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For Better or Worse, Politics Central to Virginia's Attorney General's Race

Steve Helber
/
AP

 

 

Virginia’s Attorney General has sued the Trump administration five times. He’s challenged the president’s decision to end DACA, the so-called Muslim Ban, and the recent decision to end subsidies that help poor Virginians afford health insurance.

Now Mark Herring is up for re-election, and criticized for being too political.

 

John Adams, the Republican candidate for Attorney General, told the Richmond Times Dispatch he got into the race because of what he sees as the extreme politicization of the office.

“When I saw the Attorney General picking and choosing what laws to defend and focusing on what is clear to me is a political agenda in the office, I thought I’d give Virginians another choice,” Adams said.

But part of the Attorney General’s job is defending the rights of Virginians, argues Ravi Perry. Perry is chair of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Political Science department.

“That goes for everyone in the Commonwealth of Virginia, that’s not just the people we like or are neighbors, or the people we agree with,” Perry said. “And I think the current Attorney General has made it very clear that that is the type of office that he seeks to run.”

Republican state attorneys general began suing the federal government in earnest during the Obama administration, bringing attention to what they often deemed executive overreach. Now Democrats are taking a page from the same playbook.

“They can use the power of their office, band together with other attorney generals across the country, and really influence national policy beyond the state level,” explained Perry.

That means the race in Virginia has drawn a lot of outside attention. The two candidates have raised millions in contributions and political advertising, including from groups like Planned Parenthood and the NRA.

Mark Herring and John Adams meet for their final debate Friday in northern Virginia.

 

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

 

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