The second gubernatorial debate on Tuesday saw former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe and Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin take the stage once again to ask for Virginian voters’ support. This time, however, they were not the only two candidates in the room.

Princess Blanding, an activist and educator who is on the ballot as the nominee for the newly-formed Liberation Party, interrupted the debate after roughly 15 minutes. “I am on the ballot! Why am I not on that stage?” Blanding shouted. “This is not democracy!”

Chuck Todd, who served as moderator for the debate, responded to Blanding’s protest by trying to carry on with the debate. But he quickly changed his tone, calling security and cutting to commercial break.

“I just made it very clear that I am a candidate to let Virginians know that their censorship of my candidacy is racist. It is very sexist. It is very oppressive. And it’s a form of voter suppression,” Blanding told reporters outside of the venue. “Their goal is to make sure Virginians don’t know that I exist so they feel that they have to choose between the lesser of two evils.”

Blanding also criticized the media for failing to provide fair coverage to her campaign, citing how she has been misquoted and how her campaign has overall been ignored by the press.

Blanding’s interruption prompted a mixed reception. Critics have said that Blanding’s attempt to derail the debate was immature and nothing more than a poorly conceived PR stunt. However, some disagree, expressing their opinions that Blanding interrupting the debate was necessary considering she was systematically excluded from the debate stage like many third-party and independent candidates.

One thing is for sure; people are talking about Blanding’s surprise appearance. For the first time during her campaign, Blanding made national headlines. Most coverage of the debate mentions Blanding more than her opponents.

PW Perspective has officially invited Princess Blanding to participate in a candidate forum in order to provide her with the opportunity to answer some of the questions that were asked of McAuliffe and Youngkin. The date and time of this forum will be announced at a later date should Blanding’s campaign accept the invitation.