Restoration PAC, a non-partisan political action committee, released an advertisement Tuesday, highlighting the crime spike across Virginia.
The murder rate in the state has climbed to the highest level in the state since 1998, resting at over 6 per 100,000 residents, according to statistics from the Virginia State Police. In 2020, there were 537 reported homicides, an increase from 455 the year prior, while a majority of the state’s large jurisdictions also reported a marked increase in homicides.
“Murder rates are spiraling in Democrat-run cities and states across America,” Restoration PAC Founder and President Doug Truax told Old Dominion News. “Terry McAuliffe has already demonstrated his failure at controlling those rates in Virginia – why would Virginians give him another chance?”
Truax formed Restoration PAC in 2015 and it has since become one of the most effective conservative SuperPACs in the country. It’s 2020 anti-Biden TV spot, “Very Good Reasons” was one of the most prolific and persuasive advertisements in the presidential campaign nationwide.
The $1.75 million ad buy this week highlighted Democratic Candidate Terry McAuliffe’s record as former governor when it comes to crime.
“Who will keep us safe in Virginia? Murder rates are at a 20-year high with no end in sight,” the ad’s narrator stated solemnly. “Last time he was a failure. Under his watch, murder jumped 43%. His parole board picks turned criminals loose. Now, he’s cozying up to radical groups that want to defund the police. Terry McAuliffe – he’s too dangerous for Virginia.”
In addition to homicides, the state has seen significant increases in aggravated assault, human trafficking, and kidnapping cases as well, especially in the past two years, the state police reported.
The Trafalgar Group, the most accurate pollster of the past four years, recently released a poll showing McAuliffe’s opponent, Glenn Youngkin, with a 2.2 point edge in the governor’s race. At that time, the Trafalgar Group showed McAuliffe with 47.5% of votes on a ballot test asking voters who they would support.
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