Virginia governor's race a test of Trump's grip on competitive state
WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) - Virginia's governor election this year is a popularity test for Republican President Donald Trump and his policies, presenting an opportunity for Democrats to claw back some power after the party's recent election rout.
The southern state holds a primary on Tuesday that will determine who faces off in the November 4 general election. The process is largely a formality as Democrats and Republicans each have only one candidate, likely meaning either Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, the first Black Republican elected statewide, or Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former three-term U.S. Representative, will become the state's first woman governor.
The state's off-year election is often seen as a referendum on the presidency. Only once since 1977 has Virginia picked a governor from the same party as the sitting president.
Four years ago, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin ran against former President Joe Biden's pandemic-era policies and won. Virginia law does not allow governors to serve consecutive terms.
The three major non-partisan U.S. election ratings groups and recent public opinion polls give Spanberger a slight edge in the general election.
"The race is likely to be competitive. It's not going to be a blowout one way or another,' said Jennifer Victor, a political science professor at George Mason University.
Trump's government overhaul, previously led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, hit parts of Virginia's more than 144,000 federal civilian workforce, from the northern suburbs outside Washington, D.C., to the southern part of the state that is home to a large military presence.
"There is going to be this question of federal workers just because of how much it was taken as a direct assault on Virginia and what Virginia contributes to the nation," said Claire McKinney, a government professor at the College of William & Mary.
Norfolk's Port of Virginia, the nation's ninth-largest water port based on tonnage, is also bracing for the potential full implementation of Trump's sweeping tariff threats.
"If people start feeling their prices go up, and start feeling businesses start laying people off, which I think is likely if these tariffs have the impact that I expect, that would be terrible for Sears," said Derrick Max, a Republican who leads the free-market Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy in Virginia.
"But if Trump is using this as a bargaining chip and the tariffs never really go into effect and we end up getting some trade deals out of it, it's a bonus for Sears."
Spanberger was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections during Trump's first term. One of five women with national security backgrounds who helped Democrats capture a House majority, the former CIA officer is using similar tactics to rail against the administration's latest policies and congressional Republicans' proposed tax and budget legislation.
Virginia's politically diverse electorate requires Spanberger to break into more rural areas that have been a challenge for the national Democratic Party, according to Brandy Faulkner, a politics professor at Virginia Tech.
"She's going to have to get out of that little bubble and really see what ordinary people in the non-metro areas are concerned about and why they've been voting as they have been," Faulkner said.
Spanberger said in a statement that if elected she would focus on lowering costs, strengthening the state economy and schools, and protecting freedoms.
"Virginians deserve leaders who will always put their jobs, schools, and communities first," Spanberger said.
Earle-Sears, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, is hoping her statewide record coupled with Trump's popularity in parts of the state far from the Washington suburbs can turn out the conservative base.
"I will never stop fighting to make life more affordable, our schools stronger, and our communities safer. We've delivered important progress over the past four years, and we still have so much more to do," Earle-Sears said in a statement.
In New Jersey, the only other U.S. state holding a governor's race this year, Democratic U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill - a former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor who was also first elected in the 2018 midterms - will face Trump-backed Republican former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli.
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BBC News
41 minutes ago
- BBC News
Can trainers be made in the US without cheap labour?
In a corner of Kentucky just outside of Louisville, family-owned shoe company Keen is opening a new factory this move fits neatly into the "America First" economic vision championed by the Trump administration - an emblem of hope for a manufacturing renaissance long promised but rarely beneath the surface, Keen's new factory tells a far more complicated story about what manufacturing in America really looks like just 24 employees on site, the factory relies heavily on automation -sophisticated robots that fuse soles and trim materials - underscoring a transformation in how goods are made today. Manufacturing is no longer the labour-intensive engine of prosperity it once was, but a capital-heavy, high-tech enterprise."The labour rates here in the US are very expensive," says Keen's chief operating officer, Hari Perumal. Compared to factories in Asia, American staffing costs run roughly 10 to 12 times higher, he a reality that forced Keen to come up with a solution back in 2010, when rising costs in China pushed the company to begin producing domestically - a decision which today offers it some buffer against Trump's tariffs. But it's far from a straightforward like many industries, remains tightly linked to sprawling global supply chains. The vast majority of footwear production is still carried out by hand in Asia, with billions of pairs imported annually into the make domestic production viable, Keen has invested heavily in automation, enabling the Kentucky plant to operate with just a fraction of the workforce required overseas."We are making products here in the USA very economically and very efficiently," says Mr Perumal."And the way we do that is with tons of automation, and [it] also starts with how the products are designed and what kind of materials and automation we utilise." The challenges of reshoring manufacturing go beyond Keen. Major brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour also attempted to develop new manufacturing technologies in the US around a decade ago — efforts that ultimately Keen only assembles 9% of its shoes in America. It turns out that making shoes in a new way, and at scale, is complex and story of American manufacturing is one of dramatic rise and gradual decline. After World War Two, US factories churned out shoes, cars, and appliances, employing millions and helping to build a robust middle as globalisation accelerated in the late 20th Century, many industries moved overseas, chasing cheaper labour and looser regulations. This shift hollowed out America's industrial heartland, contributing to political and economic tensions that still resonate has become a symbol of these changes. Approximately 99% of shoes sold in the US are imported, mainly from China, Vietnam, and domestic footwear supply chain is almost non-existent - only about 1% of shoes sold are made in America. Pepper Harward, CEO of Oka Brands, one of the rare companies still producing shoes in the US, knows this challenge well. His factory in Buford, Georgia, crafts shoes for brands like New Balance and sourcing affordable parts and materials in the US remains a constant struggle."It's not a self-sustained ecosystem," Mr Harward says. "You kind of have to build your own. That is extremely challenging as vendors and suppliers sometimes come in and out."To source the foam and PVC for their soles, Oka Brands tried tapping into the automotive industry's supplier network — an unconventional but necessary workaround. For companies like Keen and Oka, making shoes in America requires patience, investment, and innovation. The question is whether they - and others - can scale production under the protectionist policies now in Harward says there is definitely more interest in local manufacturing because of tariffs, noting that the supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic also spurred greater interest in reshoring. But he is sceptical that tariffs alone will drive a wholesale return."It would probably take 10 years of pretty high tariffs to give people incentives to do it," says Mr Harward. Even then, he believes the industry might realistically see only about 6% of production return to US for Keen, plans that began over a decade ago, are coming to fruition. It is the kind of patient investment only a family business can afford."We are a private, values-led company," Mr Perumal explains. "We're able to do these types of decisions without having to have to worry about quarter after quarter results."Still, even for companies who are already making shoes in America, the reality of modern manufacturing is that it is difficult to simply reverse decades of new factory is not a signal of a return to the past, but a glimpse of what the future of American manufacturing might look like - one where technology and tradition intersect.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Friends say Minnesota shooting suspect was deeply religious and conservative
The man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House held deeply religious and politically conservative views, telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U.S. was in a 'bad place' where most churches didn't oppose abortion. Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was at the center of a massive multistate manhunt on Sunday, a day after authorities say he impersonated a police officer and gunned down former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home outside Minneapolis. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz described the shooting as 'a politically motivated assassination.' Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were shot earlier by the same gunman at their home nearby but survived. Friends and former colleagues interviewed by The Associated Press described Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for President Donald Trump. Records show Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota where voters don't list party affiliation. Near the scene at Hortman's home, authorities say they found an SUV made to look like those used by law enforcement. Inside they found fliers for a local anti-Trump 'No Kings' rally scheduled for Saturday and a notebook with names of other lawmakers. The list also included the names of abortion rights advocates and health care officials, according to two law enforcement officials who could not discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. Both Hortman and Hoffman were defenders of abortion rights at the state legislature. Suspect not believed to have made any public threats before attacks, official says Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said at a briefing on Sunday that Boelter is not believed to have made any public threats before the attacks. Evans asked the public not to speculate on a motivation for the attacks. 'We often want easy answers for complex problems,' he told reporters. 'Those answers will come as we complete the full picture of our investigation.' Friends told the AP that they knew Boelter was religious and conservative, but that he didn't talk about politics often and didn't seem extreme. "He was right-leaning politically but never fanatical, from what I saw, just strong beliefs,' said Paul Schroeder, who has known Boelter for years. A glimpse of suspect's beliefs on abortion during a trip to Africa Boelter, who worked as a security contractor, gave a glimpse of his beliefs on abortion during a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023. While there, Boelter served as an evangelical pastor, telling people he had first found Jesus as a teenager. 'The churches are so messed up, they don't know abortion is wrong in many churches,' he said, according to an online recording of one sermon from February 2023. Still, in three lengthy sermons reviewed by the AP, he only mentioned abortion once, focusing more on his love of God and what he saw as the moral decay in his native country. He appears to have hidden his more strident beliefs from his friends back home. 'He never talked to me about abortion,' Schroeder said. 'It seemed to be just that he was a conservative Republican who naturally followed Trump.' A married father with five children, Boelter and his wife own a sprawling 3,800-square-foot house on a large rural lot about an hour from downtown Minneapolis that the couple bought in 2023 for more than a half-million dollars. Seeking to reinvent himself He worked for decades in managerial roles for food and beverage manufacturers before seeking to reinvent himself in middle age, according to resumes and a video he posted online. After getting an undergraduate degree in international relations in his 20s, Boelter went back to school and earned a master's degree and then a doctorate in leadership studies in 2016 from Cardinal Stritch University, a private Catholic college in Wisconsin that has since shut down. While living in Wisconsin, records show Boelter and his wife Jenny founded a nonprofit corporation called Revoformation Ministries, listing themselves as the president and secretary. After moving to Minnesota about a decade ago, Boelter volunteered for a position on a state workforce development board, first appointed by then-Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, in 2016, and later by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. He served through 2023. In that position, he may have crossed paths with one of his alleged victims. Hoffman served on the same board, though authorities said it was not immediately clear how much the two men may have interacted. Launching a security firm Records show Boelter and his wife started a security firm in 2018. A website for Praetorian Guard Security Services lists Boelter's wife as the president and CEO while he is listed as the director of security patrols. The company's homepage says it provides armed security for property and events and features a photo of an SUV painted in a two-tone black and silver pattern similar to a police vehicle, with a light bar across the roof and 'Praetorian' painted across the doors. Another photo shows a man in black tactical gear with a military-style helmet and a ballistic vest with the company's name across the front. In an online resume, Boelter also billed himself as a security contractor who worked oversees in the Middle East and Africa. On his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, he told Chris Fuller, a friend, that he had founded several companies focused on farming and fishing on the Congo River, as well as in transportation and tractor sales. 'It has been a very fun and rewarding experience and I only wished I had done something like this 10 years ago,' he wrote in a message shared with the AP. But once he returned home in 2023, there were signs that Boelter was struggling financially. That August, he began working for a transport service for a funeral home, mostly picking up bodies of those who had died in assisted living facilities — a job he described as he needed to do to pay bills. Tim Koch, the owner of Metro First Call, said Boelter 'voluntarily left' that position about four months ago. 'This is devastating news for all involved,' Koch said, declining to elaborate on the reasons for Boelter's departure, citing the ongoing law enforcement investigation. Boelter had also started spending some nights away from his family, renting a room in a modest house in northern Minneapolis shared by friends. Heavily armed police executed a search warrant on the home Saturday. 'I'm going to be gone for awhile' In the hours before Saturday's shootings, Boelter texted two roommates to tell them he loved them and that 'I'm going to be gone for a while,' according to Schroeder, who was forwarded the text and read it to the AP. 'May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn't gone this way,' Boelter wrote. 'I don't want to say anything more and implicate you in any way because you guys don't know anything about this. But I love you guys and I'm sorry for the trouble this has caused.' ___ Associated Press writer Mike Balsamo contributed to this report from Washington. Contact AP's global investigative team at Investigative@ or
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Terrifying new 'hit list' with a dozen more targets found at suspected Minnesota shooter's home
A second hit list written by alleged fugitive assassin Vance Boelter has been discovered at his home as the manhunt for the double homicide suspect continues. Boelter, 57, is wanted for allegedly shooting dead Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and wounding his Democratic State Senator John Hoffman on Saturday. He is facing both state and federal charges, with authorities announcing on Sunday that there is both a 'nationwide warrant' for Boelter's arrest for the murders and attempted murder at the state level as well as a federal warrant for 'unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.' Hortman and her husband Mark were killed at their home in Champlin, in northern Minneapolis, while Hoffman and his wife Yvette were wounded at their house in nearby Brooklyn Park. It is believed Boelter, a Trump supporter, was motivated to kill the two Democrats due to their support for abortion rights after police uncovered a hit list of about 70 people from his car Saturday morning. Most of the names on that list were Democrats or people with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement, CNN reports. A second hit list with more than a dozen new names was also found during a search of one of Boelter's homes on Saturday as police continued their manhunt for the suspect. Authorities located Boelter's car, a Buick that appeared to be dumped in Faxon Township, on Sunday and found a cowboy hot lying on the ground that was identical to one Boelter was wearing in CCTV images released by the FBI. By around 4pm, a four-door dark blue Buick Regal sedan was seen being removed from the search area on a flatbed truck. Here's what you need to know about the political assassinations in Minnesota: Boelter is wanted for the killings of Democratic State Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in Champlin. The suspect also shot and wounded Democratic State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette in nearby Brooklyn Park. Cops first responded to a call about the shooting at Hoffman's home about 2am on Saturday. They then went to check Hortman's home where they spotted the suspect. The suspect, dressed in police gear, exchanged gunfire with cops before retreating inside the house and then fleeing out the back on foot. Boelter's wife Jenny was pulled over by police with suspicious items in her car about 10am on Saturday, but was let go The FBI believes the attacks were politically motivated and is offering a $50,000 reward to find Boelter. Cops found several rifles in Boelter's vehicle and believe he may still be armed with a pistol. Inside the car they found handmade 'No Kings' flyers, an anti-Trump protests that took place across the US on Saturday that he may have planned to attack. Boelter was a Trump supporter and opposed abortion, according to his roommate. Inside his car cops found a hit list of prominent abortion rights campaigners, many of them Democratic lawmakers. Donald Trump called the shootings 'terrible' after being briefed on the matter. 'Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America,' he said. The development came after state troopers equipped with rifles and full body armor went house to house searching yards, outbuildings and garages. The military-style convey traveled in armored vehicles with rooftop snipers, but as of 7pm, the fugitive was still at-large. Minnesota State Patrol, SWAT teams, and a US Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrived in a dozen or more vehicles including heavily armored trucks about 11am on Sunday. The convoy included officers from the Bloomington Bomb Squad, one of four specialist units on call across the state to detect and defuse explosives. Hundreds more police set up a command post in Green Isle, near Boelter and his wife Jenny's home, to coordinate the manhunt. The search area includes around 120 acres of fields and woodland belonging to Brian Liebhard, 65. He said he was having trouble sleeping and was on his porch alone at 2.30am when he heard gunshots - about eight hours before the police arrived. His nephew later told him he'd found a dark Buick abandoned in a secluded side road along with a cowboy hat. 'I heard two shots. I have no idea if it's related to this,' he previously told Liebhard said he went to church on Sunday morning and came back and found access to his property blocked by a police cordon. He gave officers permission to begin an extensive search of his land, which includes several abandoned, crumbling homes and barns. The area is waterlogged and difficult to traverse without sinking deep into the mud, Liebhard added. 'My daughter brought up where this guy lived and said "Dad he's only four miles from us,"' he said. 'I've never seen him myself. As far as I know they are still searching for him there.' As the afternoon wore on, locals gathered at the cordon to exchange theories and gossip about the manhunt. 'So the hat is just sat there on the side of the road?' said one. 'It's too convenient. It's obviously a decoy. You fellas can't see the wood for the trees.' Authorities have also questioned Boelter's wife, Jenny, who was stopped at a convenience store while driving a car with three other relatives inside near Onamia about 10am on Saturday. She was found with a weapon, ammunition, cash, and passports about 75 miles from where the shootings took place in northern Minneapolis eight hours earlier. More than a dozen officers swarmed Jenny's car during the traffic stop and they were at the scene for two to three hours. Jenny was detained for questioning after officers found the items inside the vehicle, but no one was arrested as she was released. Authorities have since said she and other family members were cooperative with the investigation. But it remains unclear whether Boelter's vehicle was stopped randomly or being tracked by police, as the FBI offers a $50,000 reward for any information leading to his capture. Police said on Sunday they have already received more than 400 tips, and have recovered evidence from his vehicle. 'We continue to conduct interviews on the investigative piece, not only to learn his whereabouts, but also to follow up on the case and gather the information as part of the prosecution related to him,' Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at Minnesota's Department of Public Safety added. Police say Boelter the shot Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home in Champlin at around 2am on Saturday, but they survived the attack with multiple wounds. Hortman and her husband Mark were then fatally shot at their home eight miles away in Brooklyn Park about 3am. Officers then encountered the gunman fleeing Hortman's home at 3.35am and exchanged gunfire with him, which is when they reportedly found the initial hit list. Chilling photos showed the suspect donning an unsettling costume mask covering his entire head. Yet officers somehow let the suspect slip through their fingers as he escaped the scene on foot. As authorities began their search for the suspect, Boelter's best friend and roommate David Carlson told local news outlet KARE11 he was an avid Trump supporter and voted for the Republican candidate. He also described the suspect as a Christian who opposed abortion. In fact, the suspect worked as a pastor and was seen in a newly unearthed video dancing in a church service in Africa. The clip, filmed in February 2023, showed him delivering a passionate testimony about how he met Jesus at the age of 17. 'I met the Lord when I was 17 years old and I gave my life to Jesus Christ,' he says in the clip. He went on to describe naming his five children - who he shares with Jenny - after Christian virtues, Grace, Faith, Hope, Joy, and David, in what he calls a testament to God's blessings on his life. The alleged assassin also has armed security experience in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and North America through the Praetorian Guard Security Services, his biography on the website detailed. 'He brings a great security aspect forged by both many on the ground experiences combined with training by both private security firms and by people in the US Military,' it read. 'Vance Boelter has focused all this experience to make sure Praetorian Guard Security Services covers the needs you have to keep your family and property safe.' Boelter had also lived a life of public service before Saturday's tragedies, and he even served on the Governor's Workforce Development Board, which works closely with Gov. Tim Walz to give advice on the state's workforce. He served on the board from June 2016 to June 2018 as a private sector representative and from December 2019 to January 2023 as a board member. He was appointed under Walz both times. Additionally, Boelter was the chief executive of Red Lion Group, which was based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Red Lion Group has since deleted its website and LinkedIn pages, but Boelter's LinkedIn said he started at the company in December 2021. He announced two years ago that he was in the country with his company, working on 'private business projects'. Boelter also worked for Metro First Call, a funeral company in Minneapolis, in August 2023 to February 2025, where he took bodies from nursing homes to the business to be prepared for burial. He said in a video posted online that he worked with police and death investigators at crime scenes. Boelter updated his LinkedIn a month ago to say he had returned to the US and was looking for work in the food industry on the corporate side. He had previously worked at 7-Eleven and Greencore as a general manager, a system manager at Del Monte Foods, and an operational leader at Johnsonville Sausage, according to his LinkedIn. The social media page also shows his deep connections to politics, as he asked his followers to vote ahead of the 2020 election. The night before the deadly shots were fired, Boelter texted his roommates that he was 'going to be gone for a while'. Carlson, who shared a North Minneapolis home with Boelter, tearfully read aloud text messages from the accused assassin. 'David and Ron, I love you guys,' the eerie note began. 'I made some choices, and you guys don't know anything about this, but I'm going to be gone for a while.' He also said he 'may be dead shortly' and did not wish to involve Carlson or his other roommate Ron Ramsey. 'I don't know why he did what he did,' Carlson, his roommate, told KARE 11. 'It's just... it's not Vance... He had lots of friends, trust me, and I wish I could have been there to stop him.'
