Sen. Louise Lucas lashes out at fellow Democrats, claims support of opponent is bid at Northern Virginia power grab

Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas is no stranger to social media feuds, but this week the Portsmouth Democrat took a surprising swing at members of her own party, accusing some legislators of supporting her primary opponent to prevent her from leading a powerful committee.

“There are people working to shut Black leaders out of key positions and hiding behind regional arguments,” she wrote Monday on Twitter. “Today I am going to call them out publicly.”

Hours after her initial posts, at about midnight, Lucas identified the legislators as state Sens. George Barker, Barbara Favola, John Bell and Scott Surovell, as well as Justin Fairfax, an attorney and former lieutenant governor.

Lucas is facing off against Sen. Lionell Spruill, D-Chesapeake, in the newly drawn Senate District 18 as a result of redistricting. Both lawmakers are Black. The five legislators Lucas identified are each listed as a “special guest” for Spruill’s fundraiser luncheon next month in Tyson’s Corner. Favola has since pulled out from the event.

If reelected, Lucas explained on Twitter that she would be the most senior member of the Senate and in line to chair the Virginia Senate Finance Committee. She alleged that those individuals, who are all from Northern Virginia, don’t want someone from “downstate” to hold the position.

Lucas alleged this was why they were supporting Spruill.

“I usually stand by and don’t call out bullshit publicly,” she wrote. “But to have colleagues working to raise money to try to defeat me because they don’t want communities like mine to have the kind of influence and power I have accumulated meant that I had to speak up.”

The Senate and House of Delegates are both expected to undergo significant upheaval following a wave of retirements this year in the General Assembly.

The June 20 primary pits Lucas and Spruill against one another in a district that spans Chesapeake and Portsmouth and includes about 71,000 voters from Spruill’s old district and 61,000 from Lucas’ former district, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Surovell said members of Senate Democratic Caucus had agreed during session to support one another in the pending elections.

“I told (Lucas’s) consultant who reached out to me that I would likewise appear at any fundraiser she holds in Northern Virginia if my calendar is free, just as I would do for any other member of the Senate Democratic Caucus,” he wrote to The Virginian-Pilot.

Surovell said he had not — and would not — endorse Spruill or Lucas because both are valued caucus members.

Favola declined to comment.

Bell, Barker and Fairfax could not immediately be reached Tuesday.

A spokesperson for Spruill said the legislator is working to unite Democrats.

“While some Democrats want to focus on dividing our party, Senator Spruill will remain focused on going after Governor Youngkin’s attacks our values,” Susan Rowland, Spruill’s chief of staff, wrote in an email.

Susan Swecker, chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, declined to comment.

This is a developing story.

Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com