The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), a group working to elect down-ballot Republican candidates, unveiled a new video Tuesday morning slamming Virginia Democratic lawmakers’ opposition to enacting new tax cuts.
The RSLC’s 30-second video, titled “Tax Laughs,” urges Virginia residents to reject Democratic candidates running for elections in November over their refusal to support tax relief, according to background on the video obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The Republican group rolled out a memo on May 13 arguing that Republican candidates can be successful in the Commonwealth’s 2025 state legislative races by highlighting state Democrats’ “broken promises” on taxes, crime and education.
“We asked Virginia Democrat legislators, ‘What’s the top priority for Virginia families?’” the video’s narrator says in the style of the long-running television show “Family Feud.”
“Bringing down the cost of living? Getting rid of sanctuary cities?” the narrator continues. “Their answer… no tax cuts! Virginia Democrats think tax relief is a joke. Let’s elect leaders who take tax relief seriously.”
The RSLC observes in their recent memo that Virginia’s 2025 state legislative elections could present “significant challenges” for Republican candidates due to Democrats likely attempts to make each race about President Donald Trump’s popularity in the Commonwealth. The president’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts have disproportionately impacted Virginia, which has one of the highest percentage of federal workers in the country.
However, the Republican group argues that Virginia Republicans can defy expectations by employing tailored-messaging focused on kitchen table issues, such as tax relief, that paint Democrats as out of touch.
“Virginia Democrats have made it abundantly clear that they are not committed to advancing affordability in the Commonwealth,” Republican State Leadership Committee communications director Mason Di Palma told the DCNF. “If they truly cared about progress, they would have supported tax cuts instead of voting against them.“Republicans in Richmond stand ready to collaborate with Democrats on these pressing issues, but instead of joining forces, Democrats prioritize political games, which only harm hardworking Virginians. Voters recognize who genuinely advocates for them, and it’s not the Democrats.”
The RSLC criticized Virginia Democrats for rejecting Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposal to provide permanent tax relief on cars. The RSLC’s offense strategy also comes as Democratic lawmakers in Congress are opposinga permanent extension of the president’s 2017 tax cuts and no taxes on tips and overtime pay as part of Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill.”
The Republican group believes that painting Democrats as “ideological and ineffective” will give state Republicans an opportunity to preserve seats in the state legislature and defy expectations that GOP candidates will do poorly in the off-year election.
“As we navigate 2025, Republicans are demonstrating a level of strategic focus and message discipline distinct from what we saw in 2017,” RSLC President Edith Jorge-Tuñón said in a statement sent to the DCNF. “In both Virginia and New Jersey, GOP leaders are emphasizing the failures of Democrats to deliver on their promises, setting the stage for a campaign centered on accountability, competence, and public trust.”
The RSLC memo also points out that the Democratic Party’s abysmal national approval rating could be a gift to Republican candidates if voters remain sour on the party’s approval rating in November.
The party’s current approval rating nationwide is roughly 16 points lower than it was in May 2017, a year when Democrats flipped 15 Republican-held seats in the Virginia state House.
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