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‘Restore a sense of discipline’: Virginia GOP Lt. Gov. candidate floats school uniforms
With five months to go before the general election, Republican Lieutenant Governor nominee John Reid is already laying out policy goals and staking out ground on several hot-button issues that could shape Virginia’s political landscape in November. In a sit-down interview hosted by 7News, Reid — unopposed in the GOP primary — said he’s already spent time “working behind the scenes, talking to people about where we can cut and where we can recalibrate.”
Lieutenant governor candidate Alex Bastani says Democrats are ‘trying to out-Republican Republicans’
Alex Bastani is a labor and employment attorney who describes himself as a “lifelong union member.” The Northern Virginia Democrat is a member of the American Federation of Government Employees and fought for workers’ rights as the leader of his local union for more than a decade. Now, he’s hoping to use his experience to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor. He is one of six candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in the June 17 primary. The winner will face Republican John Reid for the office currently occupied by Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears.
Kilgore, Va. House GOP members slam Spanberger’s newly unveiled energy plan
After Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger released her energy plan for the state this week, Virginia House GOP members wasted no time bashing it. Her plan emphasizes fair cost share, efficiency projects, and supporting a pilot program to handle peak energy consumption times. “Her plan leans heavily on demand-side management: programmable thermostats, weatherization programs, utility subsidies, and incentives to reduce consumption during peak hours. That might sound reasonable in theory, but here’s the problem: managing scarcity isn’t a solution — it’s a symptom of failure,” an op-ed penned by House GOP leaders and members read.
Strategy or slow start? Some in Virginia GOP question Earle-Sears campaign.
Democrat Abigail Spanberger reported a massive fundraising lead over Republican gubernatorial rival Winsome Earle-Sears this week, with her $14.3 million in campaign cash more than quadruple the $3 million on hand for Earle-Sears — aggravating concerns among some in the GOP that the campaign is off to a troubled start. Republican critics cited another number to explain their fears: zero, the number of times Earle-Sears has campaigned in public with the full GOP ticket of John Reid for lieutenant governor and Attorney General Jason S. Miyares seeking reelection. With Democrats awaiting June 17 primary elections to determine the rest of their ticket beyond Spanberger, Republicans had a clear opportunity for a head start.
Miyares files lawsuit against 23andMe’s plan to sell personal data following bankruptcy
Attorney General Jason Miyares is taking legal action against 23andMe’s plan to sell people’s data, with the aim of protecting Virginians, just a couple of months after the company filed for bankruptcy. Miyares has filed a lawsuit and separate objection to 23andMe’s plan to sell 15 million customers’ data without their consent or knowledge, according to a release from June 10. This news comes two months after 23andMe, a genetic testing company that collects and analyzes customers’ genetic information, announced that it filed for bankruptcy on March 23.
Miyares, Surovell clash over university board appointments
In dueling letters to university rectors, Attorney General Jason Miyares and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, each said the other doesn’t know what he’s talking about when it comes to the status of college board of visitors members who a state Senate panel refused to confirm. The lightning rod is Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s appointment of former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to the University of Virginia board. Cuccinelli was one of eight appointees the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee refused to confirm this week.
Virginia campaign finance laws take first step beyond honor system
In a bitter 2009 Democratic primary, Roanoke Del. Onzlee Ware’s opponent accused him of dipping into his campaign funds for personal use. The complaint reached the state elections agency in Richmond, which fired off a letter demanding Ware provide receipts for the expenses in question. That’s when all hell broke loose. Candidates from both parties quietly reminded the state Department of Elections that it lacked investigative powers. The agency could only check to see if campaign finance disclosures were filled out completely and the math added up. The Ware incident was a sobering reminder that Virginia’s campaign finance laws operated entirely on the honor system.
Miyares breaks with Trump over pardon of convicted ex-Culpeper sheriff
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is pushing back against President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins, saying the ex-lawman’s federal bribery conviction was well-founded and the pardon misguided. “I have to authorize any state investigation into any elected official. And so I was aware of a lot of the facts at that time,” Miyares told The Mercury in an interview Tuesday. “Given what I know, I would not have pardoned him.” The rare public break from Miyares, a Republican and rising star in Virginia politics who is seeking a second term this year, comes just weeks after Trump issued the controversial pardon in late May.
Nivar, Schear compete for Democratic nomination in 57th Virginia House District
Democrats Andrew Schear and May Nivar are campaigning to win their party’s nomination in Virginia’s 57th House of Delegates District in a race that will be decided June 17. Schear plans to tackle childcare and housing affordability if ultimately elected, while Nivar is focusing her campaign on public safety and improving public school education and infrastructure. The seat currently is held by first-term Republican David Owen, who is seeking re-election.
Virginia attorney general, top Democrat spar over fate of Youngkin university picks
A dispute over Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s picks for eight university board seats escalated Wednesday as the Virginia attorney general and the Senate majority leader sent dueling letters over whether the appointees can still serve. Senate Majority Leader Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) told university rectors on Monday that the members could no longer be on the boards, effective immediately, after a Senate committee rejected the eight appointments. But in a letter Wednesday to the rectors, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) claimed that Senate Democrats had misled them.