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5 Republicans vie for nomination to face Sen. Kaine in November
As the Republican primary race for Virginia’s U.S. Senate seat approaches the finish line on Tuesday, other than a recent call for transparency regarding allegations of campaign fundraising improprieties, analysts say things have been surprisingly quiet and polite among the five candidates. After a recent Loudoun County Republican Committee debate, the moderator, Larry O’Connor of WMAL Radio, even characterized the candidates looking to unseat Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine as “cordial and respectful” with one another.
Bob Good’s Investments Are a Mystery. His Explanations Are Even More Mysterious.
When Bob Good first ran for Congress, he made no secret of what stocks he owned: They were all listed in personal financial disclosure reports. Valued between $200,000 and $1.7 million — there are wide ranges allowed in the reports for each asset — Good divulged that he owned over 100 different stocks and mutual funds on his first disclosure as a congressional candidate in 2020. But just a few years later, as a member of Congress and candidate in a highly competitive primary, the details of Good’s finances had disappeared. Government ethics experts told NOTUS his lack of disclosure appears to be a violation of the House Ethics Committee rules for candidates and members of Congress.
Charges of assault on law enforcement officers often don’t result in convictions
Richmond police officers’ struggle with a “belligerently intoxicated” Harold Bradley — he admitted this in a plea bargain — last August landed him with two felony charges. Nine months later, a judge dismissed the felony charges after Bradley had spent three months in jail. The charges were for assault and battery on a law enforcement officer. These are charges that can bring people into court, charged with a crime that can mean up to five years in prison — but most of the time the charges are dropped, dismissed or reduced to something less serious, a Richmond Times-Dispatch review of thousands of online court records found.
Pentagon shoots down Youngkin concerns over Chinese solar panels
The Department of Defense is rejecting recent concerns that a project to install solar panels on the roof of the Pentagon and other installations would use Chinese materials. The Pentagon pushback came after Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin penned a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin last week expressing concerns that a $104 million, taxpayer-funded plan to add solar panels to the Pentagon and other installations would make use of Chinese materials, which the governor warned would have “significant implications for U.S. national security.”
What Happened to Glenn Youngkin?
Last summer, as Donald Trump surged and Ron DeSantis collapsed, the pleas were constant. Hardly a week went by when wealthy Republican donors, a Rupert Murdoch-owned outlet or both wouldn’t send a flare up over Virginia’s capital in hopes Gov. Glenn Youngkin would make a late entry into the GOP presidential primary. That was then. That was before Youngkin’s all-in effort to take full control of Virginia’s Legislature flopped, before Virginia lost the next FBI headquarters to Maryland and before Youngkin’s splashy deal to lure a new arena complex to Alexandria ended with the governor’s fellow D.C.-area dealmaker, sports owner Ted Leonsis, stating in the Washingtonian “I’m a living testament now to say it was easier, more efficient to do business in Washington, D.C., than it was in Virginia.”
What to watch in Va.’s congressional primaries this week
In Virginia’s congressional primaries Tuesday, Republicans will be picking a nominee to run against U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, while Democrats will be picking would-be successors for two Northern Virginia congresswomen who aren’t running for reelection. Recent polls have pointed to a close presidential race in Virginia between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Those early polls indicate there could be several hard-fought congressional contests further down the ballot, particularly in three suburban districts — the 2nd, the 7th and the 10th — that Democrats and Republicans battled over in 2022. This week’s primaries will set the table for those races and settle a hard-right grudge match between warring MAGA factions in central Virginia’s Republican-leaning 5th District.
Loudoun Democratic Leaders Air Allegation Against Helmer Ahead of Tuesday Primary
Del. Dan Helmer (D-10) is facing criticism from former Loudoun County Democratic Committee chairs ahead of Tuesday’s 10th District Congressional Primary over an alleged sexual harassment incident in 2018. Currently, Helmer, a three-term member of the House of Delegates, is among the front-runners in the party’s 12-candidate primary field. His campaign leads the pack in fundraising with recent campaign finance reports showing over $1.5 million raised.
Now’s your chance to spend the city of Richmond’s money
If you’ve ever thought you could do a better job at spending taxpayer money than your elected officials, now’s your chance to prove it. Richmond set aside $3 million in the next fiscal cycle for residents to decide how to spend. Seriously. The process, called participatory budgeting and dubbed “the people’s budget,” can be traced back to a successful experiment in Brazil in 1989. It started gaining traction in U.S. cities in 2019, Hollie Russon Gilman reported for Axios.
‘We are seeing real momentum’: Republicans think Virginia could be in play this year
Republicans are openly floating that this will finally be the year that Virginia shifts from the Democratic column it’s been in for several presidential elections and back into the battleground category where Donald Trump could win. The prospect of turning the state red was the topic of discussion between the former president and Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin when they met last week, according to a source with knowledge of the meeting.
Caroline moving fast on plan to condemn farmland
Caroline County officials say they have tried for 20 years to identify a long-term source for water and have worked for 10 years to get a state permit for an intake facility. That pace is changing though. Plans to condemn a farmer’s land to get access to the Rappahannock River are moving at lightning speed. The county will hold a public hearing Tuesday on a resolution to condemn 11 acres owned by Cory Garrett, a fifth-generation farmer, so Caroline can acquire the land by eminent domain.