March 11, 2021 News & Press Releases

Virginia Republican Candidates’ Election Conspiracies Add More Fuel to Ongoing Chaos in GOP Civil War


by Democratic Party of Virginia

Richmond, VA — Virginia Republicans are hopelessly beholden to Donald Trump and his baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 elections, and it’s starting to cost them support. Since announcing his desperate campaign, Republican Glenn Youngkin has launched an "election integrity task force" designed to echo Donald Trump’s misinformation about our democracy, which drew condemnation from other prominent Republicans. 

Today, former Rep. Denver Riggleman called out Youngkin for what he’s really doing: spreading dangerous conspiracy theories wrapped in “election integrity” language to get ahead in this disastrous primary. Unfortunately, Glenn Youngkin isn’t alone.

As reported by The Washington Post, five of the six GOP candidates for governor declined to say whether Joe Biden legitimately won the presidency. Pete Snyder appointed Ken Cuccinelli to lead his campaign’s "ballot integrity and electoral security operation" while he peddles the same conspiracy theories as Donald Trump and calls for "NFL-style scouting reports" on Virginia election administrators. Amanda Chase has set the standard as the self-proclaimed "only candidate that's actually saying, ‘you know what, I do believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen.’" The only question is how far the other candidates will go to match her far-right conspiracy theories.

"Glenn Youngkin and the rest of the extremist Republican candidates in this field are either hopelessly detached from reality, or they are cynically peddling dangerous conspiracy theories to get ahead in this primary," said Manuel Bonder, DPVA spokesman. "Either option is unacceptable. Anyone who is willing to partner with Donald Trump to keep damaging our democracy for political gain is completely unfit to lead Virginia."

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