Vol. 42, No 8 www.arlingtondemocrats.org August 2017 Latest poll shows gubernatorial The GOP may sue this conservative Virginia candidate race is now a dead heat: 44-44 over the The latest statewide poll shows a dead heat in 46 percent had no opinion. Gillespie was rated fa- the gubernatorial election with each major party vorably by 36 percent and unfavorably by 20 per- design of candidate drawing 44 percent support. cent with 44 percent having no opinion. his yard The poll, taken by Monmouth University in The poll found substantial regional differences. signs. New Jersey, surveyed 502 Virginians from July 20 Northam led in northern Virginia by 13 percentage to 23. points and in the eastern areas by 9 percentage points. The poll found only 3 percent support for Lib- Gillespie led by 2 percentage points in the center, a See Page ertarian Cliff Hyra and 1 percent for write-in candi- statistically meaningless difference, but by a whop- 5. dates, with 9 percent still undecided. That 9 per- ping 18 percentage points in the western areas. cent is enough to swing the election either way and The only other statewide poll published so far points to the need for a savvy campaign. was taken just after the primary by Quinnipiac Uni- As for issues, 37 percent put health care and versity and showed Northam with a comfortable health insurance as one of their top issues, which lead 47-39. would seem to play into the hands of Northam, a The race is expected to be an intense one with This Confederate-loving physician by profession. Second was jobs at 25 per- contributions rolling in from all over the country Republican wants to run cent followed by since there are only the economy and two gubernatorial a ‘vicious’ education at 20 elections this year, campaign percent each. in Virginia and against Asked their New Jersey. “general impres- Gillespie sig- Tim sion” of both can- naled an early start Kaine. didates, voters to the campaign rated them simi- when he began run- larly. Northam was ning TV ads in ma- See Page viewed favorably jor media markets 6. by 38 percent and July 26, a very early unfavorably by just start for campaign 16 percent, while NORTHAM GILLESPIE spots. Here are some ways to help out We have some interest- The campaign is in FULL SWING right now. Arlington voters to turn out to offset all those down- ing numbers for you You don’t have to wait for Labor Day! We need state Republicans and win the statewide races! With- about folks to staff tables at events, make calls and knock out exaggeration, Arlington can provide the margin Virginia on doors. of victory for all of the statewide races — but we need your help to do it. voters. Canvass and Call for Democrats in Arlington We have multiple canvass and phone bank op- The Coordinated Campaign (the statewide ef- portunities each week. Please view the full See Page fort) is ramping up BIG TIME, and we schedule at www.arlingtondemocrats.org/start- need YOUR help talking to voters in Arlington! making-difference-now/, and check back regularly 8. Why spend your valuable volunteer time in reliably for updates. blue Arlington? There are huge numbers of Demo- cratic voters in Arlington, but an astonishing num- “Beyond Arlington” – Flipping House Seats ber of them do not even know that there is an im- Join the Beyond Arlington Program and help portant election this year. Democrats need these continued on page three ACDC Voice, August 2017, Page 2 Report from Chairman Kip Malinosky Fighting for health care The fight for the Affordable Care Act needed essential care and were willing to wait among white Americans has fallen by 4.4 per- (ACA) is the defining legislative fight of our hours or even days to receive it. They needed centage points under the Affordable Care Act. time. This is a life-or-death issue. Without glasses, dental work and many other treat- But it has declined 7.7 percentage points health insurance, people are more likely to die. ments, but could not get the care they needed among African Americans and 9.5 percent- Virginia still has 747,000 residents without elsewhere because they didn’t qualify for age points among Hispanic Americans.” health insurance, but in the last five years Medicaid and couldn’t pay for insurance. States that expanded Medicaid, whether West 129,000 people have gained insurance, ac- Governor Terry McAuliffe, Lt Governor Virginia or Michigan, have seen greater gains cording to an Urban Institute study. Expand- Ralph Northam, Candidate for Lt Governor in coverage than states like Virginia, that have ing Medicaid is the easiest way to ensure an- Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark not. Medicaid expansion would not only be other 400,000 Virginians get health insurance, Herring all visited the RAM clinic. They lis- of great help in southwest Virginia, but also but this is only if the ACA is not decimated at tened to patients and spoke about the need to Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia. the federal level by Republicans. protect the Affordable Care Act and expand Finally, fighting for health care is not just Republicans in Washington and Rich- Medicaid. about health care itself, but also about jobs. mond have done almost everything they can Doctor Northam also took some time to An analysis by the George Washington to deny or take away coverage from millions directly treat some patients. McAuliffe invited University’s Milken Institute School of Pub- of Americans. For seven years in the U.S. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell to lic Health and the Commonwealth Fund found Congress, Republicans have taken more than join him at the clinic, but McConnell declined. that a million jobs in health care could be lost 60 votes repealing the Affordable Care Act. This is a county that voted for Trump by nearly if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. Fur- For three years in the Virginia General As- 80 percent, and yet more Democratic elected thermore, the ACA helped lower the bank- sembly, Republicans have rejected Demo- officials attended than Republicans. ruptcy rate in the United States by half, ac- cratic efforts to expand Medicaid. These votes While the RAM clinic vividly demon- cording to a study by Consumer Reports. A have consequences. strates that the need for better health care is study by the University of Michigan found This is clearly the case in Wise County, still desperate for thousands, it is also clear that Medicaid expansion alone helped create Virginia, where last week thousands of Ameri- that the Affordable Care Act has helped mil- 30,000 jobs in Michigan and paid for itself. cans came for free medical care through the lions, especially minorities. According to Vox All of this progress is at great risk. We Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic. People Reporter Sarah Kliff, “The uninsured rate must do all we can to defeat the Republican repeal efforts in Washington, elect Ralph Northam, Justin Fairfax, Mark Herring and a Democratic House of Delegates, and expand Jerry Botland Medicaid in Virginia. Lives depend on it. Computer Consulting Troubleshoot and resolve computer and Weekends of Action computer related problems. Perform upgrades, set-up wireless routers and print servers. have begun in state Transfer old files, address book and emails On Saturday, July 29, and Sunday, July 30, the Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) from an old computer to a new one. launched its first statewide Weekend of Ac- Phone: (202) 744-0542 — [email protected] tion of the general election. Community leaders, grassroots organiz- ers and volunteers canvassed local neighbor- hoods and held phone banks to urge Virgin- ians to register to vote and vote for Demo- crats up and down the ballot in November. Published monthly by the Activities were launched in many lo- Arlington County Democratic Committee cales, including Arlington, Alexandria, Falls 2001 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite #604, Arlington VA 22202 Church, Mount Vernon, Reston and Manassas. Mailing address: P.O. Box 7132, Arlington VA 22207 On Sunday, Democratic gubernatorial Tel: (703) 528-8588 nominee Ralph Northam opened three new http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org organizing offices in Norfolk, Hampton Roads Chair: Kip Malinosky — [email protected] and Virginia Beach. During the stops, Editor-in-Chief: Warren L. Nelson —(703) 243-7867 (h), [email protected] Northam discussed the need for the Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC commonwealth’s next governor to defend the unless expressly approved by an appropriate committee resolution economic security, health and equal rights of Copyright ©2017, ACDC, All Rights Reserved all Virginians. ACDC Voice, August 2017, Page 3 Here are some Next Monthly Meeting ways to help All Dems Invited Wednesday, August 2, 7 p.m. the campaign NRECA Building, 4301 Wilson Blvd continued from page one Corner of North Taylor and Wilson, just east of Glebe & Wilson Free parking under building, enter from Taylor Street win some House of Delegate seats for the Democratic candidates. Seventeen House of Delegate districts currently held by Republi- Get up to date on the plans already underway for cans voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016; the the fall campaign. The feature of our meeting this exact number needed to win a Democratic majority in the House. month will be the operations of the Joint Campaign We are phone banking every Tuesday (the countywide effort) and the Coordinated and Thursday evening at ACDC HQ from Campaign (the statewide effort) to win elections 6:00-8:30 p.m, You can RSVP at www.arlingtondemocrats.org/start-making- from the state house to the school house.