Terry McAuliffe’s hope to waltz into a second term as Virginia’s governor is facing a potential hurdle as his campaign focuses on supercharging the black and liberal vote.
This week, state election officials confirmed adding Princess Blanding, a Richmond police reform and anti-racism activist, to the November ballot as a third-party candidate.
The black woman’s brother was shot by a city police officer in 2018, and she petitioned to run as a “Liberation Party” candidate after leading efforts for police reforms.
An educator and “single LGBTQIA+ mother,” she said on her candidate webpage that she is running to increase “accountability from our local and state elected officials to address the inequities in our black and most marginalized communities.”
Having another liberal in the race could pose a problem for McAuliffe, especially since he has focused on minorities in his campaign so far. To win the primary, he had to knock off two other black women in what was a crowded field.
The latest poll showed McAuliffe leading GOP challenger Glenn Youngkin by 4 points, which was the survey’s margin of error. McAuliffe was governor four years ago in the state that does not allow back-to-back governorships.
Princess Blanding @PrinBlandingVA will appear on the ballot in the race for governor of Virginia this November. She’s running on a platform that includes reparations for Black and indigenous Virginians, legalizing sex work, and raising the minimum wage. https://t.co/LNZSfv3kmx
— Dogwood (@vadogwoodnews) June 10, 2021
Outside of Richmond, Blanding isn’t well known, but that could change if she is allowed to join the expected gubernatorial debates this year.
University of Virginia political expert Larry Sabato told Secrets, “McAuliffe has agreed to participate in five debates. No word from Youngkin yet. If Blanding were included in debates, that might increase her name identification. But it’ll be a surprise if the sponsors invite her. Normally, you have to demonstrate substantial public support to get a debate offer, and she hasn’t done that.”
And, added Sabato, “The contest would have to be extremely tight for Blanding to make any difference at all.”
A state GOP activist said 100,000 votes could make a difference in an election that is expected to see 2.5 million votes. In his 2013 race for governor, McAuliffe was expected to sail to victory but beat conservative Ken Cuccinelli by just 56,505 votes.
“If she somehow nabbed 100,000 votes that would otherwise go to McAuliffe, she could be the difference in winning and losing,” said the GOP activist and organizer.
