Virginia Democrats may be facing issues retaining control of the state Senate as a senator who won her election last week is now under question for potentially misrepresenting her residency.
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Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner on Thursday blasted the Biden administration’s handling of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters selection process and called for an General Services Administration (GSA) Inspector General probe of the matter.
FBI Director Chris Wray also said on Thursday that he has “concerns about fairness and transparency in the process and GSA’s failure to adhere to its own site selection plan.”
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The federal government has finally selected Greenbelt, Maryland, as the location for its new FBI headquarters, concluding a search process that began more than 10 years ago.
Congress authorized the General Services Administration to start looking for a new site for the FBI headquarters in 2012 after a decade of complaints about the security, technological capabilities, “deteriorating infrastructure,” and other issues with the current facility in Washington, D.C. The GSA narrowed its search to Greenbelt and Landover, Maryland, and Springfield, Virginia, in 2014, and state lawmakers and officials from both states have actively pursued the selection of their state throughout.
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Virginia’s run as one of the top states in the nation for hospital safety scores continues. The Commonwealth is second overall among states in the Fall 2023 Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Grade state rankings that are based on the share of hospitals in each state that earn “A” grades.
“Providing high-quality, compassionate care focused on patient dignity and safety is central to the mission of hospitals across Virginia,” said Ballad Health Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Deaton, the Chair of the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) Board of Directors. “The latest Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Grade scores showing strong performance on patient safety illustrates the priority Virginia hospitals place on caring for patients.”
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Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin failed in his epic attempt to put both legislative chambers of the General Assembly under GOP control, closing out November 7, Election Day, one of the boldest campaigns in the modern history of the Old Dominion’s off-cycle elections.
As of deadline, Democrats took back control of the House of Delegates with 51 seats to 47 for Republicans. This is a flip from the 52-48 edge Republicans enjoyed since the 2021 election.
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A local GOP leader criticized “War Room” host Stephen K. Bannon for his throwing water on the Virginia Republican governor’s all-out effort to lead his party to win control of both chambers of the General Assembly.
Posting on GETTR the day before the November 7 Election Day, Bannon wrote: “Glenn Youngkin is David Rubenstein’s Globalist Bitch and a Bush Establishment Cuck —If You Support Him on Tuesday You are No Better Than ‘Never Trump’….”
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Early voting has become a central issue in the Virginia legislature election, which is set to conclude on Tuesday and determine whether Gov. Glenn Youngkin will have a Republican majority to pass legislation.
The state Senate is currently controlled by Democrats, 22-18, with the state House controlled by Republicans, after winning 52 seats in 2021 to Democrats’ 48, according to Ballotpedia. Republicans gained control of the state House in 2021, when Youngkin won the governorship, Winsome Earle-Sears won the election for lieutenant governor, and Jason Miyares won the attorney general race.
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Republican Rep. Bob Good of Virginia introduced a bill on Friday that would prevent the use of federal funds on two of President Joe Biden’s top climate programs, according to a copy of the bill obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The No American Climate Corps Act would prohibit the Biden administration from deploying federal funds to bankroll the American Climate Corps program and the Justice40 Initiative; both programs are signature elements of Biden’s sweeping climate agenda. The American Climate Corps is a green jobs training program, while the Justice40 Initiative fuses principles of social justice into the administration’s massive green spending, establishing an administration-wide goal to have 40% of the overall benefits of climate spending flow to “disadvantaged communities.”
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The future of the Commonwealth of Virginia hangs in the balance as Democrats, backed by former President Barack Obama, are desperate to stop Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin from winning the state government trifecta, control of both chambers of the General Assembly in addition to governor’s office—all coming to a head on the November 7 Election Day.
“I’m calling to remind you that today is Election Day in Virginia. The people we elect in the State Senate and House of Delegates will make decisions that affect your everyday life. Now’s the time to make our voices heard,” said Obama in one of the robocalls he recorded for Virginia Democrats to target some 100,000 Democratic voters.
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The issue of abortion has loomed large in this year’s General Assembly general election, as Virginia is the only state in the South not to impose additional restrictions on abortion after the release of the Dobbs decision.
As Virginia has a chance of a Republican trifecta after Nov. 7, Democrats this election season have captured national attention as they fight to preserve abortion freedoms in the state.
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Virginia’s Republican governor touted how the commonwealth’s Republican voters are shattering records set in 2021 and 2023 in early voting before the commonwealth’s November 7 Election Day, when all 140 seats in both chambers of the General Assembly are up for grabs.
“There was a lot of people who voted early and across the state. We’ve seen an uptick in early voting and absentee ballot, and particularly in our battleground districts, we’ve seen a really good movement,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin, speaking to Fox News Digital on Friday.
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Former President Barack H. Obama Jr. jumped into the battle for Virginia with robocalls raising the stakes in the campaign that all comes to a head on November 7, as all 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for grabs, and Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin leads GOP efforts to hold onto the House of Delegates and gain control of the State Senate.
“Hi, it’s President Barack Obama with the National Democratic Redistricting Committee,” said the 44th president, speaking in an audio file obtained by Germon owned-Politico on behalf of the PAC he runs with the man who served as his attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr. NDRC is the left’s leading organization dedicated to challenging House districts as drawn by state legislatures, and forcing them to be redrawn to benefit Democrats.
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High school students in a northern Virginia County on Wednesday protested a school policy that allows biological males in girl’s locker rooms and restrooms.
The protest occurred in Loudoun County, which in recent years has become a focal point over school policies regarding transgender students and the transparency of those policies.
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The Republican governor of Virginia directed his political organization and official staff to stop using the Eventbrite app after the company dumped a speaking engagement by superstar swimmer and feminist Riley Gaines—all the while, they promoted events supporting Hamas and its October 7 attacks on the Jewish State.
“As governor, I have told our political committee that we will no longer use Eventbrite. The governor’s office is no longer using Eventbrite,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin on the October 30 edition of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.
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The Republican governor of Virginia told the host of “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo” he wants answers regarding why someone is teaching college students to support Hamas—not Israel—after the October 7 attacks on the Jewish State.
“The bottom line is I question what’s being taught on these college campuses. If we have students that don’t fully understand the brutality of a terrorist group,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is limited to one term.
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A Virginia court has ruled in favor of Attorney General Jason Miyares against Look Ahead America, who had filed a lawsuit and a motion for an injunction and temporary restraining order against Miyares, alleging interference with the group’s First Amendment rights.
The group, a get-out-the-vote organization, has been active in the weeks leading up to the General Assembly general election and received a cease-and-desist order from the attorney general’s office on Oct. 10 about some materials it had distributed as part of its efforts.
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A pro-life political action affiliated with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is pouring $1.5 million into Virginia legislative races in the last days before the November 7 election, which will decide what party controls the commonwealth’s General Assembly.
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said she backed the effort by Women Speak Out Virginia, which supports House of Delegates and State Senate candidates aligned with Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s proposed ban on abortions after 15 weeks—the point when unborn children feel pain.
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Virginia was the eighth-most popular state to move to in the U.S. – and the sixth-most popular to leave – in 2022.
The commonwealth was not alone in this trend. Almost all of the top 10 states that gained the most new residents last year are among the most populous, while eight of those lost the most residents.
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Republicans, who have generally preferred so-called “Game Day” voting on Election Day, have begun to embrace early voting either in-person or by mail—and they are outpacing where they were in 2022 and 2021, according to analysis by the Virginia Public Access Project.
Sixteen days before the November 7 Election Day, Republicans were responsible for 39 percent of early voting ballots and 26 percent of mail-in ballots.
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The 1990s and early 2000s weren’t particularly kind to Southside Virginia’s Pittsylvania County, but some sustained, concerted efforts to turn things around may be paying off.
For much of those decades, the county’s unemployment rate exceeded the nation and Virginia. But in recent years, that has changed. Now, Pittsylvania County’s unemployment rate of 3.1% is significantly better than the national average, though it still lags the state (Virginia has the eighth-lowest rate in the country).
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With less than two weeks before Virginia’s November 7 legislative elections, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin continues to get high marks from commonwealth voters, as the voters are split evenly between Republicans and Democrats on a generic legislative ballot.
Respondents were asked: “Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s job performance?” Fifty-seven percent approve of the commonwealth’s helmsman, with 43 percent disapproving, according to a poll conducted by Founders Insight with 969 likely voters October 14 through October 17. The poll carries a 3.91 percentage point margin of error.
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StopAntiSemitism.org activists confronted a young man after the man tore down flyers the activists had posted around the campus depicting the names and pictures of Israelis held hostage by Hamas after their Oct. 7 raid on the Jewish State.
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Control of the commonwealth’s General Assembly is up for grabs, with 42 percent of voters choosing Democrats, 41 percent choosing Republicans, according to a poll conducted by the Wason Center for Civic Leadership September 28 through October 11 of 800 likely voters.
The poll carries a 4-percentage point margin of error, putting the battle for the state house at a virtual tie.
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Recent advances in quantum computing have caused industry experts to believe it’s becoming viable, and Virginia wants in on the action, according to the latest edition of the Virginia Economic Review.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the state’s economic development authority, used the most recent issue of its quarterly magazine to dive into the field of quantum computing – what it is and potential ways to bring it to Virginia.
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Leading a group of 23 attorneys general, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an amicus brief on Wednesday on behalf of the plaintiffs in Mahmoud v. McKnight, a lawsuit involving Maryland parents and the Montgomery County School Board.
Along with over 30 other states, Maryland law includes an opt-out provision that allows parents to excuse their children from sex education courses or lectures. About half the states require parents to be notified when their children will receive sex education, including Maryland.
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Attorney General Jason Miyares has enlisted the help of the commonwealth’s 123 sheriff’s departments by asking for expired or surplus gear that can be donated to the Israeli military.
“I am shocked and grieved by the senseless terrorist attacks on Israel by the Hamas terrorist organization. The loss of innocent life and disregard for human rights is painfully tragic to see,” Miyares wrote in the letter.
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The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission published an October study that shows Virginia’s self-sufficiency programs largely aren’t producing the desired results and existing child care programs aren’t meeting the needs of many Virginians in more ways than one.
“Self-sufficiency,” as it pertains to the studied programs, is defined as achieving a standard of living for which basic living expenses are provided.
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The Washington-based Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), the Democratic Party’s political operation focused on state legislative races, announced Monday a new six-figure investment in Virginia’s off-cycle state house contests—part of the DLCC’s attempt to nationalize the Old Dominion hustings.
“Republican dysfunction has become a hallmark of national politics,” said DLCC Campaign Communications Director Abhi Rahman. “Their refusal to do the basic requirements of government, including choosing a speaker, shows us that this is all a game to them and they don’t care about the people they were elected to represent.
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The Republican Goochland County commonwealth’s attorney running for another four-year term told The Virginia Star his feud with Sheriff Steven N. Creasey has political significance but has not hindered his ability to prosecute crimes in the county.
The trouble started in the 2019 election, said D. Michael Caudill, who faces Creasey’s endorsed candidate, attorney John Lumpkins, in the general election.
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In a chilling reminder that the integrity of our voting process is under constant attack, there is a serious violation of electoral law under way right now in the Elections Office of Fairfax County, Virginia. The Fairfax County Registrar, Eric Spicer, has allowed a candidate for school board to appear on the ballot although she failed to submit proper petitions with sufficient signatures. Immediate action is required by the county Electoral Board to disqualify her.
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Universal license recognition became law in Virginia on July 1 for 85 different occupations, but some legislators believe ULR should be expanded to apply to more professions in the commonwealth.
ULR helps licensed professionals in approved occupations who are moving to Virginia or live near the border and want to pursue work in the commonwealth. Now, barbers, estheticians and home inspectors, for example, who have held their license for at least three years and are in good standing can easily find work in Virginia without becoming relicensed and potentially going without work for the duration of that process.
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The Spirit of Virginia political action committee run by Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin kicked off a $1.4 million ad buy defending the Republican position on abortion—marking the first serious effort to counter Democrats by any Republican politician since the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned both the 1973 Roe v. Wade and the 1992 Casey decisions the created the so-called right to an abortion.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch captured the reluctance of Republicans to mention abortion in its article about the ad.
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The Virginia Beach School Board approved Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s gender transition notification policy Tuesday after being hit with a lawsuit from parents, according to The Virginia Pilot.
In August, the board voted on the policy but was deadlocked with five votes in favor and five against, effectively stalling the proposal, which prompted several parents to file a lawsuit in September demanding the district protect parental rights. The board took up the issue again this week, however, and voted 9 to 1 in favor of adopting Youngkin’s policy, with one member abstaining, according to The Virginia Pilot.
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Twenty-seven attorneys general, led by Florida’s Ashley Moody, are demanding Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “fix the problem you created” and close the catch-and-release loophole DHS is “currently exploiting to implement its mass release policy at the Southwest Border.”
The coalition filed a Petition for Rulemaking demanding that Mayorkas amend DHS’s catch-and-release policies. In their 6-page letter, they point to how “DHS is releasing aliens at a rate of over one million per year, and that does not include the aliens being released on parole under § 1182(d)(5).”
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by Shaun Kenney When Hamas fires rockets, they target Israeli citizens indiscriminately. When the IDF responds, they warn their targets, clear the buildings of civilians by contacting them via cell and warning others… and then fire their rockets. Over the next few weeks, this will be the very real distinction between the good guys and the bad guys in Gaza — and don’t ever forget it. Yet there is a wider question at play here. How long would any American tolerate living as Israelis must from day to day? Why should any Israeli be expected to tolerate that? How many Jewish lives is that worth? Apparently to Democratic State Senator Scott Surovell, about 800. Maybe more. Scott Surovell: RESIGN. There is nothing more despicable than arguing that 800 dead Jews deserved what was coming to them. Yet State Senator Scott Surovell didn’t shy away from precisely that sentiment in the wake of the Hamas attack on civilians yesterday: The division and distraction created by Netanyahu's judicial power grab created created an opportunity for these attacks in the same way House Republicans' civil war creates opportunities for other country's to take advantage American disorganization https://t.co/H7iIEHUtKn — Senator Scott Surovell (@ssurovell) October 8,…
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In the key battleground state of Virginia, legislative elections appear to be in a dead-heat ahead of November, with Democrats leading Republicans by just one point, according to a Monday survey.
For a generic General Assembly ballot, 45 poll of likely voters supported the Democrats and 44 percent supported the Republicans, with 11 percent of respondents undecided, according to a Founders Insight poll. All of Virginia’s 140 state legislative seats are up for reelection on Nov. 7, and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin hopes to hold the House of Delegates and flip the Senate red.
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The Virginia Republican congressman and House Freedom Caucus member, who was one of the eight House Republicans voting to oust Speaker Kevin O. McCarthy (R.-CA-20) Wednesday told radio show host John Fredericks McCarthy lost his gavel because he trusted Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D.-CA.-11).
“We found out the speaker had a deal all along with Nancy Pelosi to save him,” said U.S. Representative Bob Good, one of the diehard Republicans who did not vote for McCarthy for speaker in January.
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A former female student, who was sexually assaulted by a male student claiming to be transgender, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) for allegedly covering up the attack, according to court documents.
The assault was first reported in 2021 by the Daily Wire after the student’s father, Scott Smith, was arrested for disorderly conduct at a board meeting after he demanded that the board admit they covered up his daughter’s attack. Now the student and her parents, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, Jane Roe and John Doe respectively, are suing the district for $30 million for its “indifference to sexual assault” and failure to protect Jane Doe from harm, according to court documents.
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Virginia’s Roanoke College women’s swimming team held a press conference on Thursday to call upon the NCAA, USA Swimming and state lawmakers to develop policies that organize competitive sports according to biological sex, after a transgender student temporarily joined the swim team this season.
Ten team members spoke at the conference, along with women’s sports activists, former college swimmers Riley Gaines and Paula Scanlan, several women’s organizations and the girls’ parents.
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When the votes are counted in Virginia after the November 7 off-cycle legislative elections, in a big way, it is a referendum on the political effectiveness of a mega-wealthy money manager who has devoted himself to Old Dominion politics—and who is not Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Instead, that man is Micheal Bills, who has given more than $15 million in direct contributions to Democratic candidates.
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Despite drought conditions, Virginia crops are likely to produce average yields this harvest season.
Broilers (chickens raised for meat production), cattle and turkeys are the commonwealth’s top farm commodities, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2021. Still, “miscellaneous” crops, including vegetables, barley, mushrooms, sunflowers and other field crops, are the state’s next highest-grossing commodity.
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Nearly a year before the 2024 presidential election, former President Donald J. Trump is running neck-and-neck with the man who replaced him in the White House, Joseph R. Biden Jr., with each with the support of 37 percent of Virginians, according to a poll by the University of Mary Washington’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies of 1,000 of the commonwealth’s adults conducted September 5 through September 11.
“Virginia looks a lot like America as a whole in this survey,” said Professor Stephen J. Farnsworth, the center’s director.
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Old Dominion residents go into the commonwealth’s Nov. 7 legislative elections equally split between Democrats and Republicans, with 42 percent of voters telling the University of Mary Washington’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies poll of 1,000 Virginia adults conducted Sept. 5 through Sept. 11.
“Virginia has rapidly returned to its purple state status,” said Stephen J. Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, and the center’s director. The poll included 833 registered voters, 771 likely voters, and carries a 3-percentage point margin of error.
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The Republican House Delegate running to represent the State Senate’s 17th District told radio host John Fredericks she counters the Democrats’ pro-abortion messaging with her own adoption story during her Thursday “The John Fredericks Show” appearance.
“I was adopted. It’s something that ever since I’ve been in the House of Delegates in the past six years, I’ve worked on adoption and foster care reform because that’s not just the issue,” said Delegate Emily Brewer, who currently represents the chamber’s 64th District.
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Republicans currently hold a 49-46 majority in the Virginia House, and the Nov. 7, 2023, election will determine control of the state legislature and Virginia’s trifecta status. Virginia’s trifecta status changed from Democratic to divided as a result of the 2021 elections. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) was elected to succeed term-limited incumbent Ralph Northam (D). Democrats also lost control of the Virginia House. If Republicans maintain control of the House and win the Senate, Virginia would become a Republican trifecta. If Democrats win control of the House or maintain control of the Senate, Virginia would remain a divided government.
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A Virginia Republican congressman and member of the House Freedom Caucus told “Meet the Press” hostess Kristen Welker he supports passing a seven-day continuing resolution to keep the federal government operating past the Saturday expiration of Fiscal Year 2023.
“I would support a one-week continuing resolution to keep the government open while we were passing those bills,” said U.S. Representative Bob Good (R.-VA-05), who was one of 71 Republicans who voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the debt ceiling deal the GOP leadership cut with President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
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The host of “War Room” blasted Senate Republicans for going along with a 47-day continuing resolution that will fund the federal government until November 17 because he said it was part of a behind-the-scenes plot to foist Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin upon voters as the establishment alternative to former President Donald J. Trump.
“I told you this 47 days in the Senate is McConnell and the big money donors exactly linked to Youngkin’s bid to flip the Senate in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Stephen K. Bannon to his audience.
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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has recently touted rising employment rates and general fund surpluses, causing some to wonder how much influence governors have over a state’s economy.
A regional economist from the University of Virginia argues that governors have less impact than people might think.
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The Democratic House of Delegates candidate and former cam-girl running to represent the 57th District, which includes Henrico County outside of Richmond, facing Republican David Owen, saw her poll numbers collapse after voters learned she posted sex videos online.
“Susanna Gibson is now viewed very unfavorably by voters, 27 percent favorable and 45 percent unfavorable, and is upside down with most demographic groups,” according to the memorandum accompanying the poll of 325 likely general election voters conducted Sept. 19 through Sept. 21 by the polling and predictive analytics firm Cygnal. The poll carries a 5.41 percentage point margin of error.
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The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority is set to receive $100 million in federal funding for another transportation project designed to improve travel in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Drivers traveling from Fredericksburg into the district should be enjoying reduced commute times due to the installation of the long-awaited express lanes along the I-95 corridor. Soon, construction will begin on the Franconia-Springfield Bypass. This rail bridge will allow Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express trains to “seamlessly cross over two freight rail tracks, preventing delays and expanding capacity for additional service,” according to a press release from U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine’s office.
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