[ET via Zero] Entrepreneur Juan Pablo Segura looked like the perfect Republican candidate to win the newly-created Virginia State Senate District 31 that includes much of Loudoun County, home of the parents’ rights movement that gained national attention.
But when the votes were counted in the 2023 race that was among the most expensive campaigns ever in Virginia, more than 52 percent of the ballots went to his Democrat opponent, in a loss that shocked more than a few Republicans who thought it was their year.
Democrats’ warnings of Republican threats to abortion access were the factor that produced the Virginia surprise that could be repeated nationwide in 2024, according to Democratic strategists.
But a Republican campaign pollster sees a huge shift among a key voter group concerning the millions of illegal immigrants that have crossed into the United States since 2021 under President Joe Biden’s open border policies.
That shift could counterbalance the abortion issue. |