U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) holds a press conference at the U.S. Embassy, in Mexico City, Mexico, August 29, 2025. REUTERS/Eloisa Sanchez/File Photo
Virginia Democratic state Sen. Louise Lucas is a troll, and her attacks on U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are giving life to her followers.
The Bulwark's Will Sommer spoke with reporter Lauren Egan on their podcast Tuesday about the 82-year-old grandma, who, they wonder, could "teach Democrats to be rude again."
"It's just something that Democrats have honestly been pretty bad at. And that's why you've seen people like Gavin Newsom start these podcasts," said Egan. "You've seen donors sink millions of dollars into all these projects about how can we get more creators to create content that's pro-Democrats, things like that. And then, as all of this is going on on the national level, there's this state senator in Virginia who's kind of crept up out of nowhere over the past couple of years. At least for me, I'm not a Virginia resident who's just had like the most just, kind of, sassy s----posting type personality on Twitter."
Egan explained that she's breaking through more recently because of the conversation about redistricting. In response to President Donald Trump's battle to redistrict in as many Republican seats as possible before the 2026 midterm elections, Virginia is following suit, adding more Democratic seats to counter Texas' recent mid-decade efforts.
Lucas is "just absolutely trolling the Republicans about this, giving them hell online to the point that there's been some Democratic consultants who have actually brought her tweets to members of Congress to be like, hey, guys, this is how you are good at social media."
The newer and younger officials have been more willing to engage in that level of trolling, but older relics in Congress and other offices appear resistant. Yet, Lucas is one of the older members of the party.
Sommer noted that what he found "unique about her is that this is not the usual, I think what we think of as kind of the Democrats shrinking violet. Like, oh, gosh, I guess maybe we'll do it if we have to. I mean, she's relishing it."
When it comes to her trolling Cruz, Lucas has managed to get Fox News to run headlines about their Twitter beef that use her quotes. Meanwhile, she's pushing out memes that jump on topics people are talking about online, driving up her engagement and reach.
What Egan loved was that Lucas was adopting the youth terminology, like the internet meme name for the random chair in hotel rooms. She said she had to explain to her adult daughter.
"You just wouldn't expect someone in the Democratic Party as well into their 80s," said Egan.
