Hardly anyone was as happy about the Democratic election in Virginia as Juli Briskman. Her middle finger made her famous and then cost her the job. Today she is a politician.
By Katrin Brand, ARD Studio Washington
Her left middle finger made Juli Briskman famous: her finger and her back can be clearly seen in a photo that went around the world two years ago. “This picture will haunt me for the rest of my life,” Briskman told HuffPost. “This is my butt, this is my finger. But if that’s what this country needs, I’m happy to be that person.”
On a bike tour in Virginia, the 52-year-old is overtaken by Donald Trump’s entourage, the president is on his way to the golf course. Briskman shows the column the stink finger, a spontaneous gesture with consequences, because a photographer captures the whole thing. She is only amused when the picture goes viral. But then she loses her job: her employer has found that she has harmed the company. The single mother, who is already politically active, uses her prominence, runs for the Democrats and now has a job in local politics.
This election day is a triumph not only for Briskman, but also for the democratic party itself. The Republicans ruled in Virginia for 26 years. Only the governor was a democrat. Now Ralph Northam can actually implement his policy with the majority in both houses. A major issue that moved voters was tougher gun laws: “In Virginia, more than 1,000 people died last year from gun violence,” said the governor at CNN, and now people believed enough was enough.
Of course, federal politics also played a role. Trump’s trade dispute is bad for the Virginia economy, Northam said, for example for farmers who have been hit hard by soybean tariffs.
High rents drive democratic voters to Virginia
What has obviously helped the Democrats in Virginia is the proximity to the capital. Washington’s high real estate prices drive many families to the north of Virgina, and there, in the bacon belt, is now democratically elected.
President Trump did not show up in the Virginia election campaign, but he did next door in Kentucky, a traditionally conservative state where he had won three years ago with a big lead. There he called his followers this week to make sure to vote.
“You have to go vote. Because if you lose, that’s a very bad signal. Then it will mean: Trump has suffered the worst defeat in the history of the world. You can’t do that to me!”
Democrats hope for a boost
Trump could now be embarrassed. Because his candidate Matt Bevin, the incumbent governor, actually lost the election, albeit very narrowly, with only half a percentage point behind the challenger from the Democrats. Bevin has not yet recognized the defeat. The meaning of this result is now disputed. The Republicans see it as an outlier, the Democrats, as so often, hope for a boost for next year’s elections. In Mississippi, where voting was also carried out, everything remains the same. As expected, the Republican candidate won there.
