Ken Reid issued the following statement on Tuesday, June 20th, following the defeat of moderate Senator Chap Petersen in the Democrat primary:

It appears tonight that Saddam Azlan Salim has won the Democratic nomination for State Senate in District 37 in Fairfax County, defeating four-term incumbent Chap Petersen. I am the Republican candidate in this district and look forward to debating on the issues, and I call upon him to accept that challenge. I congratulate Mr. Salim on his victory.

When the voters of this district learn what I stand for, and examine my record of 10 years of elected service and an additional 10 years advocating for better transportation solutions in Northern Virginia, I believe they will see me as the Sensible Choice to be the next State Senator from District 37.

The policies Mr. Salim advocates would be harmful to the Virginia economy, and thus, our quality of life. He also does not have the legislative background to represent the district in Richmond, especially the relationship between the municipalities and the General Assembly.

Getting rid of right-to-work laws and imposing more government burdens on small business, allowing continued sexualized course material in public schools, weak law enforcement, and imposing further extremist environmental provisions on the populace, are not “Progressive” policies, but “regressive.” They will only serve to raise taxes and drive business out of Virginia, and with that, people will move and our schools quality will suffer with it.

I do not believe Fairfax County residents want this community to become a failing “regressive” city like Baltimore or San Francisco.

In contrast, I have a record of 10 years of delivering pragmatic results as a County Supervisor and Town councilmember in Leesburg, and a record of working the General Assembly and executive departments in Richmond. I support keeping the Dillon Rule and right to work, tackling crime, traffic congestion (including helping Metro) and teaching public school children how to think, not “what to think.”

I welcome Sen. Petersen and his supporters to help my campaign. Chap has clearly been rejected by the Democratic Party and has no political future in it.

And, I urge the voters to select me as their next State Senator on Nov. 7, 2023.

Ken Reid is the GOP nominee for Senate in Virginia’s District 37. To learn more and/or to get involved, visit KenReid.org.