Socialist Drift Rumors Rattle Richmond

man in a suit speaking into a microphone on stage — Photo: The Old Major / Shutterstock

When a former top law enforcement officer warns that socialism is creeping into Virginia politics, many voters hear it as yet another sign that the people in charge are playing dangerous games with their future.

Story Snapshot

Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is warning voters about what he calls a rising socialist threat in the state.
Miyares is campaigning with 8th District Republican candidate Tony Sabio, who brands Democratic Socialists as enemies of America.
Virginia has already elected at least one openly socialist lawmaker, and a self-described socialist has even run for governor.
Experts and activists still argue over what “socialism” actually means, and whether current Virginia policies truly fit that label.

Miyares returns to the trail with a warning about socialism

Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has stepped back onto the campaign trail, and he is not doing it quietly. He is urging voters in the 8th Congressional District to back Republican candidate Tony Sabio, while warning that socialism is on the rise in Virginia politics. Miyares frames this as more than a normal partisan fight. For many frustrated citizens, his message taps into a deeper fear that radical ideas are being pushed by a political class that will not have to live with the fallout.

GOP candidate Tony Sabio has leaned into this message in front of crowds, calling Democratic Socialists the “real enemies of America,” according to the interview coverage. That kind of language alarms liberals, who see it as demonizing opponents, but it also resonates with conservatives who worry that the country is drifting away from free markets and individual liberty. Both men are casting the race as a choice between protecting traditional American values and sliding toward a system they link to failing socialist experiments overseas.

Why Virginia is part of the national socialism debate

Virginia is not starting from zero in this debate. In 2017, voters in the state elected Lee Carter, an open democratic socialist, to the General Assembly in a notable upset over a powerful Republican incumbent. Carter later ran for governor as a self-described socialist, showing that the label has moved from the fringe into the main stage of Virginia politics. For voters who already distrust the political class, these wins raise real questions about where the state is heading and whether party insiders are being honest about their goals.

Supporters of Carter and similar candidates say socialism, as they use the term, is about workers owning and running the economy rather than big corporations or distant investors. Carter described it as an economy “owned and operated by the people who actually do the work.” Policy experts add that, for many Americans, socialism also means strong government support such as health care, retirement, and sometimes control over key industries. That wide range of meanings lets politicians on both sides stretch the word, which often leaves regular people unsure what is rhetoric and what would change in their daily lives.

How parties and activists weaponize the “socialist” label

Democrats themselves are split on how to handle the word. After the 2020 elections, centrist Democrat Abigail Spanberger told fellow House Democrats that they should never use the word “socialist” or “socialism” again, blaming it for some election losses. That candid warning showed that even some on the left see the label as toxic with swing voters. At the same time, socialist organizers in Virginia celebrate recent policy wins such as new gun controls, abortion access protections, easier voting, and anti-discrimination laws as part of a broader progressive shift.

Conservative media and activists, including some backing Sabio, often point to those same policies as proof that socialism is advancing in Virginia. They link the trend to national examples, from city councils with socialist members to economic disasters in places like Venezuela, arguing that the United States could face deep losses in growth and income if it moved toward more state control. That message speaks to long-standing fears on the right about government overreach and on the left about elites making decisions that could wreck the economy while insulating themselves from harm.

What is known, what is not, and why voters feel stuck

The public record shows that self-described socialists do hold and seek office in Virginia, and that they speak in terms of worker ownership and strong social programs, not open state takeover of all business. It also shows that the state has passed a series of left-leaning laws in recent years. What is missing so far is hard, Virginia-specific economic data tying those shifts to clear economic collapse or clear broad gains. That gap gives each side room to push its own story while everyday families still struggle with costs, wages, and opportunity.

For many Americans of all political stripes, this fight over the word “socialism” fits a larger pattern: big promises, heated labels, and little focus on fixing real problems like broken schools, expensive energy, and housing that working families can no longer afford. People see politicians test marketing terms instead of solving anything. Whether one fears socialism, corporate greed, or both, the shared concern is that a distant political class keeps gambling with the system while the American Dream slips further out of reach.