Let’s Fight for a People First Virginia

We are absolutely thrilled to announce our endorsement of Sam Rasoul for Lt. Governor. As we saw this session, the Senate of Virginia is closely divided, with conservative Democrats often siding with Republicans on major legislation — like housing protections, marijuana legalizations, and environmental protections. It is critical that we have a progressive Lieutenant Governor to deliver real change in the Senate.

Sam Rasoul has been an environmental justice leader, being one of the few elected leaders to support the movement against the construction of harmful pipelines in rural Virginia. In the 2020 session, he was the chief patron of legislation that would have enacted a Green New Deal in our state.

Sam has one of the cleanest campaign finance records of any elected official. He has refused money from Dominion and its executives and corporate lobbying firms. He understands deeply the corrupting influence of money on governance in our state and has committed himself to running people powered campaigns.

On taxation, corporate Democratic have eschewed tax increases, but Sam knows that the wealthiest in Virginia do not pay their fair share. He is the only major Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor calling for an increase in our corporate tax rate. Especially during a pandemic, we need the most fortunate to support democratic governance and pay into the public sector for important resources like housing and public education.

Sam was also the only Delegate running for Lieutenant Governor to take a firm stance against the casino industry; he opposed the introduction of casinos in Virginia. As stated before, Democrats have lived in fear of their corporate and wealthy donors and have refused to raise taxes on the wealthy. Casinos are used to quiet the concerns of local elected leaders who are facing a shortage of public revenue. However, casinos by their nature rely on extracting wealth from low income people; approximately 80% of revenue from casinos nationwide come from people making less than fifty thousand dollars a year. Casinos are a terrible economic development policy, and Sam is on the right side of this issue.

Sam Rasoul is committed to building an urban-rural coalition rather than pitting the needs of urban and rural communities against each other. Sam fights for Richmond the same as he fights for Roanoke, and we are ready to fight for him.