A pro-life political action affiliated with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is pouring $1.5 million into Virginia legislative races in the last days before the November 7 election, which will decide what party controls the commonwealth’s General Assembly.
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said she backed the effort by Women Speak Out Virginia, which supports House of Delegates and State Senate candidates aligned with Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s proposed ban on abortions after 15 weeks—the point when unborn children feel pain.
“Hundreds of lives each year depend on pro-life Virginians showing up on November 7 and casting their ballots for Republican candidates,” Dannenfelser (pictured above) said.
“Voters have the opportunity to stop the Democrats’ agenda of no-limits abortion up to the 40th week and even letting babies who survive abortions die,” the North Carolina native said.
WSOV PAC is directing its largess to 11 House of Delegates and five State Senate candidates, all Republicans.
The House candidates: Josh Thomas, District 21; Travis Nembhard, District 22; Rob Banse, District 30; Lilly Franklin, District 41; Susanna Gibson, District 57; Joshua Cole, District 65; Jessica Anderson, District 71; Stephen Miller-Pitts, District 75; Kimberly Pope Adams, District 82; Karen Lynette Jenkins, District 89 and Michael Feggans, District 97.
The Senate candidates: Van Valkenburg, District 16; Clinton Jenkins, District 17; Monty Mason, District 24; Joel Griffin, District 27 and Russet Perry, District 31.
Youngkin, who is limited to one term, has made two personal goals this off-cycle, both unthinkable before his 2021 election, passing legislation which restores legal protection to the unborn—and winning the trifecta with GOP control of the governor’s office and both legislative chambers.
The governor has raised more than $18 million for his Spirit of Virginia PAC to achieve both these both goals.
Going into Election Day, Republicans control the lower chamber with a 52-48 edge, but Democrats have a 22-18 advantage in the upper chamber, where they repeatedly jammed up the governor’s agenda. All legislative seats are up this year.
In 2021, Youngkin’s coattails were enough to help Republicans take the House of Delegates. Democrats won control of the Senate in 2019, and this is the Democrats’ first defense of that majority.
The WSOV outlay is its largest ever but closely follows the $1.4 million the PAC spent to back Youngkin’s campaign.
The PAC’s electioneering includes digital ads, voter contact mail, along with phone outreach to voters telling them that Democrats want to remove all legal protections for unborn children, including overturning the state’s ban on late-term abortions.
Dannenfelser said Virginians support both the 15-week ban and the governor.
That support cuts across the political spectrum, with 64 percent of Independents, 55 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of women.
The poll also showed that 65 percent of likely voters oppose allowing abortion up until the moment of birth, which has been proposed and supported by Virginians.
“Virginians are compassionate, and more than 60 percent support Gov. Youngkin and the Virginia GOP’s efforts to protect babies and their mothers from painful, brutal abortions at 15 weeks – which Senate Democrats are blocking,” Dannenfelser said.
“Candidates across this country should take note of how Republicans in Virginia are leading on life by going on offense, calling out the lies of the abortion lobby and exposing their opponents as the true extremists when it comes to abortion.”
– – –
Neil W. McCabe is a staff reporter for The Virginia Star.
Photo “Marjorie Dannenfelser” by Marjorie Dannenfelser. Background Photo “Virginia Capitol’ by Martin Kraft. CC BY-SA 3.0.
