Yeah

... to make sure that they did everything they can to take over the states.

We need to s- s- I know what's important about the president, I know what's important about Congress, but at the state level is where these maps are being redrawn.

They didn't draw the...

They didn't redraw Tennessee's maps in Congress.

[audience applauding] They redraw Tennessee's maps in Tennessee.

And so we need to take care and get back into the state level to begin these fights again.

Speaker.

Go on the ballot in November.

It go on the ballot this November.

That's why this November is so important, and we have to reelect Mark Warner, and then we have to elect the new Congress folks.

We'll reelect Bobby Scott and Jennifer McClellan.

But when you set the d- the, the tri- when you have the trifecta, we get to set the agenda.

And what we did this year, we gave teachers a 4% pay raise.

We gave state employees a 3.5% pay raise.

So ba- so the leadership is not sitting here going, "Wait"-

First question here, your reaction to the President's claim that Virginia Democrats rigged that vote.

First of all, thank you, and good evening, Victor.

I appreciate you having us on.

Uh, as usual, the President is, seems to be unhinged.

I think this war in Iran, this dumb war that he's initiated in Iran, has gotten him off his rocker again.

Uh, if you look at it, every time he loses, he has a track record.

If he loses, the election is rigged.

The question that was before Virginia voters, "Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections while ensuring Virginia's standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?" Restoring fairness is subjective, and so are you certain, are you confident that the phrasing here will stand up to, uh, the judicial scrutiny as it gets to the Supreme Court?

And I wonder what you think it means that voters are responding to this newer commitment to fight fire with fire.

Well, I, I think voters want to defend themselves and they wanna defend democracy.

They want to s- uh, defend their values.

I'm here in Virginia and I live in an area that have a lot of veterans.

I'm a veteran myself.

And veterans, they can't speak out the way they'd like to for political reasons, but they want us to fight back.

They did not expect to be in a war that they don't understand in Iran, that there's no strategy to get us in, there's no strategy to get us out.

What, in your view, is the best way for Democrats and anyone under the pro-democracy movement or umbrella to, to f- continue to fight from today through Election Day and beyond?

What's your reaction and how do you think the governor is sending the signal to the rest of the country that there is a better way than the way we're on?

Well, first of all, Michael, thank you for having me this evening on this great MLK Day.

I think it's appropriate that it is MLK Day that the governor began her opportunity to be able to reinforce the values that he stood for in his life.

And I think that was that all people, all human, all of humanity deserves to be treated with dignity.

And I think that is what she reasserted, the old-fashioned values that all of our neighbors, whether citizen or non-citizen, if they're in this country, they're allowed due process.

They're allowed to be treated with humanity.

And I think that's what she started out by doing in her gubernatorial run right now.

So how do what's your counter response? to the efforts to sort of get this all wrapped up in court, go through that process, drain resources, and to rewrite the narrative about what it is you and the governor are doing.

Talk to us about that and what happens next.

Well, as you know, right now Virginia's congressional delegation is six-five, six Democrats, five Republicans, and we, you know, we have an opportunity, I think, to take a look at it.

The first thing that we did, you know, one ...

A lot of people are like, "Well, tell us your strategy." Uh, you're an attorney.

I'm not, I'm not [laughs] gonna tell you my, my overall strategy.

But I will tell you this.

We've taken the first step, which is pass a constitutional amendment, that's what's required in Virginia, to allow for a mid, uh, 10-year, uh, decade, mid-decade redistricting.

Talk to us about that.

Talk to us about that and what happens next.

Well, as you know, right now, Virginia's congressional delegation is six-five, six Democrats, five Republicans.

And we, you know, we have an opportunity, I think, to take a look at it.

The first thing that we did, you know, one...

A lot of people are like, "Well, tell us your strategy." Uh, you're an attorney.

I'm not, I'm not gonna tell you my, my overall strategy, but I will tell you this.

We've taken the first step, which is pass a constitutional amendment, that's what's required in Virginia, to allow for a mid, uh, 10-year, uh, decade, mid-decade redistricting.

Talk to us about that.

Wow.

... gained some ground in Virginia, uh, with African Americans, that's up, that's over.

The Latino community, that's over.

Uh, when you see the prices for beef and clothes and shoes and cars and housing all going up when this guy said he would lower the price day one.

Meanwhile, he's down in Mar-a-Lago having a G- a Great Gatsby party, really disrespecting these people who are worried about whether they're gonna have nutritional assistance.

Uh, coming here to Norfolk, he came to Norfolk about a week and a half before the election to celebrate ...

Well, about three weeks before the election to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Navy.

What do you think?

Right.

... neighbor right there they, they're disenfranchising Virginians in Texas and North Carolina because that impacts all of us in the entire country if we don't act.

So we had to give Virginia voters an opportunity to weigh in, and that's what all this is.

It'll ul- ultimately be the decision of the voters.

That's our process, and we just began the process to get a referendum to the voters.

And similar to what they've done in California, we have a trigger.

Only if the other states do it, then we get to respond, and that's what we're doing here.

What do you say to Democrats, though, who are like, "Gosh, I don't know if I can vote for this guy after what he said," and that sort of thing?

Can you respond to those claims and just bring us up to speed?

First of all, Simone, thank you so much and good to see you again.

I think the last time I saw you at the White House and you were, I think you was getting your shimmy on.

But I just want to thank you so much for having me on this evening.

You know, I hope my mother isn't watching, but I'm like pissed that we're here right now.

And I hope the whole country is the unprecedented gerrymandering that the Republicans are doing at the behest of Donald Trump has put us all in this position where we cannot continue to follow the normal rules of engagement.

And when you see what North Carolina and Missouri and now Indiana and Texas have done, we have to take a look at what our options are and what this opportunity does in Virginia.

So help us understand contextually what all the Republicans in Virginia are so upset about.

So now you're up to probably far more than a million people and those people, if they're not getting paid, uh, or- or perhaps getting furloughed at some point, are not spending, so other businesses suffer, and you already got hit by the first wave of cuts during DOGE.

Yeah, it's amazing what Trump is doing to Virginia's economy and, uh, right now, uh, Winsome Earle Sears has doubled down and, uh, endorsed, uh, his actions that he's taking against, uh, Virginia families.

When you talk about these, um, this- this government shutdown, I know folks right here in my community, I can look out my window and see a aircraft carrier that's being worked on right now.

I'm in a Navy community, I'm a Navy veteran, and I talk to so many veterans who've been impacted by the shutdown and by the DOGE cuts.

It has been literally t- ripping, uh, families apart, taking mortgage payments away, making it impossible for people to be able to pay for their groceries.

Inflation is up.

Trump said that he would lower inflation on day one.

In the modern world, in America, the richest country in the world, you're seeing job declines in, in Virginia.

How do these candidates to you, sir, reflect where the state is headed?

A- as you said, I'm, I'm a veteran myself, and I'm very proud of the veterans who have stepped up to serve, and some are still serving in National Guard and, and serving as, uh, in reserves.

And they have looked at their, um, service, military service, and they're looking at volunteering and stepping up to running the political campaigns.

They're looking at it as a continuation of their service to the nation.

They are stepping up to put their lives on the line, let folks know, you know, this is, it used to be pretty simple to run for office, but as we saw and what happened in Minnesota to my friend Melissa Hoffman and her family and her husband, this, this, this stuff has gotten serious.

The, the, the rhetoric has gotten, is in some c- cases violent.

And so to have a member of every single House of Delegates district, all 100 for the first time in a generation, we have someone running as a Democrat in every single one that indicates the enthusiasm, the type of quality candidates and the character they have.

Uh, did it make you a better leader? Did it make you a better politician? And- and do you think it made you, uh, more suited to be the kind of public servant Virginia deserves and needs?

But what can you tell me about how it is resonating thus far, how it is affecting people on the ground in your state?

Thank you, Rachel.

It ...

Um, I live in a community in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Uh, the Portsmouth Naval Hospital is there not far, a few miles away.

It's the largest naval station in the world, Norfolk Naval s- uh, Base.

I'm a former naval officer and a veteran.

Hmm.