ELECTION 2020
Embattled Va. Dems stockpile cash ahead of November
WASHINGTON — Targeted Democratic incumbents from Virginia’s U.S. congressional delegation were padding their war chests as the election year kicked off. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the landscape for politicians in Virginia and across the country as many have been forced to cut back on active fundraising and campaigning. But the most recent campaign finance […]
Three Democratic senators back shorter delay for Virginia’s May elections
Three Democratic state senators are pushing a legislative proposal to postpone Virginia’s May 5 municipal elections to June, a plan they’re pitching as an alternative to Gov. Ralph Northam’s call to push the elections all the way to November. Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, is behind the idea for a shorter delay, joined by fellow Sens. […]
Policymakers search for ways to safeguard the right to vote during COVID-19 social distancing
Ohio bills itself as “the heart of it all.” And for good reason. It’s as much a crossroads of America as any state can be. It ranges from the distinctly southern folkways and accents at its southern tip near Ironton (ARN’ton to locals), to a distinctly upper Midwestern point of view in places like Toledo […]
Three Republicans qualify for GOP primary to challenge U.S. Sen Mark Warner
Three Republicans with fairly low profiles in state politics have qualified to compete in a June primary for the chance to take on U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., in the November general election, according to the Republican Party of Virginia. The candidates who filed enough petition signatures to be on the ballot June 9 are […]
Why Floyd County burned bright for Bernie
FLOYD — On Super Tuesday, only three Virginia localities voted for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders over former Vice President Joe Biden in Virginia’s Democratic presidential primary: Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Floyd County. For observers, the first two make sense: Charlottesville and Harrisonburg are home to the University of Virginia and James Madison University, respectively, and Sanders […]
What Pete Buttigieg’s historic candidacy meant for LGBTQ kids
I feel like a jerk. Like a lot of people, I got caught up in the Democratic primary and whose plans I thought would be best for America at this critical time in history, given what Donald Trump has wrought. On one hand, there’s nothing wrong with that and it’s a fine way to choose […]
How blue is Virginia? Bernie Sanders’ campaign is about to become a test case.
Bernie Sanders stepped onstage in Richmond last week and thousands of people who had shivered in the cold for hours responded with an ear-splitting roar for what seemed like minutes. Overwhelmingly young and predominantly female, the racially diverse crowd was drawn there by Sanders’ populist and progressive promises (government-paid health care for all, wiping out […]
Packed house cheers Sanders as telltale Virginia Democratic primary looms
Five days ahead of an important Virginia vote in next week’s Super Tuesday primary, Bernie Sanders appealed to a packed house of youthful voters in Richmond to spurn the Democratic status quo and back his campaign as the next step in the commonwealth’s progressive turn. Riding a crest of early caucus and primary victories and […]
Can media polls still get it right? Despite shortcomings, discerning voters can still find valid data.
Not many people would bet next month’s rent money on the accuracy of the next political horse race poll proffered by the media. Can you blame them? The perception is that recent polls have failed us spectacularly. Just ask Joe Biden, whom polls showed firmly in control of the Democratic presidential nomination just a few […]
Senate committee gives the nod to nuclear as part of renewables transition
After a slow start, the General Assembly is beginning to take up energy bills. The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Monday signed off on a set of updates to the Commonwealth Energy Policy, as well as proposals to classify nuclear energy as clean energy and develop a strategic plan for how nuclear energy contributes […]
14 Democratic presidential candidates, including Castro, officially qualify for the Virginia ballot
So many Democratic presidential hopefuls qualified for Virginia’s 2020 primary ballot that all the names wouldn’t fit in the bowl. To hold the random drawing to decide the primary ballot order, state election officials needed to find a bigger receptacle. They settled on a banker’s box, which they loaded up Wednesday with 14 names stuffed […]
Castro, Delaney miss deadline to be on Virginia’s 2020 primary ballot
No top-tier candidates appear to have missed Virginia’s deadline to file paperwork to qualify for the state’s 2020 presidential primary, but former HUD Secretary Julián Castro was notably absent from the list of filers released by state elections officials. Presidential hopefuls had to file at least 5,000 petition signatures from registered voters – including 200 […]