By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Over 100 Fluvanna Democrats and progressives gathered Saturday afternoon (Oct. 5) for the 8th Annual Justice Jamboree Crab Fest.
Organized by the Lefty Lunch Ladies, Fluvanna Leaders for Race and Diversity, and the Fluvanna Democrats, the event included – as always – fresh-caught Chesapeake Bay crabs, music, and conversation.
But with exactly one month to go until the 2024 general election, the focus was on one thing: electing Democrats to Congress and to the White House.
Medal of Freedom recipient and Gold Star father Khizr Khan said that he had recently started to “sense the spirit that made Virginians and others sign the Declaration of Independence. I would encourage you all to read it before the election.”
He also urged the audience to “reach out to those who haven’t made up their minds yet.”
Jackson Miller, a Democratic Party organizer, said that one in six registered voters in Virginia had already used early voting to cast their ballots.
But all the speakers agreed that it wasn’t time to sit back and relax. “We have four more weekends,” said Delegate Amy Laufer (55th District).
“We have 31 days,” said Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney. “This is a margin of error race, and this is a margin of effort race.”
If the deadlocked presidential contest between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was uppermost in everyone’s minds, State Senator Aaron Rouse (7th District) argued that local Democrats shouldn’t give up on winning the 5th Congressional District race, where Democrat Gloria Witt is facing off against Republican John McGuire.
“Do not be afraid of the work,” Rouse said. “We can flip this district.”
Witt, the final speaker of the day, was upbeat about her chances. Democrats could not only win the race, she said, “we will redefine how you win in the 5th District.”
