The Republican primary in SD-12 is already contentious ahead of the 2023 elections. The district is reliably Republican but the three candidates seeking the GOP nomination are already throwing jabs at each other.
State Sen. Amanda Chase is facing a challenge from former Sen. Glen Sturtevant and Tina Ramirez for the Republican nomination. In an email to her supporters early Tuesday morning, Chase attacked Sturtevant for his vote in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment in 2019.
Sturtevant lost his seat in 2019 to state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) during a year when Democrats took control of the Senate and House of Delegates. Chase told her supporters on Monday that his loss was due to his votes on the Equal Rights Amendment and red flag laws.
“He wants you to think he lost simply because of a blue wave that swept out several Republican Senators in 2019,” Chase wrote in the email. “The truth is he lost conservatives when he voted for red flag laws which deny gun owners due process and sponsored the so called Equal Rights Amendment that ushers in gender fluidity.”
When asked if he would like to comment on the email from Chase Tuesday, Sturtevant told Virginia Scope he has not read it. “I try to avoid reading spam,” he said.
Chase’s close ally in the state legislature, Del. John McGuire (R), was also an original co-sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment in Virginia. McGuire eventually changed his tune on the ERA by the time Democrats gained control of the General Assembly.
Del. John McGuire (R) speaks against ERA calling it outdated, says it’s expired, and says it “harms women” – gets some laughs from supporters – complains the amendment is open to interpretation. Cites states that have withdrawn ratification https://t.co/WuDlemyYEq
— Max Smith (@amaxsmith) January 15, 2020
Chase has served in the state Senate since first being elected in 2015. Sturtevant was also first elected in 2015 but he only served one term. Redistricting placed both Hashmi and Sturtevant in the same district as Chase this year, but Hashmi is moving to a neighboring Chesterfield district that is more friendly to Democrats.
Ramirez is also seeking the GOP nomination in SD-12. She sought the nomination to run against Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) in VA-07 in 2020 but lost to Del. Nick Freitas (R). Ramirez was running against Spanberger again this year until redistricting shifted the district to Northern Virginia.
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