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Virginia Politics

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Virginia GOP Voter ID Law: Voter Suppression?

Republicans say a requirement for picture ID protects "sanctity" of the vote; Democrats argue the GOP is keeping certain voters away from the polls on purpose.

Virginia voters will need a photo ID when they're heading to the polls beginning in 2014 under new requirements signed into law by Gov. Bob McDonnell this week. Supporters argue that a voter registration card with no picture creates an opening for fraudulent voting. McDonnell spokesman Jeff Caldwell said in a statement to The Washington Post that the new law is about protecting "the sanctity of our democratic process.”  Democratic leaders have challenged voter ID laws as a type of voter suppression. They note those without a photo ID are likely found among Democratic voters, particularly seniors and college students. The new law will need approval by the U.S. Justice Department, a requirement for any voting changes in most Southern states …

Larry Gross

5:29 pm on Sunday, May 5, 2013

you have to qualify to register but once you do provide the required information why not receive a photo ID - just like you do when you get a drivers license? If we want to require photo-id, fine - provide one when you register to vote.... I don't have a problem with photo id when you register to vote but I do have a problem when they do register you and then later on - even though you are …   more ›

Monday, September 17, 2012

Poll: Obama Ahead by 5 Points in Virginia

Public Policy Polling shows Romney with 51-45 advantage with male vote in the state.

With the election less than two months away, President Barack Obama leads the state of Virginia by 5 points, 51 to 46, in a match-up with former Gov. Mitt Romney, according to a poll released Sunday by Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, NC. "Barack Obama continues to look like the definite favorite in Virginia," said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling, in a news release. "And it's hard to imagine a scenario where Obama would win Virginia but lose the election." The Virginians who are "most excited" about the presidential race? Women, young voters and African Americans, the poll noted in its news release. The poll also showed: The poll surveyed 1,021 likely Virginia voters from Sept. 13-16. Read more about the presidential …

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David Aims

9:34 am on Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Interesting observation. Thank you!   more ›

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Is McDonnell Being Vetted by Romney Campaign?

Virginia governor tells WTOP's Mark Segraves "apparently there's some vetting going on."

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell may still be in the running for the VP slot with former Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP presumptive nominee in the presidential race. On Tuesday morning's "Ask the Governor" program on radio station WTOP, the governor told host Mark Segraves that "apparently there's some vetting going on," by the Romney campaign. Instead of denying that he is being vetted, as he has done in the past, McDonnell said Tuesday it would be best to ask the Romney campaign. McDonnell attended a Park City, Utah retreat with Romney and other GOP leaders and donors over the weekend. Some pundits surmised Romney was sizing up potential VP choices. McDonnell is set to attend a luncheon for Romney today in D.C. Romney is scheduled to make an …

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10:16 am on Friday, November 30, 2012

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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

All in the Family: Anne Holton Campaigns for Husband Tim Kaine

Both a daughter and wife of Virginia governors, Holton embarked on a listening tour of Northern Virginia on Saturday in support of her husband's candidacy for the U.S Senate.

Former Virginia first lady Anne Holton is going full speed ahead campaigning for husband Tim Kaine, the former governor who hopes to get elected to the U.S. Senate come November. Most polls show a race between Democrat Kaine and probable GOP candidate George Allen as "neck and neck" as Holton herself put it Saturday. Married more than 25 years, Holton and Kaine first met when both were students at Harvard Law School. Today Anne is a wife, mother and lawyer, and a campaigner, a role she said she will increase as the election nears. She traveled to Northern Virginia Saturday from her family's home in Richmond, making stops in Leesburg, Vienna and Reston. In Vienna, Holton criss-crossed the town on a blustery spring day, visiting owners and …

Thursday, January 5, 2012

George Allen’s Secret Weapon: Susan Allen

Family is in Senate race ‘110 percent’ after ‘06 campaign led to ‘toughest year of our lives’

As George Allen roams the state of Virginia in his quest for a second chance to reclaim his seat in the U.S. Senate, he invariably begins many of his sentences with “Susan and I…” Susan is the former Susan Brown, now Susan Allen, his wife of 25 years, former first lady of Virginia, mother of three and self-described “sidekick” on the campaign trail. The two are a little Bill and Hill, a little Ron and Nancy. “After losing in 2006, we never envisioned him running again,” Susan Allen said in a recent interview at Hollin Hall Pastry Shop in Fort Hunt near the Allens’ home in Mount Vernon. It was a squeaker of an election, with Jim Webb winning by less than 10,000 votes. But it wasn’t long before backers urged George to jump back into politics…

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Incumbents Puller, Barker in GOP Cross-Hairs

Two seats among those Republicans hope to nab in Tuesday's election

As Election Day nears, Virginia Republicans are keeping a close eye on several tight races across the state, hoping to wrest control of the state Senate away from the Democrats. George Mason University Professor Mark Rozell told Reuters that if Republicans take the state Senate, it could spell trouble next year for President Obama, who won the state in 2008. Northern Virginia has seen visits in recent weeks from Michelle Obama, second lady Jill Biden, former President Bill Clinton and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Democrats and Republicans in Virginia are duking it out down to the wire, throwing cash at campaigns across the state where they see trouble. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, last-minute contributions …

Will Radle

10:23 pm on Sunday, November 6, 2011

GEORGE Barker was the ONLY Senator who stood on the floor and spoke for Fairfax County taxpayers and students saving us $60 million. The coming struggle in Virginia's General Assembly will be between the state and local government. Governor McDonnell has already said he wants to further reduce the state's investment in education while expanding state mandates on local government. Unfunded …   more ›

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

N. Va. Incumbents Out-Raising Challengers in Key Assembly Races

Albo, Barker, Puller, Surovell outpace opponents in latest reporting period, Aug. 11-31 and have more cash-on-hand.

Incumbents in several closely watched Virginia Assembly races in Fairfax County out-raised their challengers last month, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks campaign spending. Here's a look at fund-raising for a few select races, plus the wide-open state's 30th District Senate race, with the general election just seven weeks away. The amounts listed under each subheading are funds raised by the campaigns from Aug. 11-31, from reports submitted by Sept. 16 by the campaigns. House of Delegates District 42 Race Republican Del. Dave Albo, the incumbent in the 42nd District, moved even further ahead of Democratic contender Jack Dobbyn in the money race to hang onto his seat, according to VPAP. From Aug. 11-31, Albo …

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Beth Lawton

7:38 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011

Hi m.tracy: This article was meant to be a "snapshot in time" of fund-raising efforts for the local candidates, just to give readers a sense of where each candidate was, financially, at the point we wrote this. The numbers for this article came from VPAP.org—you're right that it's a really good resource. In the coming weeks, we'll be doing more on campaign finances, especially since more than one…   more ›

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