A Democrat worth backing in her Virginia primary contest

I normally don’t suggest that Power Line readers vote for a Democrat. If I have ever done so, I’ve purged it from my memory.

However, voting for a Democrat is something that readers who are registered to vote in Arlington County, Virginia should consider. The race in question is the Democratic primary contest for Commonwealth’s Attorney. The Democrat worthy of support is the incumbent, Theo Stamos.

The primary is “open” so that any registered voter can participate regardless of party affiliation. The date of the election is June 11.

Here’s the background. Stamos is opposed by Parisa Tafti, a criminal defense lawyer. Tafti has received more than $50,000 worth of contributions from a PAC funded by George Soros. That’s quite a sum for a local race like this one.

One of Tafti’s main lines of attack on Stamos is that she refused to prosecute a case of “police brutality” stemming from a shooting by an officer in 2015. The officer in question required more than 60 stitches to close the wound on his face after he was attacked by a man with a metal bar.

The Arlington County Police Department, the Arlington Police Beneficiary Association, and the Arlington Coalition of Police have demanded that Tafti apologize for her claim of police brutality. I understand that she has changed her rhetoric and now talks of “police accountability.”

The Democratic establishment in Arlington isn’t upset with Stamos because of the bogus police brutality issue. Her real sin, as I understand it, is that she backed an independent candidate and longtime good friend for the Arlington County Board. This breach of party discipline must be punished, even if it means electing a lefty candidate who wanted to prosecute a police officer who was brutally attacked with a metal bar.

One more important point in Stamos’ favor: Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe is against her. She opposed McAuliffe’s felon rights proposal when McAuliffe was governor. Now, it’s payback time.

The June 11 primary will effectively decide who the Commonwealth’s attorney will be. I’m told that Republicans haven’t won a race in Arlington County in decades.

However, voting for Stamos won’t preclude one from voting for the Republican candidate in November. It will simply represent an attempt prevent a Soros-funded, anti-police leftist from defeating a competent and fairly sensible prosecutor.

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