Northam in for LG

My state senator, Ralph Northam, has made it official: he is running for Lieutenant Governor.

“While Virginians desperately needed their representatives to find solutions that would improve education, fix our broken transportation system, and help put people back to work, Republicans used their majority to launch an all-out assault on women, working families, and the LGBT community,” he said in an e-mail to party steering committee members.

“As I spoke on the floor of the Virginia Senate to defend a most basic right of women — the right to control their own bodies and personal health — I was struck by how far Virginia’s government had strayed from its most fundamental mission of improving the lives of all Virginians. As a doctor, I have learned that I am supposed to heal, not harm; to lift people up, not keep them down. With these lessons firmly in mind I am proud to announce my candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.”

Northam, a pediatric neurologist in his second term in the senate, joins Aneesh Chopra in the contest.

Northam will officially kick off his campaign this Thursday, December 6.

Democrats will be nominating candidates for all statewide offices via a primary next June. The Republicans will choose their candidates via a party convention.