Latest news with #VirginiaPrimaries
Fox News
9 hours ago
- Business
- Fox News
Trump not on ballot but president influences Tuesday's high-stakes primary
Virginia, one of only two states to hold gubernatorial elections this year, conducts high-profile primaries on Tuesday that may grab national attention. Voters in Virginia, a competitive state in American political elections, will cast Democrat and Republican primary ballots for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and for state lawmakers in the House of Delegates. And while President Donald Trump isn't on the ballot, his sweeping and controversial agenda has been a key part of the conversation on the Virginia campaign trail. Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, better-known by its acronym DOGE, has been on a mission to chop government spending and cut the federal workforce. The moves by DOGE, which until last month was steered by Elon Musk, the world's richest person, have been acutely felt in suburban Washington's heavily populated Northern Virginia, with its large federal workforce. "The policies of DOGE have hit northern Virginia hard," Dave Richards, political science chair at the University of Lynchburg, noted. Trump's name and his policies have been front-and-center on the Virginia campaign trail in recent weeks. That's fueled strong turnout in the Democratic Party contests in the 45 days of early voting leading up to primary day as the candidates have pledged to fight the president's agenda. "Over 189,000 Virginians cast their ballots early in the Democratic primaries. 189,000!!!!" the state Democratic Party touted in a social media post on the eve of primary day. The healthy turnout comes despite there being no drama at the top of the ticket. The race for governor has already been set, between Republican gubernatorial nominee Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger. But the winner in November will make history as Virginia's first female governor. And if Sears comes out on top, she'll become the nation's first Black woman to win election as governor. Virginia elected its first Black governor, L. Douglas Wilder, in 1989. Incumbent Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has a large national profile, is prevented from running for re-election as Virginia's constitution doesn't allow sitting governors to seek consecutive terms. Republicans have already decided their nominations for lieutenant governor and attorney general, so all the action down ballot is among the Democrats. The GOP's lieutenant governor nominee is former radio host John Reid, who, if elected, would be Virginia's first openly gay lieutenant governor. The six Democrats running to face off in November with Reid are, in alphabetical order, attorney Alex Bastani, state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, chair of the Prince William County school board Babur Lateef, state Sen. Aaron Rouse, federal prosecutor and law professor Victor Salgado, and former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney. The Republican nominee for attorney general is incumbent Jason Miyares. Two Democrats, former state lawmaker and former Washington, D.C., Assistant Attorney General Jay Jones and Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor, are running to face off with Miyares in November. While Republicans currently control all three statewide offices, Democrats hold slim majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. All 100 seats in the House of Delegates - which the Democrats control 51-49 - are up for grabs in November. Kyle Kondik, the managing editor of the non-partisan political handicapper Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, highlighted that "the gubernatorial race will really help set the tone for the other statewide races and the race for the House of Delegates." And Richards noted, "the Republican ticket is very diverse, and the results of the Democratic primary will determine how diverse the democratic ticket is." Virginia's primaries are likely to grab attention, as it and New Jersey - which held primaries last week - are the only two states to hold gubernatorial showdowns in the year following a presidential election. And the results are also seen as a precursor to the following year's midterm elections, when Republicans will be defending their House and Senate majorities, and 36 states will hold elections for governor. Republicans swept the elections for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general in Virginia four years ago, breaking a 12-year losing streak to the Democrats. And while Republicans haven't carried the Commonwealth in a White House contest since 2004, Trump only lost the state by six points in last November's presidential election, a four-point improvement from his 2020 defeat. But Republicans will be facing historical headwinds this November. With only one exception since 1977, the party that holds the White House loses Virginia's gubernatorial election.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Primary Election Day is here. Here's what you need to know to vote.
It's officially Election Day for Virginia primary races. After weeks of early voting, voting precincts will welcome in-person voters Tuesday. While more than 200,000 voters have cast ballots in Democratic and Republican primaries across the state, residents can vote in person between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday in the 2025 Virginia primaries. Here's a rundown of what voters need to know to cast a ballot. — The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press has assembled the 757 Votes election guide for the 2025 primaries. The guide contains Q&As with candidates running in contested races for statewide office such as lieutenant governor and attorney general, several House of Delegates seats representing Hampton Roads districts, and local constitutional officers such as sheriffs, commonwealth's attorneys and treasurers. Only races with contested primaries are included in the primary election guide. Statewide, voters will choose a nominee for the Democratic side of the lieutenant governor's ticket. The ticket is crowded, with six candidates: Alex Bastani, Ghazala Hashmi, Babur Lateef, Aaron Rouse, Victor Salgado and Levar Stoney. For attorney general, Jay Jones and Shannon Taylor are vying for the Democratic nomination. There is no Republican primary in either race. Voters in House District 70, which includes Newport News, will choose a Republican nominee for the House of Delegates. In Virginia Beach's House District 97, Republican voters will choose between Tim Anderson and Cristina Felder. House District 89, which includes parts of Chesapeake and Suffolk, has primaries for both parties. Mike Lamonea and Kristen Shannon are running for the Republican nomination and Blaizen Buckshot Bloom and Karen 'Kacey' Carnegie are running for the Democratic nomination. For local elections, several races are expected to be decided Tuesday as the winner will not face a challenger in the general election. Chesapeake residents will select a new sheriff, choosing between Republicans David Rosado and Wallace Chadwick. Norfolk residents will choose between Democrats Ramin Fatehi and John Butler for commonwealth's attorney. Newport News has Democratic two primaries: Howard Gwynn and Shannon Jones are running for commonwealth's attorney. In the treasurer's race, Sanu-Dieng-Cooper and Derek Reason are running for the Democratic nomination. But the winner will face incumbent Marty Eubank, who is running as an independent. — Though the deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration has passed, voters can still register on Election Day and cast a provisional ballot. Their vote is counted after their registration is approved. Voters can check their registration status at — Polling places are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Anyone in line at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote. Voters should bring a form of identification when arriving at a polling place. This can be a Virginia driver's license, U.S. military ID, valid student ID, tribal ID or a U.S. passport. Voters arriving at the polls without an acceptable form of ID will be required to either sign an ID Confirmation Statement or vote a provisional ballot. If a voter votes a provisional ballot, they will have until noon on the Friday following the election to deliver a copy of identification to their locality's electoral board or sign an ID Confirmation Statement in order for their provisional ballot to be counted. — Absentee ballots can be returned to the local registrar's office or a drop-off location by 7 p.m. on Election Day. If voters chose to vote by mail, ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the registrar's office by noon Friday. — If a voter meets the requirements to vote but is being denied, they can ask an election official to contact the voter registrar's office before leaving the polling place. Voters can also call the Department of Elections at 800-552-9745 as soon as possible, preferably before the polls close. The Department of Elections administers a formal grievance process under the Help America Vote Act for voters who believe that their voting rights have been violated. Voters must fill out a complaint form within 10 days of the incident, have it notarized and mail it to the deputy commissioner. For informal complaints, voters can file an online form for any incident at the polls. — The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press will post results online Tuesday evening as they become available. Look for results from the election in Thursday's print editions. Eliza Noe,
