Virginia, Please Vote For the Democrat Not The Cool Stripper Against Annoying GOP Senate Candidate Tara Durant

Durant is probably also a big liar.

Virginia Republicans are eager to gain control of the state Senate, and their ambitions hinge on the outcome of some key elections today that could go either way. One to watch is the Senate District 27 race in the Fredericksburg area where Democrat Joel Griffin faces Republican Del. Tara Durant.

Durant was swept into public office two years ago in a wave of fear. She earned national attention when she placed a 911 call in June 2020 claiming that Black Lives Matter protesters had surrounded her car. As she describes in full dudgeon on her website, the protesters were more like an “angry mob” of “rioters” who “assaulted” her innocent automobile with her defenseless 12-year-old daughter inside. The police apparently told her they were helpless to do anything because it was one of those city-approved riots.

The video made it to Tucker Carlson (of course) who lamented how Durant (like so many white people) was “intentionally abandoned by the state that promised to protect them.”

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The story became a regular part of her standup set stump speech. During a September debate, she said, “I got into public service two years ago because the personal safety of my daughter and me were threatened. Two years later, liberal Democrats in Virginia, they continue to threaten our security. The only way we can stop them from controlling us is if we not only hold to our majority in the House, but we flip the Senate. That’s why I’m running for Senate.”

Here’s where we all act astonished to learn that Durant’s story might not have been entirely on the up and up. Jennifer Bendery at the Huffington Post reports that “newly obtained documents relating to Durant’s 911 call, in addition to an interview with a protester who was present during Durant’s supposed assault, tell a different story of what happened that day ― one that suggests Durant has been significantly exaggerating.”

HuffPost reviewed copies of police reports, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, that suggest Durant instigated a confrontation with protesters, who regularly held peaceful demonstrations in the area, and that she tried to hit them with her car as they stood in a crosswalk.

According to the police reports ― which characterize the protest as peaceful, with “no arrests or property damage” ― witnesses told police there was a car being aggressive toward protesters in the same intersection where Durant was located, at the same time she was there.

One way to interpret this, which requires a functioning brain stem, is that Durant probably tried to run down protesters who were in her way and when some of them said “ouch!” too aggressively, she called the manager at 911.

Democrat Joel Griffin is a former Marine and the former chair of Stafford County’s Economic Development Authority. This is his first run for office, and I’d feel better about his chances if there wasn’t a left-leaning independent candidate also running. This is a serious election, y’all, with real stakes and everything, but we’re still playing silly games.

Stafford County Supervisor Monica Gary has previously won office as an independent and turned down appeals to compete for the Democratic nomination and not split the vote. She wasn’t interested. It’s a shame, as she’s charming and I’d recommend considering her if she wasn’t just a spoiler.

“I’ve always run a true independent campaign,” she said. “So, even though I lean left, I have a lot of Republican supporters.” Sure, they probably won’t actually vote for her, but Republicans definitely support her running against both Griffin and Durant, especially Griffin.

Gary is openly pro-abortion rights, which is great but won’t endear her to most Republicans. She also embraces her past career as a stripper, and I applaud her. She is still not taking a single vote away from Durant.

If you’re a Virginian in District 27, go vote for Griffin and keep Durant out of the Senate.

[Huffington Post]

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