History was made in several races during the 2017 off-year elections, with minorities, first-timers, and other under-represented candidates winning their campaigns. But it was no easy feat. Some hopefuls were hit with racial epithets and discriminatory advertisements before they won.
And for them, victory sent a clear message: our state is not a state of hate.
At least this was Virginia’s delegate-elect Elizabeth Guzman’s reaction. She and Hala Ayala this year became the first two Latinas ever elected to the state's House of Delegates. In an interview with Cheddar on Tuesday, Guzman said that many Republicans were mimicking the anti-immigration rhetoric exhibited by President Donald Trump. In her case, her opponent accused her of wanting to protect criminals.
“I think it was a huge response from Virginia to Washington, D.C., and also to Richmond, and Prince William County,” she said about winning. “We are not a state of hate. We are a state that is diverse, and we are proud of our diversity.”
Guzman, who began campaigning in October 2016, says her children were a motivating factor for her run for office. The public administrator and social worker was already heavily involved in her community. As a delegate, she hopes to encourage Latin children to feel represented and hopes more people with her background run for office in the future.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif. 15th District)
Officer Kim Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon both resigned two days after the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center.
Japan’s government has decided to start releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years.
President Joe Biden and congressional leaders will pay their respects to Evans, who was struck by a car and killed while he manned a barricade near the Senate side of the building.
The U.S. government’s budget deficit surged to an all-time high of $1.7 trillion for the first six months of this budget year.
Will Smith and director Antoine Fuqua have pulled production of their runaway slave drama “Emancipation” from Georgia over the state’s recently enacted law restricting voting access.
The chairman of the Federal Reserve says the U.S. economy is poised for an extended period of strong growth and hiring even though the coronavirus still poses some risk.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson told Cheddar he tried to stop a ban on transgender treatment for youth, as written, because of its broad language and failure to grandfather in patients already receiving hormonal treatment.
After a sleepy couple of weeks, by Washington standards, it’s back to business as usual with Congress back in town.
Mayor-Elect Tishaura Jones joined Cheddar to discuss her historic victory and what to expect of her priorities for the city of St. Louis going forward.
