With his veto pen, Gov. Glenn Youngkin may have given an inadvertent boost Friday to one of the six Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor.
With his signing pen, the Republican governor may have also given an inadvertent boost to a different Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.
In last month’s so-called veto session, the Democratic-controlled General Assembly rejected Youngkin’s proposed amendments on 91 bills. He had until Friday to act on those: He signed 53 in their original form and vetoed 38 others.
The headline item among the vetoes was on a bill that would have guaranteed a right to contraception. Youngkin had proposed a “conscience clause” to exempt medical personnel whose religious beliefs forbid contraception; the legislature rejected that amendment, so on Friday the governor vetoed the bill.
(During the regular session, state Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County, had proposed a similar exemption but it wasn’t acted on.)
“The General Assembly is disregarding legitimate objections, creating legislation that would result in legal challenges that are unnecessary given the reality at hand,” Youngkin said in his veto statement. “As this issue continues to be debated, any legislative action on contraception must be coupled with clear conscience protections and must preserve the rights of families to make personal decisions in accordance with their beliefs.”
Democrats have long signaled that this is an issue they want to run on this fall’s elections, which will see the election of a new governor and all 100 members of the House of Delegates. During the regular session, Senate Democrats used parliamentary tactics to engineer a tie vote — setting up Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, now the Republican candidate for governor, to vote against the measure. With Earle-Sears on the record in opposition, one Democrat then switched his vote to pass the bill. This week several pro-Democratic groups took a 20-foot-tall inflatable IUD to four universities across the state, including an appearance at Virginia Tech on Friday.
Even before the governor’s office formally announced action on the final tranche of bills, Democrats were blasting out the news that Youngkin had vetoed the contraception bill — it’s customary for the governor’s office to give the bill sponsor a heads up about an impending veto. In this case, the contraception bill’s sponsor is one of the six Democrats seeking the party’s nomination for lieutenant governor: state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi of Richmond. She’s headlined multiple rallies calling on the governor to sign the bill; his veto of the legislation is sure to raise her profile among Democrats at a propitious time for her — early voting in the June 17 primary opened Friday. Hashmi issued a statement saying that Youngkin and Earle-Sears have “aligned themselves with extremists.”
One of the bills that Youngkin signed in its original form was a bill dealing with independent pharmacies, popularly known as the “Save Local Pharmacies Act.” The bill attracted nearly unanimous support during the regular session; Youngkin proposed an amendment to require a study first. (This has been updated to clarify the nature of the governor’s amendment.)
Normally this bill might not get much attention, but its sponsor is state Sen. Aaron Rouse of Virginia Beach, another one of those six Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor. He hailed the signing as an indication that he could put together a bipartisan coalition, issuing a statement that name-checked a Democratic colleague and three Republicans from Southwest and Southside: “I’m proud to have led this charge, but I’m even prouder of the coalition we built to get it done,” Rouse said. “Working with Delegate Katrina Callsen, Senator Travis Hackworth, and Delegate Terry Kilgore and Delegate Otto Wachsmann, showed that when we put people over politics, we can achieve real, lasting change.”
Another notable bill that Youngkin signed was one by state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico County, and Del. Josh Thomas, D-Prince William County, that requires social media companies to limit minors under 16 to one hour per app a day.
Thomas, who narrowly won two years ago, is likely to face a strong Republican challenge this year and his success with the social media bill is sure to be one of his talking points during the fall campaign.
Early voting is now underway in the June 17 primaries. Republicans have no statewide primary, while Democrats have primaries for lieutenant governor and attorney general. Meanwhile, there are scattered primaries for both parties to nominate candidates for the House of Delegates and local offices. You can look up who’s running and see where they stand on our Voter Guide.
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