An anti-Southern Bigot Hits Bottom, Doesn't Bounce
The fall of Levar Stoney: How Richmond cost him the race for Lt. Gov.
Shtuff Happens…
In 2016, the city of Richmond elected a 35-year-old upstart Democrat named Levar Stoney as its mayor. In 2020, the city elected him again.
But on Tuesday, Richmond voters summarily rejected him in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor. He finished second among six candidates statewide and lost the race to Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield.
It was a close but stunning defeat for a candidate who was once a protégé to then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe and remains well-funded and well-connected. What was most startling about Stoney’s performance was how badly he performed in his hometown city of Richmond.
Among 28,000 votes Richmond residents cast, fewer than 6,000 – about 21% – went to Stoney. Hashmi amassed more than 58% of the city’s vote and claimed the primary by less than one percentage point. She will face Republican John Reid in November’s general election.
In his concession, Stoney’s campaign noted he lost by just 4,000 votes in a primary of 485,000 ballots. Put another way: Had Stoney performed better in his hometown — where he lost to Hashmi by 10,500 votes — he would have won.
“You take out Richmond, and he wins the state,” said Bob Holsworth, a political analyst. “You had people who were just angry with him and came out to make a statement.”
Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, won the Democratic nomination for…