“Scandal-plagued failed former Congressman Scott Taylor has always put himself, his donors and special interests ahead of the people of his district and not much has changed since Virginians voted him out of office in 2018. While the election fraud scandal that took down Scott Taylor still looms, Congresswoman Elaine Luria is focused on delivering for her constituents. Whether working across the aisle to lower the cost of prescription drugs or repealing unfair taxes on Gold Star families, Elaine puts Coastal Virginia families first, because for her, they’re what matter most.”—DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos
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To: Interested Parties
From: Christine Bennett, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 23, 2020
Subject: The Case Against Scott Taylor
Failed former Congressman and former Senatorial candidate Scott Taylor is running on the same disastrous congressional record that put politics and special interests before people. Scott Taylor mounted another run in the 2nd district only after failing to get any traction in his Senatorial bid, proving yet again, that the people of the 2nd district aren’t a priority for Scott Taylor.
Taylor’s repeated votes to gut health care and protections for Virginians with pre-existing conditions, his vote to give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires while failing to pay his own taxes on time, and his ongoing legal troubles led to his defeat in 2018, and they will defeat him again in 2020. Scott Taylor is still a troubled politician who puts his own self-interest ahead of Virginia’s 2nd district.
Representative Elaine Luria, ranked the third most effective member of the House, puts Coastal Virginia families first. Her experience as a Naval Commander, small business owner, and mother informs the work she does every day. Rep. Luria is working across the aisle to lower prescription drugs prices and to protect Virginians with pre-existing conditions. She also reduced taxes on children of service members killed in combat and led the bipartisan effort to repeal the widows’ tax that unfairly taxed survivor benefits.
An effective and hardworking legislator with four bills already signed into law by President Trump and a track record of service and bipartisan leadership, Rep. Luria has the momentum and support needed to win re-election, especially when facing a candidate in Scott Taylor whose flawed record and flawed character have not been forgotten.
Rep. Luria has put together an impressive re-election campaign with the resources necessary to win. She heads into the general election with more than $2.6 million cash on hand. Scott Taylor is far behind – entering the general election with less than $300,000 cash on hand and significant debt.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
HEADLINE: Luria’s Bipartisan Bill Becomes Law After Being Signed By President Trump [WTKR, 10/1/2019]
HEADLINE: Rep. Luria Calls For Study To Examine Cancer Rates Among Fighter Pilots [WTKR, 2/13/2020]
HEADLINE: Luria Leads Effort Reducing Prescription Costs For Military Families, Retirees During COVID-19 [WAVY.com, 4/13/2020]
HEADLINE: Luria Snags A Pair of Legislative Victories for Veterans and Their Families [WVTF, 5/27/2020]
HEADLINE: US House passes bill with Congresswoman Luria’s amendment to help blinded veterans [13 News Now, 7/23/2019]
SCOTT TAYLOR: Rejected One-Term Congressman, Self-Dealer, Still Beholden to Special Interests
“BAGGAGE”: HAUNTED BY PETITION-GATE
Scott Taylor’s 2018 re-election campaign was embroiled in the election fraud scandal now known as “petition-gate.” The campaign committed “out and out fraud” with “intent to defraud the Commonwealth” when collecting signatures to get an independent candidate, Shaun Brown, on the ballot to sway the election. Taylor had one goal: split the vote between Brown and Luria to boost his own re-election chances. What’s worse, Taylor’s campaign concocted this scheme using government resources, directing his staff to collect petitions at a meeting in his congressional office, a clear violation of House Ethics Rules. This revelation called both his leadership and character into question and damaged his candidacy.
Since his embarrassing defeat, things have only gotten worse for him. After losing the election, one of Taylor’s staffers pleaded guilty to willful neglect of election duty for her role in the scandal. Another staffer was indicted by a Virginia Beach grand jury this spring and has a court date scheduled for September. And though Taylor has tried to claim otherwise, the special prosecutor announced that the investigation into Taylor and his campaign remains open and ongoing, saying we were “likely to see more” indictments and legal action in the future.
Taylor conceded that the controversy is a major reason he lost in 2018, and fellow Republicans agree. Ben Loyola, Taylor’s opponent, said it best: Scott Taylor’s criminality bring problems to this district.
With the looming threat of more investigations to come, “petition-gate” is sure to be an albatross on his candidacy again.
STILL BAD ON HEALTH CARE
Virginians rejected Scott Taylor in 2018 in large part because of his reckless votes to dismantle health care, breaking his promise to protect coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. Taylor, who has claimed he was elected specifically to gut the Affordable Care Act, voted for the repeal bill that would have left 45,000 of his own constituents without health care. Additionally, Taylor, who wants to raise the retirement age, voted against lowering out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors and voted to gut Medicare, on which 21,069 residents in Virginia’s 2nd district rely.
If Taylor had his way and the repeal bill had become law, Virginia would not have been able to expand Medicaid to cover an additional 400,000 people. Likewise, an additional 30,000 Virginians would not have been able to enroll in Medicaid during the coronavirus pandemic. Since Virginia expanded Medicaid, tens of thousands of residents have been treated for underlying conditions of the virus, including high blood pressure, asthma and diabetes.
Rep. Luria’s record could not offer a starker contrast against Taylor’s. After running on making health care more affordable in 2018, Luria has spent her first 18 months in Congress focused on lowering health care premiums and prescription drug costs for military families.
BAD ON TAXES FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS AND MILITARY FAMILIES, GOOD FOR HIS OWN
Scott Taylor was delinquent in paying his property taxes several times in 2018 and 2019, claiming he “got busy” campaigning and was too “caught up with everything in Washington” to pay his bills. The legislating Taylor claimed distracted him included voting to raise taxes on the middle class and lower taxes for real estate owners like himself. That tax bill primarily benefited the wealthy, corporations, special interests, and Scott Taylor. In short, Scott Taylor chose to raise taxes on voters in his district and cut himself a break while his own unpaid property tax bills were piling up.
Taylor also voted to severely raise taxes on the families of service members killed in action. Thankfully for military families across Virginia’s 2nd District, Rep. Luria successfully led the fight to repeal this tax hike.
PATH TO VICTORY
Virginia’s 2nd congressional district is home to the country’s largest naval base and one of the highest populations of active duty servicemembers and veterans of any congressional district. Majority suburban and diverse, VA-02 is a true swing district reflecting the kind of communities that are trending toward Democrats.
Quality affordable health care remains the number one priority for voters, and with health care at the top of their minds, Coastal Virginians will remember why they rejected Scott Taylor in 2018. Taylor’s votes against health care will be relitigated in another election and are just as damaging this cycle. Additionally, investigations into the election fraud surrounding Taylor’s 2018 re-election bid are still ongoing.
To drive home her bipartisan record and Scott Taylor’s record of failure, Rep. Luria has put together an impressive re-election campaign, raising more than $3 million to date.
The contrast between Scott Taylor and Rep. Luria couldn’t be clearer: During his brief time in office, Scott Taylor repeatedly put his self-interests above his constituents, while Rep. Luria has used her real-world experience as a Naval Commander, small business owner, and mom to get results. Unlike her failed predecessor, Luria has a proven record of working with people to deliver for her district, including introducing four bills signed into law by President Trump.
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