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Virginia Supreme Court upholds denial of Dulles Greenway toll increase
Toll rates on the Dulles Greenway will remain the same. In a July 17 ruling, the Virginia State Supreme Court denied an appeal by the the Greenway operator, TRIP II, short for Toll Road Investors Partnership II, to raise rates. TRIP II is a subsidiary of an Australian company that owns the 14-mile, privately-owned toll road from Leesburg to Dulles International Airport in Sterling. It sought to reverse a State Corporation Commission denial of a rate increase in September.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he supports Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who's seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said the Democratic Party made a "massive mistake" in booting Iowa from the leadoff spot on the presidential nominating calendar after the error-riddled 2020 caucuses. Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann asked Youngkin during the Republican Party of Iowa's annual Lincoln Dinner Thursday, July 17, if he supports the presidential nominating process with Iowa at the forefront, and the Virginia governor said "absolutely."
Tweak campaign finance law to boost accountability in Va.
For years, Virginia has largely operated under the premise that everyone who runs for public office in the state is a fine, upstanding citizen who meticulously and accurately reports all campaign contributions and explains precisely where the money went. It’s Virginia, after all, where honor and integrity course through the veins of our distinguished, selfless leaders. Well, maybe. But a bit of salient advice from the late Ronald Reagan also pops to mind: “Trust but verify.” Three years ago, the General Assembly wisely passed a bill to add a layer of verification to all that trust. From now on, all candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general will have their campaign finances reports audited by an independent firm ...
Earle-Sears’ campaign manager leaves post
In a shakeup in Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears‘ bid to be Virginia’s next governor, her campaign manager has lost his post. The campaign will announce a replacement for campaign manager Will Archer in the days to come, said general consultant Mark Harris. “We are at the very beginning of this campaign. We have only spent about 5% or less of our total media budget talking to voters. We are at the very beginning of this fight,” Harris told reporters on Thursday.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley talks about Va. elections
With Election Day a little more than 100 days away, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said the GOP is committed to ensuring Winsome Earle-Sears is the next governor of Virginia. Whatley said a lot of the RNC’s resources in Virginia will be used on a get-out-the-vote campaign. “When you think about grassroots and you think about the victory teams that are gonna be on the ground, where we’re recruiting and training volunteers to make phone calls, knocking on doors, and getting out literature,” Whatley told 8News in an exclusive interview.
Youngkin speaks in Iowa on education, 2021 election win
Though Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has not said whether he is planning a run for president in 2028, he said during the Iowa GOP Lincoln Dinner on Thursday that he supports keeping the Iowa caucuses first in the nation. Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann asked Youngkin during a “fireside chat” at the fundraiser if he likes the current presidential nominating system that starts with the Iowa Republican caucuses — and Youngkin responded he “absolutely” supports the current system.
Virginia Dels. Surovell, Webert to lead new energy subcommittee
Virginia House Majority Leader Scott Surovell, a Democrat representing eastern Fairfax County, has been tapped to chair a newly formed General Assembly subcommittee dubbed “Promoting New Advanced Energy Sources in Virginia: Advanced Nuclear, Geothermal, and Energy Storage.” State Del. Michael Webert, a Fauquier Republican, has been named vice chair. The subcommittee is one of the “few truly bipartisan efforts within the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation,” states a news release from Webert’s office.
Chesley: Paucity of details on immigration arrests highlights Youngkin’s pattern of misstatements
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, when it comes to culture war issues including immigration, rarely misses a chance to stretch – or even obliterate – the truth. The governor’s office noted this month that more than 2,500 people arrested by the Virginia Homeland Security Task Force for being in the country illegally were “violent criminals.” Then Youngkin, in a news conference July 2 about the state-federal entity, added: “Two-thousand five-hundred violent criminals who are here illegally — MS-13 members, Tren de Aragua, others, international violent gang members.”
Va. GOP House incumbent Kim Taylor outraised opponent in reporting period
The latest campaign finance reports show Republican House of Delegates incumbent Kim Taylor raised more money in the most recent recording period than Democratic challenger Kimberly Pope Adams, but Pope Adams’ cash-on-hand amount remains almost three times that of Taylor’s. ... Taylor and Pope Adams are vying for the 82nd House District seat that stretches from eastern Dinwiddie County to Surry County, and includes all of the city of Petersburg. It is a rerun of the tightly fought 2023 race that saw Taylor win re-election by a whisker-thin 53 votes over Pope Adams after a recount.
$2.2M Spent By Democrats In 11th District Congressional Primary
Democratic Party candidates who ran in the June 28 firehouse primary in the 11th District congressional race reported spending more than $2.2 million on their campaigns. That's about $339,000 more than they raised in political donations, according to the latest financial filings with the Federal Election Commission. Nine Democratic candidates reported receiving a combined $1,949,763.60 in donations for the primary, but spent a total of $2,288,768.21.