In Tuesday evening's final debate between the top two candidates vying to be the next governor of Virginia in a competitive showdown, a third party candidate took control away from moderator Chuck Todd.
Princess Blanding, competing as a Liberation Party candidate against Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, was apparently unhappy that she wasn't invited to participate in the gubernatorial debate. Not having a podium on the stage didn't stop her for getting her time in the spotlight, though.
As moderators attempted to call on Youngkin on the topic of reducing crime in Virginia, a woman's voice could be heard quite loudly on the debate feed broadcast on D.C. affiliate NBC 4 as she interrupted the conversation.
Yelling something about being a candidate on the ballot and asking "why am I not allowed on the stage?" Blanding pledged that "as governor I will defund the police" to cheers from some in the audience.
"All right, thank you, thank you, let's give this a minute," Chuck Todd said as Blanding's outburst continued to smatterings of applause.
While not difficult to hear, it was difficult to understand what Blanding was yelling. Some rush/best guess analysis includes comments covering everything from McAuliffe's record on the Second Amendment to mentions of shootings that took place at Virginia Tech and the Virginia Beach municipal complex, and additional complaints about not being on the debate stage Tuesday evening.
what I heard: mcauliffe on guns
— Alex Scribner (@AlexScribnerRVA) September 28, 2021
7:11
mentions vb and vt shootings
7:12
princess blanding(?) talking from the crowd
7:12
shes answering the question
7:12
now talking about being on the ballot but not on the stage
7:12
"security"
7:13
"were gonna take a quick commercial" https://t.co/HzF1gt0a2C
"You're not gonna win, Terry," Blanding yelled.
After allowing the interruption to steal attention for around 45 seconds, Todd called for "security" to get Blanding under control. When that didn't succeed, the Meet the Press host threw to commercial break .
Third-party #VAgov candidate Princess Blanding interrupts the governor's debate live on @NBCWashington and begins heckling the stage, leading @ChuckTodd to call for security and toss to a commercial break.
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 28, 2021
What a mess. pic.twitter.com/HYErNGcIFJ
Another angle of the outburst captured by an NBC 4 reporter shows officers standing around Blanding during the outburst but refusing to forcibly remove her as members of the audience shouted "put her on the stage."
Third party candidate for Gov of VA, Princess Blanding, interrupts the debate between McAuliffe and Youngkin by shouting that she’s been shut out of the race. @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/UedUdwJ9mo
— Drew Wilder (@DrewWilderTV) September 28, 2021
Blanding — who a recent poll showed drawing two percent support — eventually left the debate venue on her own. The same University of Mary Washington poll has Youngkin leading McAuliffe 48 to 43 percent while the Real Clear Politics average shows McAuliffe up 2.9 points with just over a month left in the race.