In 2018 Is It Acceptable for a Democratic Candidate to Have Voted Republican for Federal Office? The âJim Webb Testâ
Elaine Luria
The reason I raise this now is because weâve got a candidate seeking the Democratic nomination (and just named to the DCCCâs âRed-to-Blueâ list) in VA-02  Elaine Luria  who voted for Republican Scott Taylor both in the 2016 GOP primary AND in the 2016 general election against the Democratic nominee in VA-02. According to Patrick Wilsonâs report in the RTD (bolding added by me for emphasis):
â Elaine  doesnât make decisions just based on political party â  her  campaign manager said by email. âFaced with the options on the ballot   she  took a chance on fellow veteran Scott Taylor who promised to bring change and be something different  but he broke those promises.â
âLike many Democrats in our district   Elaine  voted against Randy Forbes in that primary because he had shown during his legislative career to be an extreme voice in Congress  particularly when it came to womenâs reproductive freedom  LGBT equality  and preventing gun violence â Luria campaign manager Kathryn Sorenson said by email.
âNow  after seeing the way that Scott Taylor has acted in Washington and the votes he has taken to create chaos in our health care system   Elaine  has decided to run against him.â
Back in January  I had actually asked  Luria  about  her  vote in the GOP primary  and  she  responded: âThat year  there was no Democratic primary for Congress and I wanted to have my voice heard on who was on the ballot.â I responded to  her  that âI would have voted for Mickey Mouse or something in that one.â I havenât heard a word from  her  since. LOL
At this point  I havenât chosen a candidate in VA-02  but itâs been between  Luria  and Karen Mallard  the only two serious contenders for the Democratic nomination  as far as Iâm concerned. But Iâve got to say  the news about  Luria  voting for Taylor really bugs me  for at least three reasons.
First off  I think that Taylor is going to have a field day with this. Already  Taylorâs spokesperson is responding gleefully to the RTD  âScott Taylor is the same guy he was in 2016 and has done everything he said he would on the campaign. The only reason  Luria  is running is because she was promised money by Nancy Pelosi to be another rubber stamp in D.C. The people of the 2nd district will see right through it.â Expect to hear a LOT of that type of language in coming months  and certainly if  Elaine Luria  becomes the Democratic nominee in VA-02. So yeah  I truly do not see how this will help  Luria  win the general election. To the contrary  I think it will hurt  her  that  she  voted not once but twice for the same guy  she  voted for less than two years ago.
So thatâs my âJim Webb testâ for Democratic candidates who used to vote Republican: can you explain  articulately and convincingly  why you used to vote Republican (or even serve in a Republican administration) but are now a Democrat? Regarding  Elaine Luria    she  very well might have such a case to make  but so far I havenât heard it. To the contrary  Iâve mostly heard about how  she  doesnât vote based on party (whatever that means  given the stark differences between Democrats and the Party of Sarah Palin  Ken Cuccinelli  Corey Stewart  E.W. Jackson  Donald Trump  etc.  etc.)  how  Taylor  supposedly wasnât what  she  expected  him  to be  etc.
On that latter point  my friend Josh Stanfield of Activate Virginia posted on  his  groupâs Facebook page this morning something that rings true to me: â Scott Taylor  was a member of the House of Delegates and had a partisan voting record in that body. When  he  ran for Congress in 2016  anyone interested in  his  politics or voting behavior wouldâve been just a few clicks away from discovering  his  opposition to pretty much every Democratic priority.â
The reason I raise this now is because weâve got a candidate seeking the Democratic nomination (and just named to the DCCCâs âRed-to-Blueâ list) in VA-02  Elaine Luria  who voted for Republican Scott Taylor both in the 2016 GOP primary AND in the 2016 general election against the Democratic nominee in VA-02. According to Patrick Wilsonâs report in the RTD (bolding added by me for emphasis):
â Elaine  doesnât make decisions just based on political party â  her  campaign manager said by email. âFaced with the options on the ballot   she  took a chance on fellow veteran Scott Taylor who promised to bring change and be something different  but he broke those promises.â
âLike many Democrats in our district   Elaine  voted against Randy Forbes in that primary because he had shown during his legislative career to be an extreme voice in Congress  particularly when it came to womenâs reproductive freedom  LGBT equality  and preventing gun violence â  [TGT]  campaign manager Kathryn Sorenson said by email.
âNow  after seeing the way that Scott Taylor has acted in Washington and the votes he has taken to create chaos in our health care system   Elaine  has decided to run against him.â
Back in January  I had actually asked   [TGT] about  her  vote in the GOP primary  and  she  responded: âThat year  there was no Democratic primary for Congress and I wanted to have my voice heard on who was on the ballot.â I responded to  her  that âI would have voted for Mickey Mouse or something in that one.â I havenât heard a word from  her  since. LOL
At this point  I havenât chosen a candidate in VA-02  but itâs been between  Luria  and Karen Mallard  the only two serious contenders for the Democratic nomination  as far as Iâm concerned. But Iâve got to say  the news about   [TGT] voting for Taylor really bugs me  for at least three reasons.
First off  I think that Taylor is going to have a field day with this. Already  Taylorâs spokesperson is responding gleefully to the RTD  âScott Taylor is the same guy he was in 2016 and has done everything he said he would on the campaign. The only reason  Luria  is running is because she was promised money by Nancy Pelosi to be another rubber stamp in D.C. The people of the 2nd district will see right through it.â Expect to hear a LOT of that type of language in coming months  and certainly if   [TGT] becomes the Democratic nominee in VA-02. So yeah  I truly do not see how this will help   [TGT] win the general election. To the contrary  I think it will hurt   [TGT]   that   [TGT]   voted not once but twice for the same guy   [TGT]   voted for less than two years ago.
So thatâs my âJim Webb testâ for Democratic candidates who used to vote Republican: can you explain  articulately and convincingly  why you used to vote Republican (or even serve in a Republican administration) but are now a Democrat? Regarding   [TGT]  [TGT]   very well might have such a case to make  but so far I havenât heard it. To the contrary  Iâve mostly heard about how  she  doesnât vote based on party (whatever that means  given the stark differences between Democrats and the Party of Sarah Palin  Ken Cuccinelli  Corey Stewart  E.W. Jackson  Donald Trump  etc.  etc.)  how  Taylor  supposedly wasnât what  she  expected  him  to be  etc.
On that latter point  my friend Josh Stanfield of Activate Virginia posted on  his  groupâs Facebook page this morning something that rings true to me: â Scott Taylor  was a member of the House of Delegates and had a partisan voting record in that body. When  he  ran for Congress in 2016  anyone interested in  his  politics or voting behavior wouldâve been just a few clicks away from discovering  his  opposition to pretty much every Democratic priority.â