EXCLUSIVE — John Reid, Virginia‘s GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, is spending six figures to pressure his Democratic opponent to stand behind a podium and debate him before Election Day.
Reid’s campaign is running a 30-second ad, obtained first by the Washington Examiner, that will air statewide during Thursday’s attorney general debate, marking his latest attempt to pressure state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, into facing him onstage. Reid’s team said the spot highlights “an important part of the election process” that voters expect and deserve.
The ad features Reid staring straight into the camera, hands clasped, as he invokes what he calls Virginia’s “tradition of vigorous debate,” accusing Hashmi of “ducking and making excuses” and challenging her to face him “anytime, anyplace.”
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As the ad builds, Reid casts himself as the candidate willing to show up, promising to “explain and defend” his ideas while suggesting Hashmi is hiding from voters. It ends with a symbolic image: an empty podium marked with a sign that reads, “Where’s Hashmi?”
The release of Reid’s ad comes just days after Hashmi unveiled her first general election spot, a biographical commercial that highlights her background as a mother and longtime educator.
The ad battle comes on the heels of a rocky moment for Virginia Democrats, who were forced to confront violent text messages their attorney general nominee, Jay Jones, sent in 2022, comments that sparked bipartisan criticism and complicated the party’s message heading into November.
The Jones debacle was a key theme of the sole gubernatorial debate between Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger last week. Earle-Sears repeatedly pressured Spanberger to call on Jones to exit the attorney general race, but the Democratic candidate only denounced Jones and said voters should use their judgment on who to support.
Hashmi similarly called Jones’s comments inexcusable and called for him to take accountability, but she has not publicly said he should step aside.
Republicans, including Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, have seized upon the issue, which they think can help blunt Democratic momentum heading into Election Day.
Miyares will face Jones on the debate stage Thursday at the University of Richmond, and the text messages are sure to be a key theme of their matchup.
In the race for lieutenant governor, a new Trafalgar Group poll showed Hashmi leading Reid, 46.8% to 45.9%.
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Hashmi, who flipped a suburban Richmond seat in 2019 to become the first Muslim woman elected to the Virginia Senate, has not committed to any lieutenant governor debates this cycle.
Reid, a conservative radio host on Richmond’s WRVA, secured the GOP nomination earlier this year after Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity withdrew for health reasons. A longtime fixture in Virginia media, Reid has sought to present himself as a straight-talking conservative willing to challenge leaders of both political parties.