ANALYSIS: A Different Vibe for the Coles
Virgnia's Democratic heavy-hitters showed up for Josh Cole and Nicole Cole on Friday night, and they brought a preview of how Dems plan to run in 2025, as well as a tip for the nation.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Democrats have been sullen, and disoriented, since the presidential election. On Friday night at Pimenta, Virginia Democrats got their mojo back.
Del. Joshua Cole (HD-65) and the Democratic candidate for HD-66, Nicole Cole, hosted their campaign kick-off at the Jamaican-themed restaurant, and the state party’s heavy hitters — House Speaker Don Scott, attorney General candidate Jay Jones, and State Sen. Jennifer Carol Foy — were there for them.
Their presence was about more than support for the two Coles, however. They also brought a clear, succinct message. Democrats are here for Virginia’s families.
In his address to the roughly 80 people who turned out on a cold, blustery night to support the Coles, Jones set the tone for the evening.
In his campaign, he began, we are “fighting for Virginia’s families, and keeping them safe, and protecting our rights and our freedoms.” He went on to specify that that means “fighting for our education system,” as well as “making sure that everybody has access to healthcare.”
Those two themes — plus others, including affordable housing and better wages — were oft-repeated throughout the evening.
For State Sen. Jennifer Carol Foy, that fight for families has a decidedly economic tone. She — and later House Speaker Don Scott — took a talking point that Gov. Younkin has leaned into and stole a bit of his thunder.
“Virginia again has been named the best state in the country to do business, and that is because of the policies, bills, and budgets that Democrats have passed.”
Both Foy and Scott have more than a leg to stand on. As the Advance noted in July when the rankings were released, both public education, which Gov. Glenn Youngkin has consistently fought to undermine in Virginia, and abortion rights, which again Youngkin tried to roll back, were the two factors that pushed Virginia back into the No. 1 slot.
House Speaker Scott hit those same themes when he told the Advance prior to taking the stage that his support of Joshua Cole is tied to Cole’s ability to fight for what matters to Virginia’s families: “Josh wants to make sure that we have an economy that works for everyone. He wants to make sure that we continue to expand our access to childcare, make sure we that we continue to have a first-class education for every child in public schools … and to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to continue to promote public safety, including gun safety.”
The 2 Coles
That focus on families also ran through the talks that Josh and Nicole Cole delivered.
Referencing the work in the House before him this year, as he runs for re-election, Josh Cole said “our focus … is working class citizens and making sure … everybody has their fair chance.”
He referenced a bill he just filed allowing first-time home buyers to “take advantage of a $10,000 tax credit to go toward their first home.” He also filed a bill that would limit landlords to charging just the first month’s rent and a security deposit. This, he says, should help keep more people from being locked out of homes.
Cole also put in a bill to remove two SOL tests so that students, whom he says are under too much stress on the testing front, won’t be burdened by those.
Nicole Cole, per a press release that dropped a half hour prior to the kick-off event, is “focused on the ‘3 Es” — Environment, Education, and Economics.”
Her speech on Friday night touched on all three, with an emphasis on delivering the resources that the residents of HD 66 need to achieve the goals that they want to reach.
She also spent time addressing the challenge before her — unseating Bobby Orrock (though she didn’t say his name), an institution in the House of Delegates.
“We can win this seat,” she said. “Both Spotsylvania and Caroline County have a strong Democratic population. We have a lot of independents as well, who voted for me for School Board. That is the difference in regards to this time around.”
She also noted that it was going to take financial support from citizens to make this happen.
Referencing the 2023 run for HD 66, Cole applauded Mark Lux, who took 44% of the vote, while only spending just over $3,000, according to VPAP. By contrast, Orrock took 55% of the vote, but spent over $302,000 to earn those votes.
“We got to 44% with a little bit of resources,” she said. “We can get to 51% with more resources with a candidate who is going to do the work.”
A National Message — And a Challenge
The packed house at Pimenta saw a traditional kick-off to two General Assembly House elections, but those elections alone are not what brought three of Virginia’s leading Democrats to this ethnic restaurant from points, south, east, and north of Fredericksburg.
They came to deliver a taste of how Democrats are planning to bounce back from November’s defeat. It starts with new messaging.
Speaker Scott delivered that new message with verve.
He started out the evening by asking the crowd to remember a number — 260.
“That’s the number, $260 million … that’s what they estimate at a minimum [Elon Musk] spent on the election,” he told those in attendance. He used that number to argue that the economy is working for the wealthy, and that it’s time to make it work for everyone.
That appeal to the working class was in line with the theme of supporting Virginia’s families that ran through the evening’s talks.
But when Scott returned to that number at the end of his speech, he had a twist. Musk, rather than being the villain, became the example of what happens when people commit to a cause.
“If we want to win the next election, we have to put in the work,” he began, “Ya’ll remember that number 260? That man put skin in the game.”
For Scott, the road back to Democrats controlling Washington begins in Virginia, with Virginia Democrats showing up, and showing out, for their candidates.
“Virginia is the last bastion of freedom” Scott said. “We’re the buffer between D.C. and everyone else. We have an opportunity to show the rest of the country how to fight, how to stand up for our freedom.”
Should the Dems prove successful in 2025, and in the years to come, remember this evening at a small Fredericksburg restaurant, when the Democrats got back to their working-class roots, and challenged their base to put skin in the game.
Updated Jan. 4, 2025, at 10:45 AM to correct the spelling of Del. Bobby Orrock’s name and Nicole Cole’s House District.
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Her speech on Friday night touched on all three, with an emphasis on delivering the resources that the residents of HD 66 need to achieve the goals that they want to reach.
Correction on District for Nicole Cole for HD66. Thank You!