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Facing Two Primaries, Del. Elizabeth Guzman Drops Campaign For Lt. Governor

RadioIQ

One of the candidates in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor is dropping out of the race to focus on keeping her current seat in the House of Delegates.

Delegate Elizabeth Guzman was one of four House members trying to wage simultaneous campaigns for statewide office while also facing primary challengers for their House seats.

Former Republican Delegate David Ramadan, now at George Mason University's Schar School, says the latest round of fundraising numbers prompted Guzman’s decision to drop her campaign for lieutenant governor.  "When you look at your statewide race and find that your ranking number four or five or six in fundraising for that race, your chance of winning it becomes less and less and if you keep at it that means you are basically giving away your local delegate race to your opponent."

Delegate Mark Levine is also facing a primary challenger while trying to run for lieutenant governor. Delegate Lee Carter has two primary challengers for his House seat while he's also running for governor. And Delegate Jay Jones has a primary challenger while he's also trying to unseat incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring.

Democratic strategist Ben Tribbett says they're all facing the same pressure that caused Guzman to drop out. "It's why you see state senators run for statewide office usually, not House of Delegates members, because their elections don't coincide with the statewide races. Voters don't appreciate when people don't want the job to represent them. It's just not a good look."

None of these candidates planned to run for two offices simultaneously. But they were forced into the situation when Census data was delayed and the redrawing of House districts was postponed.

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

Michael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria.