Washington and Lee Survey on School Name Change Garners More Than 14,000 Responses

A survey distributed by Washington and Lee University (W&L) last month designed to give the board of trustees’ community feedback and to help decide whether or not to remove Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s name from the school received more than 14,000 responses.

The survey, which opened on September 16th and closed on October 15th, was sent to undergraduate and law students, faculty and staff, alumni and even parents.

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Justin Fairfax Says He is Poised to Help All Virginians as the Next Governor

If elected governor, Justin Fairfax is determined to bring the Commonwealth and its residents out from underneath the current issues plaguing Virginia brought forth by the coronavirus pandemic and a destructive political landscape. 

Last month Lt. Gov. Fairfax officially announced his entrance into the 2021 gubernatorial election, hoping to follow in the footsteps of former state governor L. Douglas Wilder and become the second black man elected to the Executive Mansion. 

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Virginia COVID Insights for October 23

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reported Friday the following COVID numbers on their Daily Dashboard:

New “reported” cases: 1,180
COVID-confirmed hospitalizations: 702
COVID-pending hospitalizations: 310
COVID-confirmed and -pending intensive care unit (ICU) patients: 233
COVID-confirmed and -pending patients on ventilators: 113
COVID confirmed and probable patients in intensive care units (ICU): 233

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Overview of Virginia’s Highly Competitive 5th Congressional District Race

Two first time candidates Bob Good (R) and Cameron Webb (D) are hoping to fill the empty House of Representatives seat of Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, in what projects to be an extremely close and competitive race.

Good, who served on the Campbell County Board of Supervisors from 2015 to 2019, became the Republican nominee after beating freshman U.S. Representative Denver Riggleman (R-VA-05) in a GOP convention this past June, collecting almost 60 percent of votes.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 23

Welcome to the Friday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 11 days until the election on November 3 – and eight days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot in Virginia is TODAY.

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Mask Usage Only Encouraged, Not Required at Polling Locations on Election Day, Officials Say

Voters in the Commonwealth that arrive at polling places on Election Day without a mask or face covering and refuse to wear one or vote outside will not be turned away, according to election officials.

The Virginia Department of Elections (VDOE) has given election workers throughout Virginia guidance on what to do when a voter goes to a polling precinct without a mask and does not wish to put one on.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 22

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 12 days until the election on November 3 – and nine days until early voting in Virginia closes. President Trump meets Joe Biden in the final presidential debate TONIGHT. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot in Virginia is Friday.

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Spanberger and Freitas Square Off in Debate on COVID, Health Care and National Security

Incumbent Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) and Republican challenger state Del. Nick Freitas (R-Culpeper) took part in their first debate Tuesday night, discussing a wide array of ongoing issues on the national and state levels.

The forum was moderated by Washington Week Managing Editor and a national political reporter for The Washington Post, Robert Costa, lasting a little less than an hour.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 21

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 13 days until the election on November 3 – and 10 days until early voting in Virginia closes. President Trump meets Joe Biden in the final presidential debate TOMORROW NIGHT. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot in Virginia is Friday, October 23.

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Virginia Lawmakers Pass Bill Allowing Jury Trials With Judge Sentencing

Virginia lawmakers passed legislation Friday that allows those accused of a crime to receive a jury trial and a judge’s sentence, which proponents believe will reduce sentence lengths.

Under current law, a defendant must opt for a jury sentence if he or she requests a jury trial, which can often result in longer sentences than guidance normally would suggest. The law allows a judge to reduce the sentence, but this happens in only about 8.1% of cases.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 20

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 14 days until the election on November 3 – and 11 days until early voting in Virginia closes. President Trump meets Joe Biden in the final presidential debate THIS THURSDAY. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot in Virginia is Friday, October 23.

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Lawsuit Accuses Delegate Michael Mullin of Violating Separation of Powers

Delegate Michael Mullin (D-Newport News) is accused of violating the separation of powers by serving as an attorney in cases with justices he appoints. The lawsuit asks the court to “disqualify any judge(s) subject to review or reappointment” by Mullin, and to remove Mullin from prosecution of the case.

The suit contends that Mullin’s positions as both a Delegate in the House and an assistant attorney violates Articles III and IV of the Constitution of Virginia.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 19

Welcome to the Saturday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 15 days until the election on November 3 – and 12 days until early voting in Virginia closes. President Trump meets Joe Biden in the final presidential debate THIS THURSDAY. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot in Virginia is Friday, October 23.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 17

Welcome to the Saturday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 17 days until the election on November 3 – and 14 days until early voting in Virginia closes. President Trump meets Joe Biden in the final presidential debate five days from today.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 16

Welcome to the Friday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 18 days until the election on November 3 – and 15 days until early voting in Virginia closes. President Trump meets Joe Biden in the final presidential debate six days from today.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 15

Welcome to the Thursday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 19 days until the election on November 3 – and 16 days until early voting in Virginia closes. President Trump meets Joe Biden in the final presidential debate one week from today.

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FBI: Groups Also Discussed Kidnapping Virginia Governor

Members of anti-government paramilitary groups discussed kidnapping Virginia’s governor during a June meeting in Ohio, an FBI agent testified Tuesday during a court hearing for a group of men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan’s governor.

Special Agent Richard Trask also revealed new details about investigators’ use of confidential informants, undercover agents and encrypted communication to arrest and charge six men last week in the plot aimed at Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 14

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 20 days until the election on November 3 – and 17 days until early voting in Virginia closes. President Trump meets Joe Biden in the final presidential debate in eight days.

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At the State Voter Registration Deadline, Almost One Million Virginians Have Already Cast Their Ballots

Woman voting at booth

With Tuesday’s voter registration deadline having now passed, the Commonwealth is entering the final stretches before the general elections in November and Virginians have been feverishly casting their votes with nearly 1 million in-person and absentee ballots already submitted.

Specifically, 532,983 in-person votes and 444,390 votes by mail have already been cast in the state with an additional 642,687 absentee ballot applications that have not yet been returned to general registrars, according to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) early voting dashboard.

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Letter to the Editor: What it Means to be a Republican to Me

House with flag

I grew up in a Democratic household and strongly supported the ideals and platform of the Democratic Party: free speech, racial equality, and social justice, and empathy for the common man.  Quite frankly I have recently become disillusioned with the progressive direction that the Democratic Party has taken and have seen firsthand outside the borders of the United States the dismal failure of the well-intentioned results of progressivism and socialism. 

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 13

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 21 days until the election on November 3 – and 18 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is TODAY!

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 12

Welcome to the Saturday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 22 days until the election on November 3 – and 19 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is TOMORROW, October 13.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 10

Welcome to the Saturday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 24 days until the election on November 3 – and 21 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13, three days from today.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 9

Welcome to the Friday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 25 days until the election on November 3 – and 22 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13, four days from today.

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A Week from Hell for William & Mary Athletics: Athletic Director Resigns and Student-Athletes Test Positive for COVID-19

In the span of a single week William & Mary athletics director Samantha Huge resigned after facing backlash from cutting seven sports programs last month, and a mix of student-athletes and athletics department staff have tested positive for Coronavirus.

The university announced Tuesday that Huge was stepping down from her position and then on Wednesday news broke that athletics employees and athletes had tested positive for COVID-19.

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State Inspector General Substantiates Multiple Allegations Against the Virginia Parole Board

The Office of the State Inspector General (OSIG) has released reports substantiating multiple allegations that the Virginia Parole Board (VPB) violated state statutes as well as its own policies and procedures after investigating complaints regarding the parole of specific Department of Corrections offenders.

On Tuesday, the OSIG released copies of the reports, originally sent to Governor Ralph Northam’s administration, to media outlets who requested them that were mostly redacted and did not offer the specific findings of the investigation into the VPB.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 8

President Donald Trump

Welcome to the Thursday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 26 days until the election on November 3 – and 23 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13, six days from today.

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JMU Students Have Returned to Campus and Resumed In-Person Classes Again

Students at James Madison University (JMU) resumed in-person classes on Monday after spending almost a month away from campus learning virtually because of a significant rise in COVID-19 cases and inadequate isolation/quarantine spaces.

At the beginning of September, university president Jonathan Alger announced JMU was temporarily sending most on-campus students home and switching to virtual instruction. Now, students are back at the Harrisonburg, Virginia campus to give the 2020 fall semester another shot.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 7

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 27 days until the election on November 3 – and 24 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13, six days from today.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 5

Welcome to the Saturday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 29 days until the election on November 3 – and 26 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 3

Welcome to the Saturday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 31 days until the election on November 3 – and 28 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13.

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COVID-19 at Virginia Colleges and Universities: What Do the Numbers Say?

As many colleges and universities in Virginia continue on with in-person instruction for the 2020 fall semester during the coronavirus pandemic, the schools’ COVID-19 dashboards offer insights into how the pandemic is affecting those institutions.

Since the global pandemic hit the United States back in March, more and more schools have created online COVID dashboards that present a plethora of data on total tests, case counts, positivity percentage and 7-day moving averages for positive tests. 

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 2

Welcome to the Friday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 32 days until the election on November 3 – and 29 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 1

Welcome to the Thursday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 33 days until the election on November 3 – and 30 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Trump Team Virginia Campaign for September 30

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 34 days until the election on November 3 – and 31 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Trump Team Virginia Campaign for September 29

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 35 days until the election on November 3 – and 33 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13.

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Virginians to Decide Gerrymandering Amendment

An anti-gerrymandering constitutional amendment that would change the way legislative districts are drawn in Virginia will be decided on the ballot.

The amendment is intended to prevent gerrymandering by establishing a 16-person bipartisan redistricting commission that would propose redistricting plans to the General Assembly. The General Assembly would be allowed to approve or decline the proposals, but would not be allowed to offer any amendments.

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Health Officials Seek to Block Trump Rally in Virginia

A Virginia health official is warning of a “severe public health threat” if a planned campaign rally for President Donald Trump goes forward Friday evening.

Dr. Natasha Dwamena, a Department of Public Health district director, said in a letter Thursday that the 4,000 people expected to attend Trump’s rally at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport would be breaking Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order generally banning gatherings of more than 250 people. She said the rally should be canceled, rescheduled or scaled down to comply with the governor’s order.

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Trump Will Win Virginia, Delegation Chairman Says Following Poll Showing Biden and President in 5 Point Race

A new poll shows Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump by only 5 points, nearly at the margin of error of 3.9 percent, but the president’s delegation chairman says that does not factor in Trump’s grassroots effort.

The Judy Ford Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University released the poll, which is available here.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for September 25

Welcome to the Thursday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 39 days until the election on November 3 – and four days until President Trump and Joe Biden square off in the first presidential debate.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for September 24

Welcome to the Thursday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 40 days until the election on November 3 – and five days until President Trump and Joe Biden square off in the first presidential debate.

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