Dr. Sebastian Gorka, a conservative radio and TV host with over 3 million listeners, came to Woodbridge to stump for Mike Van Meter, who was running for State Senate in District 33 against Jennifer Carroll Foy, vying to return to the Virginia Capitol.
Gorka said Van Meter is running in the strongly-leaning Democrat district, which includes portions part of southern Fairfax County, and Woodbridge Prince William County, in hopes to counteract ideological changes ushered in under Democrats, who controlled the House, Senate, and Governor’s office until 2021.
“The real power is in the state house,” said Fairfax County resident Gorka. “It’s the school board; it’s the sheriff. We know America is not just a nation. It’s a republic with towns, counties, and villages.”
Gorka said people nationwide are concerned about crime and the rise in drug deaths. More than 100,000 people died from fentanyl overdoses in 2022. Both button topics will be critical issues in the November 2023 General Election, he said.
Crime has been up in all categories in Virginia in the past year. In Prince William County, 70% since 2019, where the county is on track to exceed the number of homicides (14 so far in 2023).
Van Meter is an addiction counselor who works with recovering addicts. During his campaign event, which attracted about 50 people to the Harbor Grill, he sold screen-printed t-shirts with the message “fentanyl kills.”
“Democrats are not equipped to deal with this problem, and they’re doing nothing about it,” said Van Meter. “Fentanyl is a synthetic drug, and trying to get people off of it is hell.”
Gorka worked in the Trump White House in 2017 and praised his former boss and the state’s current Republican Governor, Glenn Youngkin, who became the first Viriginia’s GOP governor since 2009. Gorka said Youngkin only won his race against former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who served from 2014 to 2018 when McAuliffe said parents shouldn’t have a say in their child’s public school curriculum.
Afterward, Youngkin began campaigning on the phrase “parents matter.” “Glenn Youngkin won in the last minute because he engaged the culture wars,” said Gorka.
Trump came to the Prince William County Fairgrounds in 2015 in his run-up to the White House. The next time he visited the commonwealth was a stop at an airport in Hampton Roads in 2020, to primarily reach the northeastern North Carolina residents via local TV stations. I asked Gorka, who has a direct link to the 45th president if Trump should stop ignoring Virginia and campaign here and whether or not he thinks Youngkin should join him on stage should Trump hold a rally in the commonwealth.
Historically, Youngkin has distanced himself from the former president.
“I’m not to answer a loaded question about Trump ignoring Virginia, but yes, Glenn Youngkin needs to get his act together,” Gorka replied. Trump lost Virginia by six points and 10 points in 2016 and 2020, respectively.
Both Gorka and Van Meter disparaged both political parties. “Rs and Ds beside a candidate’s name are irrelevant. It comes down to do ‘do you love America, or do you hate America,” said Gorka. “Trump won [the presidency] despite the GOP, not thanks to the GOP.”
Van Meter said there had been a lot of fighting among Virginia Republicans in the days leading up to the June 20 Primary Election. Senate District 27 in Stafford and Fredericksburg is an example. Tara Durant, endorsed by Youngkin, defeated political outsider Matt Strickland for the GOP nomination, and Strickland has yet to concede.
“Our time for choosing candidates is over, and our job is to elect Republicans by hook or by crook,” said Virginia National Republican Committeewoman Patti Lyman, who attended Van Meter’s fundraiser.
House District 33 has no incumbent and was created by the Virginia State Supreme Court as part of the state’s 10-year redistricting process. Van Meter is a retired FBI agent who later taught the FBI Academy.
Carroll Foy served a term-and-a-half in the House of Delegates, representing Woodbridge and northern Stafford County. She stepped down to run for governor in 2021.
Carroll Foy has raised $1.5 million for her senate race, compared to Van Meter’s $18,500. The General Election is Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Early voting begins Sept. 23, 2023.
Gorka said Virginia’s 45-day early voting policy lends itself to fraud.
“Virginia has 45 days of voting. It’s insane,” said Gorka. “Do you vote again and again until the communists win?”
Gorka’s daily nationally-syndicated radio show is distributed by the Salem Media Group. He also hosts a weekend TV show, “Reality Check,” on Newsmax.
