Battling Va Dems hope showing up cuts into longtime GOP advantage
Bilal Raychouli and Randolph Critzer are running in the Virginia District 72 primary to take on veteran lawmaker Lee Ware in November
Bilal Raychouni and Randolph Critzer are locking horns in Virginia’s 72nd House district, one of many Virginia primary battles which will decide who shows up on the ballot in November.
Which may seem odd, because this rural expanse to the southwest of Richmond, has elected incumbent Republican Del. Lee Ware repeatedly by 2:1 margins every two years going back at least to 2009, according to Ballotpedia.
"I still get a lot of surprise when the Democratic committee shows up in places and the first thing I hear is, 'I didn't know we had any Democrats brave enough to live out this way,'" Raychouni told 24sight News.
Virginia primary voters will decide the Democratic nominee for the 72nd district, and the state’s other intraparty battles, including heated contests for lieutenant governor, June 17th.
Raychouni, a middle school computer science teacher and Virginia Young Democrats member ran for the seat in 2023 and lost to Ware roughly 68 - 32, by a margin of 11,999 votes.
But the stunning turn from the White House since the inauguration, including the firings of thousands of workers, many of whom live in Virginia, a rollercoaster of new taxes on imports, new orders limiting free speech and education and more, have energized voters.
Critzer, a life-long Virginia resident, lived in several areas before returning to his hometown of Midlothian to start his law practice.
Critzer is running for the House District 72 seat in hopes that he will provide answers to the district's issues that haven't been resolved by the current Delegate, including the absence of basic needs like broadband internet access and even clean drinking water.
Critzer believes that the district will have a stronger Democratic vote in November than it may seem on paper. Even though the area is historically conservative, he wants to show rural citizens that the Democratic Party is tuned in to the issues facing their area.
"The needs of people out in districts like mine are universal and they're as important as any of the needs of any of the more blue-leaning districts throughout the state," Critzer told 24sight News.
"A Democrat running in what is historically a deep red district still has a lot of opportunities right now," Fiddler said.
Critzer feels that it is crucial for voters to be able to choose not only who their representative will be in November, but who their nominee will be in June, an essential function of democracy that gives voters as much power as possible.
"Right now, people across the country and across Virginia are looking to see, 'what can the party do to make sure that democracy works?'" Critzer said. "It's equally as important that they get to suss out which of their nominees are more viable for the long haul and who, on the whole slate of candidates, really has an opportunity to enact meaningful change."
Carolyn Fiddler, a longtime state politics expert now working as communications directors for the Democratic Attorneys General Association, told 24sight News that she has seen an increase in energy throughout the Democratic Party since President Trump was elected for the first time in 2016.
"A good primary election is important to testing the health of a candidate and the viability of a campaign," said Fiddler. "The fact that so many Democrats filed to run in so many seats this year is overall a real symptom of the overall health of the party at the Virginia state legislative level."
A key theme that Fiddler predicts will be present throughout the House races is a focus on what Democrats have accomplished while they've held the majority and what they could have accomplished without Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's vetos.
Republican officials' responses to the federal government's actions will play a role in this year's election, as citizens want elected officials who take action to protect them, Fiddler said.
"A Democrat running in what is historically a deep red district still has a lot of opportunities right now," Fiddler said.
was surprised and pleased to see more engagement in the election this year.
Raychouni said contesting every race is important because it forces incumbents to spread resources they may otherwise funnel into battleground state House districts, and it introduces new conversations to communities throughout the state.
Critzer and Raychouni are both running in support of better education funding and health care options, but divert in other areas.
Raychouni is focusing on a rural shortage of medical providers and improved access to public transportation. The longtime activist is also concentrating on human rights for women and the LGBTQ community.
Critzer, however, is campaigning on improving the cost of living in Virginia and protecting democracy and the Constitution.
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Having elections every year allows Virginia Democrats to learn from federal elections and stay tuned in to national sentiments, Raychouni said, especially after presidential elections.
"There's a feeling that if we didn't do so well on the national level, let's take the lessons we've learned and let's double down on the state level, and hopefully take notes this time,” he said. “Learn from what we did right, learn from what we did wrong, and use 2024 as the model for what to do differently in 2025– and hopefully carry those notes forward.”
Several House of Delegates districts will hold Democratic primaries this year. Two districts even have three Democrats running: Arlington's strongly blue-leaning House District 1 and the competitive House District 75, south of Richmond.
One of the three primary candidates running for the 75th district is Lindsey Dougherty, who told 24sight News that redistricting and federal changes will only increase people's awareness of the importance of Virginia's elections this year.
Only two of the 12 Democratic primaries are in districts that are historically blue, with the others either leaning Republican in their voting patterns or recognized as a competitive district.
"One of the great things about the party is that there's room for difference of opinions on various things," Fiddler told 24sight News. "But in terms of core values, Democrats are aligned."