In the final debate in the Virginia lieutenant governor’s race, Republican candidate Jill Vogel said her Democratic opponent Justin Fairfax, a successful former federal prosecutor, could not “talk intelligently” after he brought up her widely decried transvaginal ultrasound bill. DNC Chair Tom Perez issued the following statement in response: 

“Jill Vogel is trying to save a floundering campaign by using the ugliest play in Donald Trump’s playbook: baseless personal attacks on your opponent’s credentials to distract from your own failed record. Since she obviously can’t defend requiring transvaginal ultrasounds, Vogel is lashing out at Justin Fairfax by claiming he can’t ‘talk intelligently’ enough about the issues that matter most to Virginia families. Not only are her comments an obvious racial dog whistle that too many Virginians have been subjected to, they also minimize the concerns of women across the commonwealth who have the right to make health care decisions with their doctors, not politicians. 

“Sadly, this is what we’ve come to expect from Republicans who take their cues from President Trump. But Virginians have already rebuked their brand of racial grievance politics and they’ll do so again next month when they elect Justin Fairfax lieutenant governor.”