Virginia has never elected a woman governor. That changes on Tuesday.
Democrat Abigail Spanberger is facing off against Republican Winsome Earle-Sears for the Old Dominion State's top job. Spanberger is white, Earle-Sears is Black. Spanberger is a former CIA officer, Earle-Sears a former Marine, so both are made of steel and apple pie.
And in the case of Earle-Sears, bile. As the Marines famously planted the flag on Iwo Jima, she's infamously planting hers in a toilet.
She stands outside school board meetings to fuss over which bathrooms transgender students use. Her campaign ads, like Donald Trump's last year, characterize her opponent as "being for they/them." Earle-Sears and the Virginia Republicans have pounded on this "issue," obviously mistaking trans kids for the Viet Cong.
Spanberger leads in the polls, but we know how potent the culture wars can be. On the other hand, how many transphobic Trump fans will be willing to vote for a Black woman? This Virginia race is quite a study in the impacts of transphobia, racism, and sexism.
It's hard to keep track of who should be hating whom. I bet even the bigots are getting confused.
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