In what is now nothing more than word play, “Republican” Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms has endorsed US Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat, in his reelection bid.
This is not the first time Sessoms has crossed party lines and made the party cross.
Sessoms notoriously endorsed Terry McAuliffe last September, prompting Virginia Beach GOP City Committee chair Ken Longo to claim, “[Mayor Will Sessoms] is not a member of the Republican Party and never will be as long as I’m chair.”
Sessoms was removed from the party after his endorsement, although as recently as earlier this year he still considers himself a Republican:
“In my mind, I am a Republican….I am going to vote for the best person, and 90 percent of the time, that’s a Republican.”
Sessoms, while a bulk of his donations have been to Republicans, did, according to VPAP.org, donate $1500 to former Del. Glenn Croshaw the year he was upset by former Secretary of Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs Terrie Suit, $1000 to Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, and $450 to former Sen. Stanley Walker, the year he was upset by former Sen. Nick Rerras.
For what it’s worth, I’m not all that surprised in today’s development.
However, it is disappointing.
While I disagree with the mayor on much, he figured out how Republicans could win in Virginia Beach and was one of the early leaders of the Beach’s realignment.
Of course, whether he could have been considered a moderate Republican even before these endorsements is debatable, but it still takes 51% to be elected. And, before 2013, Sessoms needed conservatives to win. Today, he’s acting as if he no longer needs conservatives to get to that threshold and has jettisoned them over the side. Now, conservative positions are not even considered in his efforts to remake the beach at the expense of taxpayers.
No, today was not a surprise, but it did make one thing crystal clear: Sessoms is a Democrat now. And all Republicans at the Beach – including those who are elected – need to remember it.
