“Liberation” Party Candidate Disrupts VA Gov Debate

September 29, 2021 News, Politics

UPDATE: The first version of this post mistakenly called her a candidate for the Libertarian Party. My mistake!

Yahoo News reports:

Third-party candidate Princess Blanding derailed a gubernatorial debate between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Younkin, shouting from the audience and forcing moderators to take an unexpected commercial break.

Blanding, representing the Liberation Party, is on Virginia’s general election ballot alongside McAuliffe and Youngkin but was not invited on stage for Tuesday’s debate.

Several minutes into the debate, Blanding began shouting from the audience and forced the debate to pause for a full minute before moderator Chuck Todd of NBC said there would be a commercial break.

The Hill reports:

Blanding and a few of her supporters were heard yelling at McAuliffe and Youngkin within the first 20 minutes of the debate, claiming she was not able to participate because of racism and that she had been shut out of the contest.

“You are not going to win, Terry,” Blanding was heard shouting. Blanding told reporters after she left the debate hall that the censorship of her candidacy was “racist,” “sexist,” “oppressive” and “a form of voter suppression.”

“Their goal is to make sure that Virginians don’t know that I exist so that they feel they have to choose between the lesser of two evils,” Blanding said.

#VaGov debate went to commercial after third part candidate Princess Blanding and her supporters interrupted pic.twitter.com/nJ6VnHcnLV

— Julia Manchester (@JuliaManch) September 28, 2021