RICHMOND, VA — (AP)  A Democrat running for statewide office in Virginia is calling for the state to take down and rename monuments to the Confederacy.

Susan Platt said in a statement Thursday that if elected lieutenant governor, she would seek to lead a commission tasked with taking down Confederate statues and renaming highways and public buildings named for Confederate soldiers.

Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy and much of the Civil War was fought in Virginia.

Platt says tax dollars should not be spent celebrating a “rebellion intended to maintain slavery.” She is running against two other Democrats for the party’s nomination. The primary is June 13.

The lieutenant governor is a largely ceremonial position that oversees the state Senate, but is often used as a springboard to run for governor.

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