By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – In a strange but determined turn of events this election season, Republican lieutenant governor nominee John Reid released a video Tuesday featuring himself alongside an AI-generated voice reading state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi’s public statements.
The nearly 43-minute video appeared on Reid’s campaign website after 125 days without a joint forum. He called it “the debate that should have happened.”
An AI-generated voice read from Hashmi’s verified remarks while a moderator asked policy questions and Reid responded in real time. Reid said the format was designed to replicate a standard debate using her publicly available positions.
He opened by contrasting his platform with Hashmi’s record, saying she supported longer school closures, higher taxes, and early inmate releases, positions he argued have hurt Virginians and that most oppose.
At the start of the debate, the AI voice of Hashmi said she is running “because voters need someone who has the experience, knowledge, and ability to fight for Virginians, especially given the chaos coming out of Washington.”
Reid replied that “it’s too bad Senator Hashmi won’t appear for a real debate,” adding that “she’s not willing to engage in her own campaign for lieutenant governor.”
He said the event gave him a chance to “expose the irrational positions that Senator Hashmi has espoused” and to highlight his own background “as someone who’s worked for a former president of the United States and run communications at the highest levels of government.”
“I’ve been to 113 countries around the world,” he said. “I’m probably the most open-minded and well-traveled person who’s ever run for office in Virginia.”
Reid answered questions on the economy, right-to-work laws, and energy policy. He said raising the minimum wage would cost jobs and said reinstating Virginia’s electric vehicle mandate would hurt the state’s competitiveness.
He said no one in Virginia “wants the state government dictating what type of vehicle they can drive,” adding that economic decline would make it harder for families to keep up with environmental goals.
He also defended parents’ rights in education saying, “I have to stand up for families and let parents make these decisions instead of bureaucrats in the school system.”
The AI-generated Hashmi voice said, “We need to look out for and protect the rights of our transgender children,” supporting access to sports, bathrooms, and surgeries for minors who identify as transgender.
Reid responded that young people “deserve counseling that will help them feel comfortable in their own body.” He described himself as a historic candidate, saying, “I am the first gay person in either party to run statewide and to be on a ticket, Republican or Democrat.”
On abortion, Reid criticized a proposed constitutional amendment supported by Democrats as “extreme,” saying it would allow abortions up to the day of birth.
The debate later turned to questions about gun violence and public safety.
The AI-generated Hashmi voice stated, “I strongly support universal background checks, strengthened red flag laws, and banning assault weapons, which are weapons of war,” while Reid said, “law-abiding gun owners are not the problem.”
Reid closed by saying Virginia needs leadership focused on public safety, jobs, and the economy.
He ended by telling voters, “We’re not going to agree on everything. It’s completely OK. Unlike most politicians, I’m not here to make you bow down to me. I’m here to offer solutions economically and culturally that will put us in a better position as we compete with other states.”
The video drew reaction from Virginia Democrats, who shared images from the debate and wrote, “Tonight, we congratulate Senator Hashmi for winning John Reid’s fake debate, and thank John Reid for sharing Ghazala’s winning message.”
State Sen. Jennifer Boysko also criticized the video, writing that Reid “is getting so desperate that he has produced a debate of his own with a fake AI-generated debate of Ghazala Hashmi.”
It marked a first for Virginia politics: a real candidate debating an AI version of his opponent.