Category: State News

Rep. Claudia Tenney Calls to Disbar New York AG Letitia James for ‘Weaponizing the Justice System’ and ‘Trying to Take Trump Out’

Rachel Alexander

During an interview on the Fox Business Network, Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24) called to disbar New York Attorney General Letitia James for “weaponizing the justice system” and “trying to take Trump out.” James, who went after the Trump Organization in 2022, said during a press conference after this month’s election that she would use the law to “fight back” against Trump.

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Helene: Youngkin Requests $4.4 Billion in Federal Relief

The Center Square
Glenn Youngkin

In the wake of the devastation impacting southwestern Virginia following Hurricane Helene, Gov. Glenn Youngkin is requesting additional federal assistance to support recovery efforts.

Youngkin submitted a request for $4.4 billion in federal support on Friday to President Joe Biden, President-elect Donald Trump and congressional appropriators. The governor said the aid would support recovery efforts, which damaged farms, homes, businesses, “critical” infrastructure and tourism assets.

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Virginia Places Second in National Hospital Safety Grade Fall 2024 Ranking

Kaitlin Housler

Virginia ranked second in the Fall 2024 Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Grade state rankings for patient safety in hospitals, marking the fifth consecutive time the commonwealth ranked second overall.

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Virginia A.G. Jason Miyares Seeks Reelection, Leaving Governor Race to Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Rep. Abigail Spanberger

Tom Pappert
Jason Miyares

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Monday announced he will seek reelection, officially ending speculation he would launch a gubernatorial bid in an effort to maintain Republican control over the Executive Mansion, as Governor Glenn Youngkin is prevented from seeking a second consecutive term by the Virginia Constitution.

Miyares announced his reelection bid in a post to the social media platform X, where he wrote, “We are not going back to the failed policies of the past; our families’ safety and Virginia’s future depends on it.”

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Bucks County, Pennsylvania Votes to Count Illegal Ballots Because ‘People Violate Laws Any Time They Want’

Tom Pappert

The two Democratic members of the Bucks County Commission voted to count ballots the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined are illegal in a previous ruling, with the county specifically giving election workers orders to count mail-in votes returned with an incomplete, incorrect, or missing date.

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Virginia Political Candidates Look Ahead to 2025

The Center Square
Virginia Capitol

As President-elect Donald Trump is making cabinet picks and Congress orients its new members, Virginia is gearing up for its next elections.

One week after election day, campaign announcements for 2025 are popping up across the commonwealth. Virginia is one of just a handful of states that holds major elections in off years, so while special elections to replace state Sens. John McGuire, R-Goochland, and Suhas Subramanyam, D-Loudoun – both elected to Congress last week – are the most immediate, they’re just the beginning of the political contests Virginians will see in 2025.

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Biden Taps Coordinator of Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal to Lead Trump Transition at State Department

Tom Pappert
Stephen Mull

The Biden U.S. State Department announced on Thursday the agency’s transition to the Trump administration will be coordinated by Stephen Mull, a former longtime State Department official who most recently served as the lead coordinator for the Iran nuclear deal reached under former President Barack Obama, and who is now the provost for the University of Virginia (UVA).

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed Mull was appointed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to lead the agency’s transition in a press conference. He told reporters the agency views a “peaceful transition of power” as an “essential part of our democracy that is vital to our nation’s security.”

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Watchdog Highlights Financial, Staffing Issues at Virginia Department of Health

The Center Square
Work Meeting

Virginia’s legislative watchdog agency presented a stark review of ongoing financial management and staffing issues at the Virginia Department of Health to legislators Thursday.

Republican and Democratic state legislators alike were surprised at the severity and extent of the department’s issues, calling the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission staff’s findings “very sobering,” “shocking” and “disturbing.”

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Trump Says He Can Expand Swing State Victories to Virginia, New Mexico, and New Jersey

Tom Pappert
Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that he can win more than the seven expected swing states, offering Virginia, New Mexico, and New Jersey as states that may offer possible victories on Election Day despite his campaign’s relative lack of resources spent there.

Trump on Sunday predicted the possible victories after to NBC News reporter Dasha Burns raised an outlier poll of Iowa voters that found Vice President Kamala Harris winning the state.

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Helene: Recovery Loans Available to Virginia Farming, Forestry Small Businesses

The Center Square

Virginia agricultural and forestry small businesses impacted by Hurricane Helene now have another place to turn for help.

Individuals and state and local governments in federally designated disaster zones can already apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance, as the president approved a Major Disaster Declaration for the commonwealth within a week of the storm.

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Virginia A.G. Jason Miyares Still ‘Deeply Concerned’ by Biden-Harris Push for Noncitizen Voters After Supreme Court Victory

Tom Pappert
Jason Miyares

While the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed the right of Virginia to remove noncitizens from its voter rolls, Attorney General Jason Miyares said on Wednesday he remains “deeply concerned and alarmed” by the legal action taken against Virginia by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) prior to the high court’s intervention.

The Biden-Harris administration sued Virginia earlier in October, claiming they violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) by removing about 1,600 noncitzens from the commonwealth’s voter rolls within 90 days of an election.

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Supreme Court Takes Rapid Action in Appeal to Remove Noncitizens from Virginia Voter Rolls

Tom Pappert
Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday docketed the appeal filed Sunday by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares after a federal appeals court declined to overrule a lower court’s decision to force Virginia to add approximately 1,600 noncitizens back to its voter rolls.

According to the Supreme Court’s online portal, the case was docketed on Monday after Virginia submitted its appeal for the high court to reverse a lower court’s decision on Sunday.

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John Fredericks: Virginia AG Miyares Will Appeal Decision by Federal Judge Forcing Commonwealth to Place Illegal Aliens on Voter Rolls at Request of Weaponized Biden-Harris DOJ

Kaitlin Housler
John Fredericks, Michael Patrick Leahy

Pennsylvania-based radio show host John Fredericks said Friday’s federal court decision ordering Virginia to place non-citizens back on its voter rolls proves the Biden-Harris administration’s intentions to have illegal aliens vote in U.S. elections.

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Youngkin, Miyares Vow to Appeal for Virginia’s Right to Remove Illegal Voters ‘All the Way to the Supreme Court’

Tom Pappert
Jason Miyares and Glenn Youngkin

Governor Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares on Friday vowed to appeal after a federal judge ordered Virginia to restore about 1,500 noncitizens to the commonwealth’s voter rolls.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Trolliver Giles, an appointee of President Joe Biden, announced her decision after the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) sued to force Virginia to restore the noncitizen voters, alleging the commonwealth violated the National Voter Registration Act by removing them so close to an election.

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Youngkin Issues Executive Order to Combat Gang Violence

The Center Square

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued his 41st executive order Thursday establishing a statewide gang and community violence prevention partnership and enforcement strategy to confront gang violence.

In addition to combating gang violence, the order will target drug and human trafficking and violence committed with firearms. The action also aims to provide support to communities and victims.

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Several Virginia Locations Under Consideration for Shore-Based Nuclear Power Sites

The Center Square
Naval Air Station

Four of seven locations the Navy is considering for potential shore-based nuclear power sites are in Virginia, according to information recently released by the department.

Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Naval Support Activity South Potomac in Dahlgren, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, and Marine Corps Base Quantico are the sites under consideration. Installations in Maryland and North Carolina are also being considered.

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Lawsuit: More than 6,000 Noncitizens on Virginia Voter Rolls in the Balance

The Center Square
Person Voting

Over 6,000 “noncitizens” could be added back to Virginia’s voter rolls if the U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of groups advocating on behalf of immigrants prevail in their lawsuits against the commonwealth.

A pair of lawsuits filed against the state target Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Executive Order 35, which aims to increase election security. However, the cases are focused on the commonwealth’s ongoing efforts to clean voter roll logs, specifically “noncitizens” registered to vote.

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Gov. Youngkin, A.G. Miyares Vow to Fight ‘Politically Motivated’ Biden-Harris DOJ Lawsuit over Removal of Non-Citizens from Voter Rolls

Tom Pappert

Governor Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares have vowed Virginia will fight the lawsuit launched by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) over the commonwealth’s recent effort to remove non-citizens from its voter rolls, with both noting it was filed less than one month before Election Day.

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Minnesota Legislator Files Suit to Dismiss Law That Criminalizes Sharing AI-Generated Election Memes

ANews
Mary Franson

State Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to strike down a Minnesota law that can criminalize the sharing of AI-generated election memes.

In 2023, Democrats and Republicans in Minnesota passed a bill, HF 1370, which regulated AI-generated content in Minnesota.

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Former Virginia Teacher Receives $575,000 Settlement After Being Fired over Refusing to Use Transgender Pronouns

Tom Pappert
Peter Vlaming

A former teacher in Virginia received $575,000 in a settlement to end his lawsuit after he was fired by West Point High School in 2018 for refusing to use the preferred gender of a student who identified as transgender, the conservative legal organization behind the lawsuit announced on Tuesday.

The Alliance for Defending Freedom (ADF) announced on Tuesday it reached a settlement with the West Point School Board after the firing of Peter Vlaming, who taught French at West Point High School prior to his firing in 2018.

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Vindman Running for House as a Centrist, but Using Sanders-Linked Strategy Firm

Just the News

Democratic U.S. House candidate Eugene Vindman has disbursed millions of dollars to a Bernie Sanders-linked strategy group that works with “progressive campaigns” while running on a moderate message, emphasizing local issues and the importance of rejecting extremism.

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Virginia Poll Shows Tied Gubernatorial Race, Nearly Tied Presidential Race

The Center Square
VA GA Poll

Virginia’s current political contests could hardly be closer, according to the University of Mary Washington’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies Fall 2024 poll.

A little over a year out, the poll showed Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-07, and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the leading candidates for the commonwealth’s 2025 gubernatorial race, in a dead heat. When respondents were asked who they would vote for between the two “if the election were held today,” 39% indicated Spanberger, and 39% indicated Earle-Sears. Twelve percent didn’t know who they’d vote for.

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Dominion Energy Offering Home EV-Charger Installation

The Center Square
EV Charger

While Dominion Energy works to install a record-breaking solar project at Dulles International Airport and an offshore wind farm along Virginia’s coast, it’s also advancing the state’s green energy ecosystem in other ways.

The utility provider recently announced a new program to make owning an electric vehicle easier.

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Rep. Elise Stefanik Predicts ‘Trump is Going to Win Virginia’ at Rally as Poll Shows Race Tied

Tom Pappert
Rep Elise Stefanik

Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) on Saturday predicted former President Donald Trump will win Virginia during a Women for Trump rally in Charlottesville.

Stefanik made her remarks at the Women for Trump rally held at the Trump Winery in Charlottesville by Rally Virginia amid the release of polling that shows a statistical tie between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, who has sought to reverse the loss of Democratic support in Virginia that reportedly helped prompt President Joe Biden to drop his bid for reelection.

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Loudoun County Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Voted Down

The Center Square
Counting Money

After months of discussion and the adoption of similar programs by some of its neighbors, Loudoun County leadership voted down a guaranteed income pilot program.

In a surprising turn of events, Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors abandoned the pursuit of a new economic mobility pilot in a 3-5-1 vote. Months earlier, in May, the board had voted 6-2-1 in favor of appropriating $2 million of county fund balance dollars to the program’s development.

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Poll: Harris, Trump Tied in Virginia

The Center Square
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

As early voting gets underway Friday in Virginia, a new poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in a dead heat in the commonwealth.

A poll conducted by the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington shows Harris leads Trump by 1%, with the vice president at 47% and the former president at 46%. The poll was conducted among 1,000 Virginians on Sept. 3-9, before the first and what appears to be the only debate between Harris and Trump.

The result is a statistical tie, given the margin of error is +/- 3.0%.

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Virginia A.G. Jason Miyares Urges EPA to Block California Electric Truck Mandate, ‘Extreme Environmental Agenda’

Tom Pappert
Jason Miyares

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to maintain its block on the California electric truck mandate created by Governor Gavin Newsom, declaring the state is “playing games with America’s livelihood.”

Miyares on Monday announced he joined a comment letter urging the EPA to maintain its federal block on California’s Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation, which mandates every major commercial trucking company either maintain an “zero-emission-vehicle” (ZEV) fleet or have a plan to retire traditional internal combustion engines in accordance with the regulation.

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John Eastman Appeals California Disbarment over His 2020 Election Legal Work, Calls the Prosecution Orwellian

Rachel Alexander

Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar, John Eastman, filed an opening brief with the California State Bar Court last week appealing his disbarment for assisting Donald Trump with legal representation regarding the 2020 election illegalities. California Disciplinary Judge Yvette Roland formed her opinion by determining that Eastman’s legal opinions were wrong and that there was no election wrongdoing.

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Eugene Vindman’s Sister-in-Law, Who Apologized over Trump Assassination Tweets, Donated to Group Accused of Illegally Helping Democrat’s Campaign

Tom Pappert
Rachel Vindman

Rachel Vindman, the sister-in-law of Democratic U.S. House candidate Eugene Vindman, twice donated to the VoteVets political organization that is advised by her husband, Alexander Vindman.

News of her donations to VoteVets, which supports the campaign of Eugene Vindman, surfaces after Rachel Vindman apologized for social media posts minimizing the second attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump.

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Shoplifting and Vehicle Thefts Soared as Haitian Migrants Poured into Ohio Town, Police Data Shows

Daily Caller News Foundation

Reports of shoplifting and vehicle theft increased considerably in Springfield, Ohio, following the arrival of thousands of Haitian refugees, according to data obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation through a records request. The town, which had a population of 58,622 in 2020, has taken in between 12,000 and 20,000 Haitian refugees over the past three years, marking a population increase of between 20.4% and 34.1%. From 2021 to 2023, Springfield also saw a 51.5% jump in motor vehicle theft reports and a 112.8% spike in reports of shoplifting, data provided by the Springfield Police Division shows.

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Sister-in-Law of Democrat House Candidate Eugene Vindman Deletes ‘Flippant’ Tweets Blaming Trump for Assassination Attempt

Tom Pappert

The sister-in-law of Eugene Vindman, the Democratic nominee for Virginia’s 7th Congressional district, deleted a series of controversial posts to the social media platform X, all of which referenced the second attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump.

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Virginia County Continues to Pursue Guaranteed Income Pilot Project

The Center Square
Counting Money

A select group of Loudoun County residents may soon receive an extra “no strings attached” $500 per month from the county.

Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors voted in its most recent finance committee meeting to move forward with plans to establish a guaranteed income pilot project, as several other Virginia localities have done — along with more than 150 other localities across the country, according to Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.

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Conservative Florida Attorney Appeals License Suspension, Denounces Political Censorship over Calling His Opponent ‘Corrupt’ and ‘Swampy’

Rachel Alexander

Chris Crowley, a conservative attorney in Florida, filed an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court last month contesting a 60-day suspension of his law license for exercising free speech during his political campaign for the state attorney’s office in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit.

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Climate Activists Disrupt Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin Speech on September 11 Remembrance

Just the News
Glenn Youngkin

Climate activists crashed Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s lunch keynote at a Federalist Society education event in downtown Washington, D.C., on Thursday, interrupting his remarks about remembering the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Republican, who sailed into office on the strength of parental demands to control their children’s education amid COVID-19 restrictions, was discussing how he just came from Arlington National Cemetery when a small mob of activists approached the stage and started chanting.

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Latest Poll Shows Harris with Strong Lead over Trump in Virginia

The Center Square
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

Virginia may not be in play after all in the 2024 presidential contest, judging by the results of a new poll by The Washington Post and George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. 

The poll, conducted Wednesday through Sunday, shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump by 8% (51%-43%), starkly contrasting with polls administered in the late spring and earlier summer when President Joe Biden was still the Democratic nominee. 

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Virginia A.G. Miyares Blames Kamala Harris After Illegal Immigrant Arrested for Abducting Teenager, Impersonating Police: ‘It’s A Betrayal’

Tom Pappert
Virginia A.G. Jason Miyares, Jesus Cabrera

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Sunday responded to the recent arrest of an illegal immigrant who is charged with the abduction of a teenage girl and falsely claiming he was police officer by condemning Vice President Kamala Harris’ oversight of the southern border as “a betrayal” of the American people.

“This horrific crime is a direct result of Kamala Harris putting her political agenda above the safety of American citizens,” said Miyares in a post to the social media platform X. “It’s not just negligence; it’s a betrayal. Our communities’ safety should never be sacrificed for reckless, politically driven decisions.”

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Local ‘Sanctuary’ Policies in Virginia Pose Dangers to National Security

The Center Square
Town of Quantico

Localities with “sanctuary” policies in Virginia have grown, many butting up against vital military or national security instillations, posing potential threats, according to a former Homeland Security and immigration senior official.

Last month, immigration policy think tank the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released an updated map of localities that have adopted sanctuary policies, which showed a surge in the commonwealth totaling 84.

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University of Virginia Ranks First for Free Speech

The Center Square
UVA Students

The University of Virginia tops the 2025 free speech ranking on college campuses, a first for the school founded by Thomas Jefferson.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression surveyed over 250 colleges and universities in its rankings. The foundation survey, administered by College Pulse, surveyed nearly 60,000 undergraduates enrolled full-time in four-year degree programs.

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Virginia A.G. Miyares Promises No Campaign Talk Until After November Despite Lt. Gov. Earle-Sears Declaring Run for Governor

Tom Pappert
Jason Miyares

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Thursday said he would not say whether he intends to seek a higher office, or reelection, until after the November elections in a Thursday post to social media.

Miyares confirmed he will hold his silence just hours after Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears on Thursday declared her gubernatorial candidacy in a bid to succeed Governor Glenn Youngkin, who is precluded from seeking a second term by the Virginia Constitution.

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January 6 Defendant Receives First Reduced Sentence After Supreme Court Ruling

Just the News
January Six Protest

A former Virginia police officer on Wednesday became the first January 6 defendant to receive a reduced sentence after the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of an obstruction charge used against Jan. 6 rioters.

The Supreme Court in June made it more difficult to charge the defendants with obstruction but charges can still be brought if prosecutors can prove that rioters were intentionally trying to stop the arrival of certificates used to certify electoral votes during the riot.

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Conservative Group Spends $2.3 Million to Flip Virginia U.S. House Seat Sought by Democrat Involved with Trump Impeachment

Tom Pappert
Derrick Anderson and Eugene Vindman

A Tuesday report revealed an influential conservative political fund has spent $2.3 million to flip Virginia’s 7th Congressional District in November. Republicans are trying to help Derrick Anderson secure a victory against Eugene Vindman, who featured prominently in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump.

Anderson will benefit from $2.3 million in spending from the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), which exists to elect Republicans to the U.S. House, according to a Tuesday report by Punchbowl News.

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Former Delegate Jay Jones Announces Bid for Virginia Attorney General as A.G. Miyares Appears to Eye Executive Mansion

Tom Pappert
Jason Mirayes, Jay Jones

Former Virginia House Delegate Jay Jones reportedly filed paperwork to run for Attorney General of the commonwealth, ending his break from politics that began after Jones announced his resignation in 2021.

Jones filed paperwork to run for Virginia Attorney General on August 28, according to WRIC, which reported Monday a staff member for the Democrat replied that any official announcement would come after the November elections.

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Enrollment Growing for Virginia’s Four-Year Colleges, Community Colleges Declining

The Center Square
Students at University of Virginia

College enrollment declined nationwide by 15 percent from 2010-21 and still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, though the 2023-24 school year was the first since 2020 that schools saw an average increase in enrollment. 

Virginia colleges also experienced these trends but over a slightly shorter period. As of fall 2023, enrollment in the state’s four-year universities was actually higher than it was at its peak in 2012 but much lower for its community colleges. 

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Virginia Leaders Come Together to Sign Anti-Bigotry Legislation

The Center Square
Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs a bill

Gov. Glenn Youngkin held a ceremonial signing for legislation adding ethnicity to the protected classes under the Virginia Human Rights Act and ratcheting up penalties for people committing crimes motivated by bigotry.

The bipartisan House and Senate legislation was inspired by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Gaza, which led to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, sparking anti-Israeli protests around the globe, including Virginia. 

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Youngkin Declares ‘Virginia Is Competitive’ for Trump Campaign Despite Biden-Harris Swap

Tom Pappert
Glenn Youngkin, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump

Governor Glenn Youngkin said on Wednesday that Virginia remains competitive for former President Donald Trump and Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) despite President Joe Biden dropping out of the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been credited with making up ground lost under Biden.

Youngkin made the remarks during an appearance on The Brian Kilmeade Show, initially acknowledging the recent poll results that showed Harris narrowly leading Trump within the survey’s margin of error.

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Eugene Vindman Accused of ‘Dodging Simple Questions’ over ‘Inflating Military Resume’ in Virginia U.S. House Race

Tom Pappert
Eugene Vindman

Derrick Anderson, the Republican U.S. House candidate for Virginia’s 7th Congressional district, said on Tuesday that his Democratic opponent is “dodging simple questions” about whether he exaggerated or inflated the sum of his military experience while on the campaign trail.

The Vindman campaign is currently the subject of a Federal Elections Commission (FEC) complaint over its reliance on an outside group to provide a response for questions about the candidate’s military experience.

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