VA, DC Leaders React To Biden's Projected Victory Over Trump

VIRGINIA/D.C. — State and local leaders across Virginia and Washington, D.C., congratulated Democrat Joe Biden for winning the U.S. presidency after unofficial election results in Pennsylvania, with its 20 electoral votes, put him over the 270 benchmark required to win the presidency over President Donald Trump.

Based on the projections by the AP and other news organizations, now President-elect Biden said in a statement he is "honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed" in a ticket that gives America its first woman vice president, 56-year-old Sen. Kamala Harris of California.

Shortly after the television networks projected Biden as the winner late Saturday morning, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tweeted his congratulations to the former vice president.

"Congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris," Northam said. "It's time to come together as a nation to address our challenges and move our country forward. I am looking forward to working with you!"

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who campaigned for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during the Democratic primaries, wrote that the nation has "seen the true power of democracy — millions of Americans going to the polls and sending in their ballots in the midst of a pandemic."

With Biden's election as president, "our fight for statehood continues with a staunch advocate at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," Bowser tweeted. "No matter the makeup of Congress next year, we will continue to make the case to the American people that 706,000 tax-paying Washingtonians."

Sen. Tim Kaine (D) of Virginia, who served as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's running mate in her failed bid for the White House in 2016, said Biden "is going to restore competence, compassion, and character to the White House when he is inaugurated in January — and that's a win for ALL Americans."

Fellow Virginia Democrat Mark Warner, who won re-election to the Senate on Tuesday, focused on the coronavirus crisis in his statement following Biden getting projected as the winner.

"The first order of business needs to be getting #COVID under control & passing a relief package for the American people," Warner said.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton, who represents the Virginia congressional district where Trump was golfing Saturday morning when the networks projected Biden the winner, said that with Biden as president, "we're going to build a better, brighter future for every American family."

State Del. Danica Roem, who represents parts of Manassas, Manassas Park and western Prince William County in the Virginia House of Delegates, noted that Trump was golfing at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, located in her home congressional district, when he found out that he had lost to Biden.

"Three years ago today — Nov. 7, 2017 — Joe Biden called me to tell me I won my election to represent the 13th District of the Virginia House of Delegates," Roem said in a tweet. "Joe, I don't have your cell number. But if I did, I'd call you too. Congratulations. And thank you."

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D), the right-leaning former CIA employee who blamed liberals in the Democratic Party for her nearly losing her Virginia congressional seat earlier this week, congratulated Biden and Harris for the projected victory.

"As the news settles in, I cannot fully express the joy that is knowing that a woman as qualified, thoughtful, and strong as Kamala Harris will be our Vice President," Spanberger said in a tweet. "I’m proud and grateful for the example she is setting for millions of Americans, especially our nation’s children."

Qasim Rashid, who lost his bid Tuesday to oust Rep. Robert Wittman in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District, reflected on the roles play by segments of the American population in Biden getting projected as the winner of the presidential election.

“In the end, the five minority American communities the Trump presidency most viciously targeted — Black, Muslim, Latino, Asian, & Native — cast the deciding votes to end Trump’s presidency,” Rashid said Saturday in a tweet.

Rep. Don Beyer (D), who represents Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, said in a statement Saturday that he recognizes that the presidential election has shown the United States is a divided nation.

“But we also have grave challenges that require immediate action,” Beyer said. “The time has come for President Trump to accept his defeat, pass the torch, and ensure an orderly transition of government for the Biden Administration. He has a unique power in this situation to promote national unity and to spare the country further dangerous civil strife by following the example of every American President, beginning with George Washington: the peaceful transfer of power.”