GOP State Senator Glen Sturtevant says he’s brought an independent voice to the General Assembly. But at a debate at VPM studios on Wednesday, his challenger Ghazala Hashmi said Sturtevant’s priorities are misplaced.
Glen Sturtevant was elected in 2015 to represent Virginia’s blue-leaning 10th Senate District.
He’s cast himself as a moderate Republican willing to chart his own course.
“We have got to have someone who is willing to break with their party as I have whether it’s on the ERA or red flag laws or to prohibit gerrymandering,” Sturtevant said.
Sturtevant criticized Hashmi for calling on Governor Ralph Northam to resign at the height of the blackface scandal, only to later accept a $25,000 campaign donation from the Governor’s PAC.
Hashmi called this a distraction from issues that are important to voters.
“The voters that I’m talking to care about healthcare access,” Hashmi said. “They care about the quality of their public education. And they care about gun safety.”
Hashmi noted Sturtevant voted against Medicaid expansion and has blocked what she called common sense gun laws.