Tag Archives: virginia public access project

Virginia Wild Card: Turnout Among Black Voters

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The conventional wisdom among most election analysts is that the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial contest between Republican Winsome Earle-Sears and Democrat Abigail Spanberger will be won by the latter. This consensus is primarily based on a series of polls that purport to show her ahead by very comfortable margins.

All such surveys, however, necessarily incorporate certain assumptions about the makeup of the electorate and turnout. If those assumptions are inaccurate, pollsters can end up wiping a lot of egg yolk off their faces.

In the Old Dominion, 45 days of early voting has produced a record-breaking turnout—except in localities where most of the electorate consists of Black voters. This suggests that the pollsters need to keep clean towels on hand.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, the big problem for the “good guys” is the unemployed apparatchiks in the northern part of the Commonwealth. They are not happy, and they will vote for Abigail Spanberger. Moreover, the early vote numbers suggest that many already have done so. There is also the so-called fifth column that we still call “educators.”

In the end, though, Virginia has given us a 45-day preview of the election, and the voters Spanberger desperately needs just aren’t buying it. Good.

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**Related Questions and Topics:**

– Is John Fetterman Running For President?
– The Ridiculous No Kings Protest
https://spectator.org/virginia-wild-card-turnout-among-black-voters/

In a Desperate Move, Virginia’s John Reid Debates AI Opponent

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John Reid, a gay Republican radio host running for Virginia lieutenant governor, posted a 40-minute video of himself debating an AI-generated version of his Democratic opponent after she declined repeated debate requests.

The attention-grabbing video, posted to Reid’s YouTube channel, shows him standing behind a podium as if at a formal debate, facing what his campaign claims is an AI-generated version of State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Richmond). This AI was programmed with her policy positions and a robotic approximation of her voice. Reid’s campaign insists he didn’t see the debate questions in advance. Even the moderator, they said, was a computer program.

The campaign told The Washington Post they turned to the AI debate after Hashmi repeatedly declined to face him. The event was live-streamed to a few hundred viewers on Reid’s YouTube channel earlier this week and remains publicly available.

Noah Jennings, Reid’s campaign manager, said the team aimed to simulate a real debate that was “fair and accurate to [Hashmi], not campy or overdramatic.” He added that they would have preferred a real debate to what he called a gimmick.

There have been no forums or formal debates in the lieutenant governor’s race this cycle, unlike four years ago when Winsome Earle-Sears defeated Democrat Hala Ayala amid Glenn Youngkin’s sweeping gubernatorial win.

Hashmi’s campaign dismissed the stunt, telling Axios the senator never granted permission for her likeness to be used. “John Reid’s failed use of deepfakes is a desperate move straight out of Donald Trump’s playbook,” Hashmi campaign spokesperson Ava Pitruzzello said in a statement.

“While we appreciate that AI Ghazala did share her vision, like her commitment to public education and reproductive rights, it’s pretty clear Reid only cares about shoddy gimmicks and not governing. Maybe he should focus on voters instead of videos. And hasn’t he gotten in enough trouble online already?” Pitruzzello added, referencing the myriad controversies over Reid’s Tumblr account.

On X, the Democratic Party of Virginia shared screenshots of AI Hashmi’s responses that they said cast both her and the party in a positive light. “Tonight we congratulate @SenatorHashmi for winning @JohnReid4VA’s fake debate and thank John Reid for sharing Ghazala’s winning message,” the party wrote.

Hashmi’s campaign has aired two television ads, compared to none from Reid, whose team has instead released web spots on YouTube that have circulated on social media. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Hashmi has raised more than five times Reid’s total and, as of September, held nearly ten times more cash on hand.

Despite Hashmi’s financial advantage and the Tumblr controversies that could have derailed him, the gay Republican appears largely unfazed and is running a credible, competitive campaign.

A recent Washington Post-Schar School poll showed Hashmi leading Reid by 4%, which falls within the margin of error, while a VCU Wilder School poll found them essentially tied, 44% to 43%.

Reid’s AI debate may have been born of frustration, but it perfectly captures a campaign season where technology keeps blurring the line between strategy and spectacle. Voters will decide whether it reads as clever innovation or pure desperation.
https://www.metroweekly.com/2025/10/john-reid-ai-debate-virginia/