*This story was updated Friday morning to show that Hashmi received a $15,000 donation from the chief financial officer and executive vice president of Comstock Holdings, one of the main companies advocating for a Fairfax casino. She received an additional $10,000 directly from Comstock, and Rouse received $5,000.
PRINCE WILLIAM, Va. — Six Democrats hoping to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor shared the stage Wednesday night for a wide-ranging debate that highlighted contrasts in experience, policy priorities and political strategy ahead of the June 17 primary.
The candidates are state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi of Chesterfield; Prince William County School Board Chairman Babur Lateef; state Sen. Aaron Rouse of Virginia Beach; former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney; Arlington attorney Victor Salgado; and attorney Alex Bastani.
A long list of topics was discussed, with very little interaction between the candidates. It was advertised as a debate, but the format was more like a forum.
Tysons Corner casino
Salgado opposed a Tysons Corner casino and delivered the night’s only direct attack, aimed at Hashmi and Rouse
“Unfortunately, we have Senator Hashmi and Senator Rouse, who are financing their campaigns with big casino money and skill gaming money,” Salgado said. “It’s no surprise, of course, that they would vote to bring none other than Steve Wynn, Donald Trump’s good friend, into Northern Virginia to build a casino that nobody asked for, and that Tysons and that northern Virginians don’t want.”
Rouse has been a sponsor of skill games legislation in the past, and both he and Hashmi voted in favor of allowing Fairfax County to hold a referendum on bringing a casino to Tysons Corner. That legislation failed to advance out of the House of Delegates earlier this year.
Rouse has received more than $100,000 from skill games groups, while Hashmi has received $2,000 from skill games groups.
Hashmi received an additional $15,000 donation to her state Senate account from Christopher Guthrie, the chief financial officer and executive vice president of Comstock Holdings. Comstock is one of the main forces pushing for the Fairfax casino.
She also received $10,000 directly from Comstock Holdings five days before the donation from Guthrie in December of 2024. Rouse received $5,000 directly from the company to his Senate account on December 26.
Hashmi transferred $269,900 from her state Senate account to her lieutenant governor campaign, and Rouse transferred $238,335, according to VPAP.
Comstock Holdings donated to a long list of legislators in 2024.
“It’s important that we reform our campaign finance laws, because they did this knowing that we would have to carry Northern Virginia,” Salgado continued. “They jeopardize our electoral prospects just so that they can service their patrons in the casino industry.”
Hashmi and Rouse did not directly address the attack from Salgado.
“Any time I take a look at a bill or an item of legislation, it is through the lens of working families,” Hashmi said. “It is through the lens of how it can impact, support and assist our working families. And I will support legislation that provides good union jobs, that enables an economy to grow robustly and expand our middle class, an opportunity for families to live in areas where normally the cost of living would be prohibitive, an opportunity for working families to let their children go to excellent schools in areas that they would otherwise not be able to.”
Rouse pointed to his time on the Virginia Beach City Council and said he disliked state lawmakers dictating local decisions.
“I never liked Richmond telling us what to do, so I supported legislation giving the localities the option to decide to put on a referendum to decide whether or not they want a casino,” Rouse said. “The other part of that is also supporting our workers, supporting our labor unions, making sure they have good, high-paying jobs, so they can take care of their families.”
Rouse sponsored legislation to legalize skill games in Virginia in 2024, championing it through the Democratic General Assembly, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed it.
Salgado did not mention Stoney, who received $25,000 from skill games operator Pace-O-Matic.
Stoney also advocated for a casino in Richmond, which failed in a referendum vote twice.
“I’ve sat down with those who were operators and casinos who wanted an opportunity to build in Richmond, and I negotiate with them,” Stoney said. “The voters had a say twice, and they said no.”
Stoney said he does not support a casino at the proposed Tysons Corner location in Fairfax, but he does support giving localities the option to vote on having a casino in Northern Virginia.
“We’ve heard loud and clear from residents all across the county, but particularly in Tysons Corner that they do not want to see a casino there. So I support the residents on this one.”
“I just don’t believe that this is the best site for a casino right now in Fairfax County,” he continued. “However, am I open to a casino in Northern Virginia? Yes, but is this the site? No.”
Lateef said he opposes the Tysons Corner casino and all skill games across the commonwealth.
Bastani said he opposes the Tysons Corner casino but does not believe in an outright ban on casinos and skill games across Virginia.
Addressing learning loss
Lateef said the General Assembly needs to invest more in public education, citing the surplus the state keeps reporting each year.
“We need to make sure Virginia contributes their share,” Lateef said. “Fairfax is running a budget deficit. Virginia is 42nd in the nation for contributions to K-12. We need to get more money from Richmond. Those are our tax dollars, and when they’re running $1 to $2 billion surpluses, they need to invest that money back in our communities and for our children.”
Stoney emphasized a need for one-on-one tutoring for students who need help catching up.
“The best way to do that is to fund the operation,” Stoney said. “We need to reverse what happened during the great recession and fund those caps that occurred on support staff. In addition to that, we also have to ensure that our kids receive high-dosage tutoring – one-on-one attention – whether virtually or in person, and we need to put robust funding behind that.”
Rouse called for increased investment in public education, and Hashmi highlighted her past work as chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee to support public schools. However, neither directly answered the question about what specific steps they want to take to address learning loss in the future.
Bastani said the Northern Virginia tax base needs to be redistributed across the entire commonwealth to help struggling schools.
Salgado called for more public education funding.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
Rouse said Republican attacks on DEI initiatives are code language for racism.
“What Trump and Elon Musk are doing is creating fear and attempting to separate us,” Rouse said. “One thing about DEI, we must understand that this is code language. That’s taken us back to an era of racism and discrimination. Here in Virginia, we won’t have that.”
Stoney said Trump and Youngkin are trying to rip opportunities away from people who have earned their credentials.
“I want every person out there to know that if you work hard and play by the rules, you’re going to get an opportunity in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Stoney said.
Bastani said repealing Virginia’s right-to-work law would help create a sense of community in the state’s workforce.
“Studies have shown that caucasian workers who are in unions tend to be less racist, less sexist, less homophobic,” Bastani said. “It’s about building connection.”
Salgado said Trump is using DEI to divide Americans.
“Trump is putting us back, is sending us back in this quest towards a more perfect union, and he’s using these codes to do that, to divide us,” Salgado said.
Lateef said success for Virginians comes from including the voices of all different types of people.
“We have worked very hard [in Prince William County] to make sure that success reaches everyone, and we do that with a commitment, by listening to everyone and hiring everyone and making sure everyone has an opportunity,” Lateef said.
Hashmi, the only woman in the race, said DEI is coded language for racism and misogyny.
“I remember a time when women were denied here in Virginia opportunities to higher education,” Hashmi said. “I remember a time when there weren’t any opportunities for women to get banking services – they had to use their husband’s records to ensure that they could get financial products. The efforts that we have made in diversity, equity and inclusion have led to policies and opportunities that open doors for everybody.”
While the candidates discussed and agreed on most issues Wednesday night, the only main responsibility of the lieutenant governor is to preside over the Senate and cast tie-breaking votes.
Early voting is already underway in the primary to choose the Democrat who will run against the Republican nominee, John Reid.