Multiple state legislators and a member of Congress have called on Democratic primary candidate Shannon Taylor to recuse herself from any matters related to Dominion Energy if she is elected attorney general. The attorney general’s office is tasked with regulatory oversight of Dominion, Virginia’s largest public utility company.
“As elected officials, we write to express our serious concerns regarding the unprecedented campaign contributions you have received from Dominion Energy Virginia, totaling approximately $650,000 according to recent reports,” the letter begins, which is signed by 14 current and former elected officials.
Taylor has received $650,000 from Dominion to support her campaign for the Democratic nomination. All of the signatories of the letter have endorsed her opponent, former state Del. Jay Jones.
The authors of the letter asked that independent counsel handle any Dominion-related cases.
“The integrity of Virginia’s legal system depends on the independence and impartiality of the Attorney General’s office,” they wrote in the letter. “We believe that addressing these concerns proactively will strengthen both your candidacy and the public’s trust in the office you seek to hold.”
Taylor’s campaign pointed to several other powerful Democrats who receive Dominion’s money.
“Just like Attorney General Mark Herring and Governor Ralph Northam, Leader Don Scott, and Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, who have accepted contributions from Dominion Energy, Shannon will always fight to do what is best for Virginia families,” Taylor’s campaign manager Emma Gore said in a statement Tuesday morning.
It is true that former Gov. Ralph Northam, Speaker Don Scott, Senate Pro Tempore Louise Lucas and former Attorney General Mark Herring have all accepted Dominion Energy’s money.
Herring, however, stopped accepting the utility company’s money when he was attorney general.
He talked to Blue Virginia in 2018 about that decision.
“I’ve decided after the election last year that I would not accept contributions from state-regulated monopolies and that’s going to be my policy going forward,” Herring said. “That’s something that I think I could do to help restore the public’s trust.”
Jones accepted donations totaling $1,500 from Dominion in 2017 and 2018, before he began accepting money from Clean Virginia; Taylor’s campaign continues to point this out.
Clean Virginia has given Jones’ 2025 campaign for attorney general $400,000.
Primary day is June 17.
The full letter is below:
