FAIRFAX, Va. — First-time voter Vivienne Branson and her mother, Claire, a public schoolteacher from Fairfax, cast their votes for the Democratic ticket at Fairfax Government Center.

If Republicans take hold of the governorship, the Bransons would want to leave their home state of Virginia.

“He’s like a mini-Trump,” Vivienne said of GOP gubernatorial nominee Glen Youngkin. “I’m not doing that again.” Her mother, too, is “terrified of the prospect of having someone else like Trump in power” in Virginia.

“As a mother with daughters,” Claire said, “it’s important for me that they maintain their right to choose their reproductive path.” And for her children, she also wants to “follow the progressive agenda” toward renewable resources and climate change action. 

These issues keep getting pushed aside, Claire said, and they’re not “anything I’ve ever heard anyone who’s conservative mention.” 

The Bransons acknowledged that Youngkin has promised to support teachers and families, but Claire called this messaging “off-putting” and the “pandering” of a “tiny Trump.” 

Claire worries that Youngkin is too detached to take care of his constituents. “I don’t think that someone who is a millionaire from Great Falls knows what the average working person goes through. I don’t think he would look out for us.”

Read the article on USA Today here.