RICHMOND, Va. -- State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D - 16) announced Tuesday that he planned to run for the 4th Congressional District seat left vacant by the late Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin.
The flamboyant attorney, who overcame a litany of past scandals to win election to the state Senate in 2020, took the opportunity to speak out against the method his Democratic Party planned to use to choose its nominee. The 4th Congressional District Democratic Committee voted Monday night to hold a firehouse primary, in which voters cast ballots at multiple locations, on Tuesday, December 20.
"Instead of holding a firehouse primary on Saturday, December 17, 2022, like we have always done firehouse primaries on Saturday, letting everybody vote. The Fourth Congressional District Democratic Committee chose an unprecedented Tuesday, special election nomination process. It will have the direct effect of chilling and limiting voter turnout," Morrissey said. "That's what the Democratic Party elites did. This decision that they made last night is the most anti-working class, anti-Democratic, anti-women's decision since the Byrd era."
Morrissey said "Democratic Party elites" chose that format to help get "their person" elected.
"I am not whining. I'm not complaining. I will fight back. I will work hard. My parents taught all of us never to give up, never to quit. And that's what we'll do. So we'll play by your rules. Shame on you, Susan Swecker, and the Democratic elites for what you did. We'll play by your rules and we'll beat you," he said.
CBS 6 has reached out to the Fourth Congressional District Democratic Committee and the Virginia Democratic Party for a response to Morrissey's comments.
Democratic state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, another well-regarded veteran lawmaker who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor last year, announced her candidacy on Tuesday.
Following questions from the press, McClellan expressed understanding on the timing.
"I think given the timeframe put in place by the governor calling the special on February 21 left them little choice. I think mobilizing voters in less than a week would would have been even more undemocratic," said McClellan. "They wanted to make sure that as many people as possible could get the word and get out and, unfortunately, with a nominee having to be in place by December 23, they didn't really have much choice."
Del. Lamont Bagby, who has represented part of suburban Richmond's Henrico County in the state House of Delegates for nearly a decade and chairs the powerful legislative Black caucus, announced his candidacy on Monday.
Democrat Joseph Preston, an attorney who served for a year in the General Assembly after winning a special election, declared his candidacy in a news release and filed paperwork Tuesday.
Tavorise Marks, a civil rights activist and former state House candidate, announced a run on social media and officially filed paperwork shortly after midnight on Wednesday.
The partisan lean of the district, which includes parts of eastern Richmond and Henrico County, presents an enormous challenge to any Republican candidate and makes it a prize for a Democrat.
Democrat Terry McAuliffe defeated Youngkin last year in the district by 24 points, though he lost statewide by about two points, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine defeated his 2018 GOP opponent, Corey Stewart, in the district by 40 points, according to VPAP’s accounting.
On the Republican side, pastor Leon Benjamin who twice previously ran unsuccessfully against McEachin — announced on social media he would run again.
Dale Sturdifen, a retired Virginia State Police officer and staffer for U.S. Rep. Bob Good, also confirmed his candidacy to CBS 6 on Tuesday and filed his paperwork on Tuesday afternoon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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