WASHINGTON – Virginia Democrats announced on Wednesday that they will run the largest coordinated field campaign in the Commonwealth’s history to win Democratic majorities in the House of Delegates and State Senate this year. “Take the Majority 2019” is a coordinated campaign by the Virginia House and Senate Democratic Caucuses, the Democratic Party of Virginia, the Way Ahead PAC, and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
Take the Majority 2019 will include at least 44 House and 31 Senate districts in regions across the Commonwealth, stretching from Northern Virginia through the Valley region and Central Virginia down to parts of Southwest, and over to Hampton Roads. The districts will be organized into pods, in which field organizers will be working for the House and Senate campaigns in that area. The program will launch in July.
The participating Democratic organizations have hired Andrew Whitley to serve as Take the Majority’s Coordinated Campaign Director. Whitley recently ran Senate Democratic Leader Dick Saslaw’s successful bid for the Democratic nomination in SD-35. He also managed Delegate Chris Hurst’s flip of HD-12 in 2017. A Virginia native, Whitley has extensive experience running field programs for Virginia legislative candidates including Delegate Sam Rasoul and Senator John Edwards.
“Democrats like making history in Virginia,” said Democratic Party of Virginia Executive Director Chris Bolling. “We sent Donald Trump a historic message in 2017 when we swept all three statewide offices and picked up 15 House of Delegate seats. With the work of Andrew and the robust Take the Majority team, we will make history yet again this November by giving Democrats control of the House, Senate, and Governor’s Office for the first time in 26 years. We are on the cusp of making Virginia all blue, we just need to TAKE it.”
“We know the numbers are on our side,” said House Democratic Caucus Executive Director Trevor Southerland. “There are more Democratic voters in Virginia than Republicans, especially as the Republican Party moves further to the right and alienates moderate Virginians. This year is about turnout, and Take the Majority 2019 will mobilize voters to get to the polls and flip the House of Delegates for the first time in 20 years.”
Senate Democratic Caucus Executive Director Kristina Hagen celebrated the strength of the candidates, saying, “Senate Democrats are proud to work with partners from across the state to create the largest, most robust program we have ever built to win Virginia legislative races. Our candidates are the reflection of the communities they are looking to represent: they are veterans, they are educators, they are mothers and fathers, they are community leaders. With a record number of Democrats vying for the Senate, we are eager to get to work to retake the majority in November so we can deliver on the common sense agenda Virginians are yearning for.”
“We are committed to securing a Democratic majority in the Virginia Assembly for the first time in two decades,” Way Ahead PAC Director Mark Bergman said. “Working together, we can build a more equitable Commonwealth for all who call it home and make progress on priorities like increasing access to quality, affordable health care, improving support for Virginia’s public schools, and passing common sense gun safety legislation.”
“The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is committed to working with our partners to Take the Majority this November,” said Jessica Post, executive director of the DLCC. “This field program will be of an unprecedented size. Along with our early investment pledge of $1 million, dedicated staff on the ground and our data – the DLCC will share the lessons and best practices we’ve learned in other states to ensure its success.”
