Politics & Government

Lt. Governor's Race: Chopra, Northam Head Into Final Stretch With Arlington Debate

The Democratic primary is Tuesday.

There were few sparks at their final debate, but Democrats Aneesh Chopra and Sen. Ralph Northam may have a hard time working with Republicans if one of them is elected Virginia's next lieutenant governor.

"The first thing that we will do when we take back control of the Senate is reform the committees. We'll have Democratic majorities on all of them," said Northam, whose district includes Norfolk, at a debate Wednesday night at George Mason University's Arlington campus. "There will be no power sharing. They will be controlled by a Democratic majority."

Chopra cast Virginia Republicans in a similar light. "They pit Virginians against each other and they carry a very extreme ideology," he said, "which I believe will make it harder for us to look at our kids and to say to them: 'We want you to thrive in the commonwealth of Virginia.' "

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Democrats are less than a week away from a primary on June 11. The race has gained recent notoriety due to the controversial comments of Republican lieutenant governor nominee E.W. Jackson, and the fact that the position would result in a tie-breaking vote in a 20-20 state Senate.

"We were kidding the other day at a debate and the question was whether one of us was more electable than the other against a Republican for lieutenant governor," said Northam. "Aneesh and I would both be in good shape. There's all sorts of ways to look at this as an early holiday sort of gift." 

Find out what's happening in Lortonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Both candidates steered clear of criticizing the other and showed support for reversing controversial bills passed by the Republican-led state Legislature, including the ultrasound bill, TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) and voter ID Bills.

"There were in the last two years somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 tie votes, and all but one of those went to the Republicans," said Northam. "I can promise you after being there for six years, you can't reason with these folks that we're up against." 

Chopra, who lives in Arlington with his wife and two children, in 2009 became the first chief technology officer at the White House, and he served as the fourth Virginia secretary of technology, a position to which he was appointed by then-Gov. Tim Kaine. This is his first political campaign. 

"Virginia needs to invest in education, in research and development and in 21st century technology like mobile broadband," said Chopra.

Northam, a pediatric neurologist, beat an eight-year incumbent in a competitive district in 2007 to win his Senate seat, and won reelection in 2011. Northam cited healthcare, Medicaid expansion, stricter gun laws and education as his priorities. 

Chopra has $919,815 cash on hand, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Most of his campaign donors are in-state, but out-of-state donors are giving more to the campaign. Northam has $307,029 in the bank.   

"I intend to be a full-time lieutenant governor," Chopra said. "We've got to work with the president to modernize energy, to modernize healthcare."

Chopra provided a basic formula for economic success at the debate. "The formula is pretty simple: More middle class jobs, ensuring workers have the skills to fill those jobs and making good on the basic concept of you work hard, you play by the rules, and you'll earn a decent living," he said. 

Who are you leaning toward in the June 11 primary? Tell us who you think you'll vote for and why in the comments below.


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