer; so report say, she's been reported to us, Michael, as a classic church lady. And that may or may not be true. I haven't met her personally. But what I make out of this is that Clean Virginia sees that this is a good use of their resources. And also, if I'm looking at the other fundraising numbers in general, this is a race that Democrats might win. This is a place where Republicans are vulnerable. It may not be the most winnable or the least winnable race, but it's very competitive.

Michael Pope  

Yeah. So Karen Greenhalgh is really a true believer in terms of restricting access to abortion. It's interesting. In an earlier podcast, we talked about the tailored Republican attacks in each of these districts. And it was interesting to me that the Republicans chose to raise the issue of abortion in this election. You would think that this is an issue that they would the Republicans would want to avoid, and yet they're taking it on here. And I got the sense that was because Karen Greenhalgh kind of wanted that to happen. This is a key marquee issue for her. She is a true believer. She wants to restrict access to abortion. And so because this is one of the key issues in this election cycle, I think this Virginia Beach race is really going to be one to watch to see how the politics of abortion play out. I will also note that Virginia Beach is a Republican jurisdiction. So, I mean, typically, cities tend to be Democratic strongholds. Virginia Beach is that rare city that has a Republican stronghold, so it's really going to be worth watching. When we get the election returns, see what the impact of the abortion issue here is in this Virginia Beach House District 97.

Thomas Bowman  

Clearly, I'll have to watch that there. What else have we got, Michael?

Michael Pope  

Moving out to Petersburg, we've got House District 82. This is where we've got Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams vs. Republican incumbent Delegate Kim Taylor. This is the only race that we're going to be talking about today in terms of the toss-up races where the Republican has any kind of an edge at all in terms of fundraising. So, Kim Taylor raised almost $700,000 total, including almost $400,000 in the most recent filings, so that's actually pretty good. Kimberly Pope Adams raised $700,000 total, including half a million dollars in the most recent filing. So Kim Taylor has raised about $6,000 More than Pope Adams in total, although Pope Adams raised more than Taylor in this most recent filing by a lot. So, yeah, this Petersburg race is definitely one to keep your eye on. What do you make of the politics here of Kimberly Pope Adams vs. Kim Taylor? 

Thomas Bowman  

Their money is more or less equivalent. Taylor's got a slight edge overall, but Kimberly Pope Adams out-raised her on the last filing. It's a really tight race. This is one that Democrats should be able to win. But the Republican caucus likes Taylor. She's less ideological compared with Karen Greenhalgh, someone like that, who we just talked about. She is somebody that a lot of them feel like they can work with and can mature into a really good elected official for the Republican caucus. So they think there might be an instinct here for them to over-invest in trying to keep that seat for Republicans. I don't know if they will or not; they've certainly got to defend their caucus members. But this is one where Democrats should have the edge over all money is equal, and all things being equal, usually the incumbent wins. So that's one where we need to see a lot of energy going into the Kimberley Pope Adams race.

Michael Pope  

Well, I'll tell you where some of that energy might be coming from: former Delegate Lashrecse Aird, who is the Senate candidate in this part of Virginia. And I think the Democrats are hoping that luxurious Aird might have some coattails. That would help Kimberley Pope Adams, which is interesting because Lashrecse Aird isn't even an incumbent. So it's interesting that you would have a candidate who is not even a member of the Senate having coattails that would help the House member. 

Thomas Bowman  

Yeah, is that how coattails usually work? 

Michael Pope  

Yeah, it's a different kind of coattails that we're seeing in this election. We've actually also seen something similar with Danica Roem, who is also not an incumbent member of the Senate, helping House candidates as well. So we're actually seeing non-incumbents in the Senate who are candidates, Senate candidates, non-incumbent candidates for the Senate, trying to use their influence to help House members. So it's a really different kind of coattails that we're seeing in this election cycle.

Thomas Bowman  

Fascinating stuff, Michael. All right. Let's move on because we're running out of time.

Michael Pope  

All right, let's move over to Prince William. This is the final toss-up race that we will be talking about, where we've got Democrat Josh Thomas vs. Republican John Stirrup. So that name John Stirrup might ring a bell because that is the Republican who was secretly recorded saying on the campaign trail that he actually wants a 100% ban on abortion, even though his official position is the 16-week ban. So Josh Thomas, the Democrat in the race, raised more than $600,000 total, including about $500,000 in the most recent filing. Whereas Stirrup raised $500,000 total, including $300,000 and the latest filing. So clearly, the Democrat has an edge here as well. Half a million dollars, by the way, is not a particularly competitive number here, for the Republican Stirrup has the smallest fundraising total of all the candidates in these house toss-up races. Yeah. So, what do you think about this race in Prince William County?

Thomas Bowman  

Yeah, this is going to be an expensive raise. It's in the Washington, DC media market. So if they need to go on TV, they're going to be lighting a lot of money on fire; they're also going to need to be sending out mailers and whatnot. So because of how competitive this race could be, I expect to see a lot more money dumped in here. And whether it's direct contributions to the candidates or to PACs are in-kind contributions. It costs a quarter million dollars to go up and do ads on TV, just for a small amount of time in Northern Virginia and DC media market. So obviously, the money they have is not going to go very far. Obviously, their finance directors and their campaign managers are figuring out how much money they need in order to have a minimum viable product in their campaign. Obviously, they want to hit that, and they want to exceed that. I'm kind of surprised, like you are, Michael, that they aren't sitting on a lot more money coming in. And also, at the same time, this is a $ 17,000-a-year job. It's kind of insane that we're talking about half a million dollars or a million dollars sometimes or more in order to win these races. It just seems like such a crazy amount of money.

Michael Pope  

Yeah, to that point. I mean, we're knocking this guy because he raised half a million dollars. Like he's raised the smallest amount of money, and that's half a million dollars. All right. So when you dig into the numbers here, it's worth pointing out that Josh Thomas, the Democrat, received $30,000 from Clean Virginia plus, on top of that, an extra $10,000 from Sonjia Smith. Whereas the Republican in the race, the interesting thing that jumped out at me from the fundraising numbers is that you got $70,000 from the Republican Commonwealth Leadership PAC, which is Speaker Todd Gilbert's PAC. So we're already seeing the leadership of the Republican Party really interested in this particular race and Prince William.

Thomas Bowman  

Yeah, well, Stirrup had a video leak of his own that was actually really embarrassing for him, where he talked about how he would vote to ban abortion and wanted to. So, this is a district where the turnout has huge swings from election to election. So, depending on the issue, depending on the electorate, you might see a Republican win, or you might see a Democrat win, that abortion video will hurt him. That will be a scarlet letter that Josh Thomas's campaign wants to hang around his neck, as many of the Democrats are doing to the Republican opponents right now in the wake of the fall of Roe v. Wade. And by the way, Republican attacks against someone like Thomas aren't really landing because Thomas is a vet who appeals to the local electorate. And that's a really important thing. You need good candidates; the best thing is to have a good candidate before you have all the money that you need.

Michael Pope  

Yeah, it's really interesting. Josh Thomas has that military background, which inoculates him from a lot of the charges that you typically hear from Republicans. Whereas the Republican in the race, John Stirrup, has to answer questions about that secretly recorded audio of him saying that he would prefer a 100% ban on abortion, even though his official position on the campaign trail is the 16-week ban. He's saying now that that's because that's what could actually get through the General Assembly. And it's a matter of, like, that's realistic. That's the politics of reality. Is that, like, that's the best that he could get, even though he actually wants a 100% ban? So this is one of those test cases where we will see the politics of abortion play out. 

Alright, we interrupt these commercial messages to bring you some breaking news: David Owen has raised additional cash for his campaign by finding $5 in the pocket of his jacket; it's the most money he's raised in months.

Thomas Bowman  

Meanwhile, his opponent, Susanna Gibson, is trying to give a talk about her ideas for improving the issues you talk about around your kitchen table and in the classroom, but everyone else is thinking about her bedroom.

Michael Pope  

Oh man, that is such a race. All right, let's head around the Commonwealth. A second major criminal case in Portsmouth County has been thrown out after prosecutors failed simple courtroom procedures such as turning over evidence.

Thomas Bowman  

Watch the drama unfold this fall on law and order, WTF.

Michael Pope  

WTF, I heard that one in Prince William County. The current supervisor has called for an investigation into her predecessor, claiming his backdoor services with data centers add up to corruption.

Thomas Bowman  

It's why politicians love data so much. They are both easily corruptible.

Michael Pope  

Virginia has opened an international trade route in Taiwan, which came after Governor Glenn Youngkin met with that country's leader.

Thomas Bowman  

When asked whether foreign policy isn't more of a presidential thing, Youngkin said, uh no, before having Virginia join NATO and declare war on Russia.

Michael Pope  

In order to protect their trans classmates, a group of teenagers in Virginia Beach is going toe to toe with their school board, showing their allyship with a common symbol, the safety pin.

Thomas Bowman  

Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, those who oppose the basic humanity of others stuck with their classic symbol, a swastika.

Michael Pope  

In Fairfax County, a School Board candidate is being accused of creating multiple fake social media accounts under community members' names in order to spread lies about them. 

Thomas Bowman  

He claims it's part of his stance against cyberbullying, claiming, how am I supposed to stop it if I'm not the best at it?

Michael Pope  

A millipede species found only in Montgomery County is being flagged for federal protection.

Thomas Bowman  

Virginia, where little insects are more protected than Trans kids.

Michael Pope  

The construction of Virginia's new Caesars resort is focused heavily on maintaining the historic buildings that surround it. 

Thomas Bowman  

Yeah, including old houses, textile mills, and absolutely not libraries per state policy. They will destroy every library they see.

Michael Pope  

That's around the Commonwealth's part of our podcast. It's very, very popular. So I'm glad that you are back, Thomas, because you deliver those punch lines much better than I ever could. So, let's play a round of trivia. So last week, Thomas, you weren't here. But we had trivia in your absence. We asked about that giant Neon Star at the top of Mill Mountain in Roanoke. It's iconic. If you've been to Roanoke, you've probably seen it. It was originally installed as part of a Christmas celebration. So, Merry Christmas, Roanoke; you've gained a permanent addition to your skyline here. So here's the trivia question. What year was that giant star originally installed on Mill Mountain to celebrate Christmas?

Thomas Bowman  

Michael, what is that answer?

Michael Pope  

Alright, so the answer is 1949. So this year will mark the 74th Christmas season that this has been a permanent part of the skyline of Roanoke, and we've got a winner.

Thomas Bowman  

We actually had two winners here. Senator Scott Surovell. And Trish White-Boyd. Listeners, Pod Virginia, will, of course, be familiar with Senator Surovell. And a fun fact: his grandfather was apparently the lead electrician for wiring the giant star back in 1949. 

Michael Pope  

Yeah, gosh, isn't that interesting? Surovell's grandfather helped wire that star way back in the 1940s. You mentioned that our listeners, of course, will be familiar with Scott Surovell. The other person who won the trivia contest is also a familiar name, Trish White-Boyd. She is the Democratic candidate running for Senate against Republican incumbent Senator David Suetterlein. So I think it's really smart for these candidates to play a round of trivia on Pod Virginia because we're giving them free publicity.

Thomas Bowman  

Do we have to report that contribution? No, but they sure look smart.

Michael Pope  

They sure look smart. And they have received some prizes. So they probably have to report this on their campaign finance documents. But Thomas, tell them what they've won.

Thomas Bowman  

You've won a string of pearls to replace those you clutched to death last week. All right, Michael, what about this week? What do you have lined up for our trivia question this time? 

Michael Pope  

All right, our trivia question for this week is about Virginia's largest cities. So, for most of Virginia's history, Richmond has been the largest city in Virginia. So, if you go back way back to the 1790 census, you'll see that Richmond had 3,800 people, making it Virginia's largest city at the time. So that was at the time more people that Norfolk had, which was about 3,000 people. It wasn't until 1960 that Norfolk became the largest city in Virginia, with more than 300,000 people. So here's our trivia question for this week. When did Virginia Beach become Virginia's largest city? When did Virginia Beach become Virginia's largest city? So here's a hint: we're looking for a census year. So, this is going to be a year that ends in zero. 

Thomas Bowman  

All right, well, if you think you know the answer, hit us up on social media, and you might even win a prize. 

Michael Pope  

All right, let's head over to the water cooler.

Thomas Bowman  

Michael, what are you hearing around the water cooler this time? 

Michael Pope  

Really sad news here with Jennifer Wexton saying she's not going to run for re-election. So, she has health problems, and she recently got a diagnosis. It basically will prevent her from running for re-election. So it's a really sad story. Especially because she's so young and she's in her prime, and lots of people like her, I will give a shout-out to Jenna Portnoy at the Washington Post, who wrote a really amazing front-page story about Wexton's retirement. It clearly Jenna Portnoy had spent some time with Wexton at her House in Loudoun County before the announcement, and this story in the Washington Post really gives you kind of the inside story here in terms of Wexton struggling with this, and also her friendship with Jennifer McClellan and Abigail Spanberger. These women in Virginia's congressional delegation are pretty tight. And there was a great anecdote in this Washington Post story. I don't know if you saw this, Dominus, but Wexton called McClellan and Spanberger into her office, and she even had them come into a side door. So the media wouldn't see McClellan and Spanberger entering Wexton's office, and she sat them down. And there was this long pause. And she said I got a very important announcement to make. And then there's a beat, and she says, I'm running for governor. She said, just getting I've actually resigning and the end what was going on, and that was good, you know, a human this, the story of The Washington Post really gives you a great sort of human part of what's going on here with Jennifer Wexton, which is really sad. I mean, our listeners, of course, will be familiar with the career of Jennifer Wexton because she spent so long in the Virginia Senate before she went to the US Congress.

Thomas Bowman  

Yeah, well, it's tragic. We wish Congressman Wexton the best and hope that she gets to live a fulfilling life with the rest of the time that she's got left and enjoy that time with her family. Her presence on Capitol Hill is definitely gonna be something people miss. 

Michael Pope  

All right, Thomas, what's the latest you're hearing around the water cooler?

Thomas Bowman  

Sure, Michael? Well, obviously, everyone's talking about Susanna Gibson. There's a lot of misinformation going around, especially on social media, which is a cesspool. Over a year ago, in the privacy of her own life, Susanna participated in a private livestream. It was a decision she made with her husband. And they thought, perhaps naively, but in good faith, nonetheless, that the platform they were using was secure and with no provisions for recording. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. It's important to emphasize, of course, that recording someone without their consent, especially in a private setting like this, is a violation of Virginia law. And we actually have case law precedents, like the Ronnie Lee Johnson vs. Commonwealth of Virginia case, which drew a clear line between consenting to be seen in a live moment by other people and being recorded for perpetuity. So Susanna has got to navigate this really deeply personal and legal battle. And there are discrepancies in the way certain media outlets have reported the incident. So, to clarify, the platform Susanna used was password-protected. Any assertion that suggests you had multiple accounts or that significant funds were generated from this incident is quite simply incorrect. So tips or tokens on Chatterbait are kind of like Reddit gold and upvotes, right? Yes, hypothetically, if you were able to accumulate enough of them, you could cash out for a cash value, but you have to meet a specific threshold. So, that is not in play here. And people are accusing her of all sorts of things, like being a sex worker or prostitution, and none of that is the case. It's like asking for upvotes or asking for reddit gold. It's the same thing. It's just okay. You don't know, guys, because it's okay that you don't know the process of Chatterbait. Susanna learned of these videos being recorded just a couple of weeks ago, right before the news broke in the Post. When a reporter called to ask her about it, she responded with urgency and gravity; as the situation demanded, she sought legal counsel, which is why she hasn't had a lot to say she's taking those necessary steps to try to protect your privacy file those complaints to address unauthorized dissemination of this content. By the way, Michael is also a federal crime because it violates interstate laws. So there's a lot in play here. We'll see how this goes. But she's focused like a laser on stopping Republicans from being able to make Virginia another state where people who need abortions can't get them. So, look, remember, this is a stark reminder of the challenges we face in the digital age: privacy, consent, and respect for personal boundaries have never been more vital. It's going to keep being an issue as millennials age into running for office. Susanna's experience could have happened to a lot of people. It underscores anything I need for stronger privacy protections. And, of course, better understanding by the media before they report things that are false, as the Washington Post may have done here. So she's got to face this challenge. Like I said, laser-focused on the campaign. When she knocks on doors, she's a sympathetic figure; this isn't hurting her the way that the Republicans thought it would hurt her. She's got nothing to be ashamed about; she had sex with her husband; it wasn't meant for you to see, wasn't meant for kids to say; she didn't even know it was being recorded. It's fucked up that this is going around right now. So, like, we got to approach this stuff with empathy. And she would also love it if Republicans would stand by their values, recognize that it is a crime, and stop trying to trade in this ultimate violation of her own privacy. It's really sick what they're doing. And if the Republicans thought this was gonna give them an advantage, it hasn't. She's gonna win this thing. I'm pretty sure. I have confidence that she's actually going to win. 

Michael Pope  

Yeah, it is really interesting that this whole thing might end up backfiring in terms of helping her instead of hurting her one debate among Democrats. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Thomas. Is the strategy here, or do you ignore it? Or do you lean into it to defend it? Because, I think a lot of Democrats are saying, just ignore this; this is not actually a newsworthy story to begin with. So, by responding to it, you're adding fuel to the stupid fire, whereas the other strategy would be to lean into it and defend it and go on the attack, using it as part of an attack. What's your thought on the best way the best strategy Democrats should have on this?

Thomas Bowman  

Well, that is the active debate being had right now. The caucus put out a tepid statement of support before all the facts had come out. I think the right move for Susanna is to pivot as quickly as possible to get back on message, and that is saying, okay, I can see why you're interested in what happens in my bedroom. But can you see why it's important that we have good schools and better transportation and protect health care for everybody in the Commonwealth and move on to that? She also needs people defending her online, vociferous advocates. She needs people in the party officially to beat back and make it clear that this is a gross violation. And as you said, there's no news value to this. This is a husband and wife having sex and doing stuff that they didn't plan to have recorded. They're both victims here. Whether you think it's a serious crime is less important than the fact it is whether a prosecutor would actually try to prosecute this crime is less important than the fact that it's a crime. It's a human issue; it's a human violation of this person's dignity. The fact that Susanna is keeping her chin up in the face of what is a lot of people's biggest nightmare is a testament to her character, and it says just so much that she's able to take this one on the chin and just let it glance off of her and hit the doors just the next day. And guess what? It's all in people's heads. This is something that people are talking about online, and in forums like this, the average person is not focused on this. The average person is focused on the things that they need to talk about at their kitchen table. They are not talking about Susanna Gibson around their kitchen table.

Michael Pope  

Alright, well, let's move on and open up that Pod Virginia mailbag. Thomas, what are our listeners talking about?  

Thomas Bowman  

Yeah, it is really interesting; people like Lauren Burke, who sat in for me while I was out on maternity leave, Kevin Saucedo-Broach wrote in a comment, "Lauren Burke's been an excellent addition to Pod Virginia last few weeks format was in desperate need of a voice like hers." I agree. And someone clearly very comfortable with speaking the truth. Others don't care to hear. Hope y'all consider keeping her around full-time. Michael, what a great review. 

Michael Pope  

Yeah, it was great to have Lauren Burke fill in; she is a pro. So it was no surprise. That's why we asked her to fill in, and I would imagine that you will be hearing a lot more of Lauren Burke on Pod Virginia because we're definitely going to continue our conversations with her. We also got some feedback on our discussion on the Washington Post's Pearl clutching and kink shaming. Rick Howell writes, "Susanna Gibson's Internet sex acts with her husband were disgraceful and should be seen as absolutely disqualifying for any candidate for public office. Are Democrats going to become just like the Trump supporters and simply not care about any issue regarding morality or character? Gibson's behavior was sleazy", writes Rick Howell, "remember, even her children could access that video, and if some people think her response should simply be to fundraise off of it. Well, how different is that from Trump raising money off of his mugshot? Her private sex life should be private, not streamed on the internet, says Rick Howell, "I'm a Democrat, but if I lived in her district, I would vote no for her." So yeah, Thomas, you said early people weren't talking about this around the kitchen table, but I had someone approach me at the gym asking about this. I mean, like, this is what people are talking about this. 

Thomas Bowman  

Sure, yeah, it's titillating. And all right, Rick, well, it's okay to be wrong. We got into the truth earlier about what has happened. And it was a private stream for a private website with registered users. It was not accessible to her kids, who are 7 and 10. The people who are putting this out in the open are the ones that are doing the fucked up shit. Those are the people who are making sure her kids see this. It is wrong. And there is nothing immoral, and there were no character issues with begging your husband, right? Let's be real about this. Like, this is not a problem. This is a pretty conservative viewpoint, actually, that it's okay to have monogamous sex with your spouse. And the way in which two people choose to love each other or more doesn't matter because it's consenting adults. And the way that consenting adults choose to love each other is nothing but beautiful. Alright, so it's, unfortunately, partisan motivations that have turned this into something really disgusting. And Shame on those people.

Michael Pope  

All right, well, let's celebrate some birthdays this week.

Thomas Bowman  

Today. Monday, September 25th. It is the birthday of House Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Charniele Herring. Happy Birthday, Charniele. 

Michael Pope  

Tuesday, September 26th. We've got three birthdays, Delegate Wendy Gooditis of Clark. House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight and Delegates Suhas Subramanyam of Loudoun County.

Speaker 4  

Wednesday, September 27th, is the birthday of Delegate Dan Helmer of Fairfax County. And Saturday, September 30th, is the birthday of Delegate Danica Roem of Manassas.

Thomas Bowman  

Also, this week is Responsible Dog Ownership Week. That could have been a joke.

Michael Pope  

And Saturday, September 30th. It is Public Lands Day.

Thomas Bowman  

Sounds socialist to me, Michael. All right. And Sunday, October 1st, is Virginia Firefighter Appreciation Day. It's hot. All right. That's it for this episode of Pod Virginia. Transcripts are online. Follow us on more social media for chatter on Virginia politics.