WASHINGTON — State parties played an unprecedented role in financing the presidential election this year, making it possible for the national political parties to raise eye-popping sums from individual donors — and keep more money than they might otherwise be allowed.That’s all thanks to a 2014 Supreme Court decision...
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden is promising to reinstate an Obama-era program that shields deportation for some undocumented people who were brought to the United States by their parents when they were children.But immigration advocates are pushing for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to not just be...
In late July, employees in Virginia’s Office of the Inspector General were preparing to release what they seemed to think was an important report on alleged misconduct by the Virginia Parole Board.On July 23, Inspector General Michael Westfall emailed a staffer saying the report was "ready for issuance." It...
Virginia places more students with disabilities outside their local public schools than 37 other states — a trend that’s dramatically increased spending on specialized private schools over the past decade.The nonresidential programs --- more commonly known as private day schools — have been a source of frustration for lawmakers...
By Rose Hendricks and Mark ReynoldsIn the home stretch of the 2020 campaign, presidential candidate Joe Biden leaned hard into the issue of climate change, giving a televised climate speech and running climate-focused ads in swing states. His campaign bet that this issue, once considered politically risky, would now...
In 2019, a blue wave swept away the GOP majority Kirk Cox presided over as speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. But he prevailed in his own race despite steep odds in a newly redrawn district.Two years later, Cox is pointing to the victory as evidence he is...
Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday he plans to propose legislation legalizing marijuana when the General Assembly convenes in January, setting the state on a path to become the first in the South to allow recreational use of the drug.“We are going to move forward with legalizing marijuana in Virginia,”...
House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn announced Monday that the chamber will meet virtually for the 2021 session due to ongoing health concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.The House met remotely for most of the recently concluded special session on the state budget and criminal justice reform. Some Republican delegates had complained...
Bromides come and go in politics. Conventional wisdom tends to persevere until it’s no longer either conventional or wise.But there’s one truism in Virginia politics that, with one exception over the past five decades, has been validated repeatedly: you don’t want to be running for governor representing the...
It was more than 12 years ago, and it sure feels like a different era in American politics.Stung years earlier during his unsuccessful bid for the GOP nomination by a despicable, racist and false whisper campaign during the South Carolina primary, John McCain wasn't having it in 2008 when...
