Virginia’s first black Speaker of the House of Delegates, Don Scott, says Donald Trump should not be allowed on the Commonwealth’s primary ballot for the 2024 presidential election. However, Scott’s reason for wanting to bar Trump differs from his colleagues who have pursued ballot bans in other states.
Instead of citing the “insurrection clause” found in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, Scott merely thinks Trump should be banned over ideology. In a recent interview, Scott called Trump “too extreme for Virginia,” adding “and he’ll continue to be.”
A convicted felon, Scott spent seven years in a federal prison on drug charges. In 2013, then-Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) restored the voting rights for convicted felons who were deemed to be ‘non-violent’. This included Don Scott. After his 2002 release, Scott began practicing law, passing the Virginia Bar, and specializing in car accidents and product liability.
Scott was also arrested at a Denny’s restaurant in 1994 during his time at Louisiana State University. He had several thousand dollars in drug money on him at the time and was apprehended attempting to dispose of it in the restroom.
Shortly after this arrest, Scott was released, only to be arrested again several weeks later by federal agents at LSU. He later pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine.
The election of Don Scott as Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates marks a new low for the Democratic Party. Like Scott, several other state-level progressive Democrats have worked to bar Trump from their states’ primary ballots. Thus far only the efforts in Maine and Colorado have borne fruit, and the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to reverse these decisions in February.
