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Loudoun County sheriff slams Democratic lawmaker over ‘false’ claims about helping ICE
Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman on Tuesday accused a Democratic county supervisor of making “false” claims about deputies helping federal immigration authorities round up illegal immigrants. “Supervisor [Juli] Briskman’s false reporting is a shameful attempt to divide our strong community and undermine law enforcement in one of the safest major counties in the nation,” Sheriff Chapman said. He was responding to Ms. Briskman’s claim that deputies had detained someone for Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the person called police for assistance following a car crash.
Loudoun County supervisor says 25 people have been taken from Sterling Immigration Court in past month
Loudoun County Supervisor Juli Briskman sharply criticized the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office for working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a press release as tensions rise nationwide. While 10 people were detained and arrested at Sterling Immigration Court last week, Briskman alleged that ICE agents confronted two more people who were watching. One person was "manhandled" outside of the building by plain clothes officers, according to a press release. The officers also pushed away the other person's phone, she wrote.
UVa board elects new — and historic — rector and vice rector
For the first time in history, the University of Virginia's governing Board of Visitors will be headed by a woman rector and vice rector. Rachel Sheridan, a partner at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, has been elected rector, ... Porter Wilkinson, another lawyer and chief of staff to the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents, has been elected vice rector. ... Sheridan and Wilkinson, both UVa alumni, were appointed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Sheridan in 2023 and Wilkinson in 2024. Sheridan donated $25,000 to Youngkin's 2021 campaign for governor, according to the Virginia Public Access Project ... Wilkinson is not recorded to have donated to Youngkin's campaign, according to the same records, but she has strong family connections to the Republican Party.
With federal funding uncertain, Va. faces $8 million gap for attendance, teacher retention programs
Virginia could be on the hook for $8 million to cover two initiatives to address student attendance and teacher retention if the federal government denies the commonwealth’s appeals, House lawmakers learned on Monday. The Virginia Department of Education, along with 14 school divisions and the Department of Juvenile Justice, filed appeals after being informed that the deadline for spending all allocated funds was abruptly moved to March 28 of this year. The original deadline had been set for March 2026. VDOE’s two appeals focused on the state’s Attendance Data Dashboard, designed to combat chronic absenteeism, and Grow Your Own, a program to support teacher apprenticeship pipelines.
These centrist women on a group chat are leading Democrats in 2025
They jumped into politics in President Donald Trump’s first term. They ascended to Congress with similar resumes. They text all the time in a group chat. Now Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill and Elissa Slotkin are all playing leading roles for the Democratic Party — a trio of centrist women with national security backgrounds who helped retake the House in 2018 and this year hope to steer their beleaguered party back toward winning. Spanberger, 45, had already clinched the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia heading into Tuesday’s primaries. She and 53-year-old Sherrill, the nominee in New Jersey, will lead Democrats on the ballot in the marquee races of 2025, testing the party’s ability to rebuild in Trump’s second term.
5 takeaways from Virginia’s primary election results
The political spotlight this year is on Virginia, which kicked off its statewide election cycle on Tuesday as voters around the state cast their ballots in primary races that determine this fall’s closely-watched battle for the top posts in Richmond. ... “The old saying that all politics is local doesn't really apply in Virginia in 2025,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington. “Even though Donald Trump's name is not on the ballot, the president will be at the center of these conversations.” He added that the primary appeared to be largely determined by suburban women and Black voters in the Hampton Roads region ...
House races: Austin victorious over primary challenger in HD 37 and other Southwest, Southside races
The table is set for November in Southwest and Southside Virginia after Tuesday’s primary elections determined the ballot for the general election in five House of Delegates races. Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt County, beat his primary challenger. In the Roanoke Valley, Democrat Donna Littlepage will go on to face Republican Del. Joe McNamara. In a district that spans Grayson, Pulaski, Smyth and Wythe counties, Mitchell Cornett outpaced Adam Tolbert in the Republican primary race for Del. Jed Arnold’s seat. And in Danville, Dr. Gary Miller, a Democrat, and Madison Whittle, a Republican, will face off in November for the seat currently held by Del. Danny Marshall’s, after Miller eked out a victory over Jasmine Lipscomb in the closest contest out of any of the House primary races across the state.
Jay Jones wins Democratic AG nomination; gubernatorial candidates hold rallies
Former Norfolk Del. Jay Jones was ahead in preliminary results for the Democratic attorney general primary Tuesday night, according to a call by the Associated Press. While the Democratic race for lieutenant governor was too close to call based on preliminary results, state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D–Chesterfield) — holding a narrow lead over former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and state Sen. Aaron Rouse (D–Virginia Beach) — claimed victory. (All election results are unofficial until certified by the state.) Virginia’s gubernatorial nominees, who were not on primary ballots, made their opening arguments for the general election as the primaries drew to a close, promising affordability and differing versions of stability, casting their opponent as extreme, and laying out stark policy differences on cultural and economic issues.
Spanberger looks to unite party after primary day
On the eve of Virginia’s down-ballot primaries, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger announced a statewide bus tour and criticized her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, during a campaign rally Monday. The event, held just hours before Democrats select nominees for other statewide races, signaled her intent to steer the party clear of the internal conflicts currently dogging the Republican ticket. Hundreds of supporters packed a hallway at the new J.R. Tucker High School, the school Spanberger attended growing up.
From VPAP June Primary Election Results
See results from yesterday's primary elections, including Democratic nomination contests for lieutenant governor and attorney general, and both Republican and Democratic primaries for the House of Delegates and local offices.