Blue Virginia Weekly News Roundup (7/6/25)

What Impact Could Musk's "America Party" Have on the Midterms, Including Here in VA?; VA Dems Blast Passage of Trump’s/GOP's “terrible, cruel, bullshit bill"; VA GOP's non-unified non-"unity rally"

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• What Impact Could Musk’s “America Party” Have in the the 2026 Midterms (and Maybe the 2028 Presidential Election), Including Here in Virginia?

• Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine on Trump Signing “Cruel and Reckless” “Partisan Megabill” Into Law

• “Just running is a win for democracy”: Virginia Democrats Have Candidates Running in All 100 House of Delegates Districts, Even the Reddest Ones; Republicans Aren’t Contesting 19 Districts

• Flip and Defend-a-District 2025: Volume 5 (May Nivar, Cat Porterfield, Mario Haggerty, Del. Kathy Tran)

• Virginia Democrats Blast House Passage of Trump’s “One Big Ugly Bill”; “cruel and immoral tax and budget scheme that prioritizes billionaires over working people”

• Photos: Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) a “No-Show” as Suffolk Shows Up To Call On Her to Vote NO on Cruel Budget that Cuts Services for Veterans and Working Families

• New Survey Finds 80% of Charlottesville Voters Strongly Support Using Ranked Choice Voting in Future City Council Elections

• Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine on Trump Admin. Illegally Witholding $108 Million from Virginia Schools

• After Youngkin Loses the Fight for the FBI HQ, and with SO Many Failures on Youngkin’s 3 1/2-Year Record as Governor, VA Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell Asks, “what has our Governor going full MAGA netted our state besides a UVA president firing?”

• [UPDATED with Video of the Event] Billboard Truck Outside of Winsome Earle-Sears’ Campaign Event Highlights GOP Ticket Chaos and Infighting

• Virginia Democrats Launch 2025 Coordinated Campaign: “Operation Virginia Victory”

• “Attorney General [Jason Miyares] is a coward who refuses to defend our state’s laws [against so-called ‘conversion therapy’] that demonstrably prevent suicide”; “Glenn Youngkin is simply despicable”

• Senators Warner and Kaine; Abigail Spanberger; Virginia Dems Blast Senate Passage of “partisan megabill that slashes Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and other critical programs…in order to pay for massive tax breaks to the very rich”

• Five Years Since Virginia Clean Economy Act Became Law, Is It Actually “delivering lower energy bills, new jobs, and a healthier environment?”

• Sen. Mark Warner 7 am Update Rips Republicans’ “terrible, cruel, bullshit bill,” Also JD Vance Calling Medicaid Policy (and People’s Healthcare Coverage) “minutiae”

• Video: In Arlington, Elected Leaders and Virginians Call Out Winsome Earle-Sears’ Extreme Record

• Sen. Tim Kaine Files Amendments to Dangerous Republican Budget Megabill, Including One “To rename the legislation the ‘Hurt People, Kill Jobs, and Spike the Debt to Reward the Rich Act’.”

• Demographics of VA11 Democratic “Firehouse Primary” Electorate: 61% Age 58 or Older; 57% Female; 74.8% “Strong Democratic”

Blue Virginia Weekly News Roundup (6/29/25)

Sen. Kaine Rips Youngkin - “If you won’t stand up for [UVA], will you stand up for ANYTHING?”; Spanberger Calls Ouster of UVA president "extortion"; Walkinshaw wins VA11 Dem nomination in landslide;

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• Video: On Face the Nation, Sen. Mark Warner Says the Trump Administration’s “doing damage to our flagship university…and frankly, if we don’t have some level of academic freedom, then what kind of country are we?”

• VA11 Democratic “Firehouse Primary” Winners (Walkinshaw’s Campaign, the VA11 Dems, Turnout, etc.) and Losers (the WaPo, VA11 GOP, etc.)

• [UPDATE: Walkinshaw Wins with Nearly 60% of the Vote] VA11 Dems Firehouse Primary Results Thread; Votes Being Counted, but Stella Pekarsky Campaign Already Has Congratulated James Walkinshaw “for his victory tonight”

• Video: VA Senate Dems Agree That Ouster of UVA President Was “deliberately coordinated, specifically planned-out”; “the Youngkin administration coordinated this with the Trump administration”

• Video: At 2025 VA Women’s Summit, Abigail Spanberger Says Forced Resignation of UVA President Was “extortion” and “assault on academic freedom” by the Trump Administration

• Video: Speaking to a Packed, Fired-Up House at the Opening Night of the 2025 VA Women’s Summit, Sen. Tim Kaine Rips Youngkin - “If you won’t stand up for [UVA], will you stand up for ANYTHING?”

• Video, Photos: Spanberger, Hashmi, Jones Visit the Eden Center in Falls Church

• UVA President Jim Ryan’s Forced Resignation “A sad day for higher education in our country. Trump’s actions are wildly inappropriate overreach.”

• Jay Jones on Supreme Court’s “Trump v. CASA” Decision: “Your rights now may depend on where you live and if your leaders are willing to fight for you. That makes state Attorneys General more important than ever”

• After COMPLETELY Botching Their VA11 Democratic Candidates Questionnaire (Weird Yes/No Questions, Lack of “nuance and context,” etc.), the WaPo Deletes the Answers

• Flip and Defend-a-District 2025 (Volume 4): Lily Franklin, Mary Person, Angela Chainer, Del. Paul Krizek

• Spanberger on Virginia Facing Longest Unemployment Surge Since The Great Recession, While Earle-Sears Is “cheering on the White House’s chainsaw approach to cutting the federal workforce”

• Video: Jason Miyares, John Reid Ratchet Up the Fear Mongering (“crazy”/”leftist communists”/”domestic terrorist attitude”/”sided with felons over police”); Personal Insults (“Abbitard”), etc. Yes, It’s Going to Be a Looong Next Few Months.

• Democratic Attorneys General Association Announces Initial $1 Million in Virginia AG Race

• Blue Virginia Interview: VA11 Dem Candidate Irene Shin Says “I decided to jump into this race for Congress because I think Democrats voters are probably feeling like I’m feeling, which is frustrated”

• Photos: “Span Virginia Bus Tour” Keeps Rolling as Spanberger Meets Virginians in Lynchburg, Appomattox, Prince Edward and Charlottesville

• Video: Candidates in VA11 GOP Candidates Forum Basically All Agree That They “trust everything [Trump’s] done”; “support and love Donald Trump and I know you do too”; etc.

• Video: Virginians Call Out Winsome Earle-Sears’ Extreme Record – on Cutting Medicaid, Defunding Public Education, Opposing Marriage Equality, etc.

• Live Video, Highlights of VA11 Democratic Forum Tuesday (6/24) Evening

• DLCC Announces $400K Investment and Additional Target Races for Virginia House of Delegates

• Del. Michael Jones (D-Richmond) Expresses “profound dismay and unequivocal condemnation” of Recent ICE Raids at Chesterfield Courthouse

• Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) Says Fifth Straight Increase In Virginia’s Unemployment Rate Due to Disastrous Trump/Musk Policies, Plus Youngkin’s Failure to Defend Virginia (In Fact, Rep. Beyer Points Out, Youngkin’s Actually Cheered Them On!)

• Virginia Senate Leaders File Lawsuit Challenging Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares’ Unconstitutional Overreach on University Board Appointments

• Abigail Spanberger on Three Years Since Dobbs Decision: “As the next Governor…I will always protect the right to choose, the right to privacy, and the right to decide when to start or grow a family”

• Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07) Joins Fellow Democratic Veterans in Asserting Congressional Authority Over War Powers

• Photos: Spanberger Kicks Off “Span Virginia Bus Tour” with Stops in Richmond, Petersburg, Dinwiddie, Brunswick & Danville

• Progressives Launch VOCE, a New Canvassing Tool to Take Back the Ground Game, at the VA Women’s Summit (6/27-6/29)

• Sen. Mark Warner, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Limit Presidential Authority Under the Insurrection Act

• Clean Virginia: Spanberger’s Energy Plan “tackles the root causes of high costs by investing in clean energy, improving efficiency, and making sure massive users like data centers pay their fair share”

Blue Virginia Weekly News Roundup (6/22/25)

VA Dems, Rs weigh in on Iran strikes; Sen. Warner says VA's 2025 elections will be "Trump's first report card"; Where did Hashmi, Jones rack up their biggest margins?; VA11 Dem candidates' positions

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• Video: On Face the Nation, Sen. Tim Kaine Says JD Vance’s Statement That We’re “Not at War with Iran” Is “B.S….Would we think it was war if Iran bombed a U.S. nuclear facility? Of course we would.”

• Virginia Democrats React Negatively, Virginia Republicans React Positively, to Trump Ordering an Attack on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities

• Video: At Glen Allen Town Hall Sen. Mark Warner Says Virginia’s 2025 Elections Will Be “Trump’s First Report Card”; If Dems Win Big, “That Message Will Be Received!”

• Where Did the Democratic LG and AG Winning Candidates (Ghazala Hashmi and Jay Jones) Rack Up Their Biggest Margins on Tuesday?

• Winsome Earle-Sears Sears Touts Endorsers Who Equate Being Gay to Being a Pedophile and Say LGBTQ People Have “Confused Minds”

• With the “Firehouse Primary” Coming Up Soon (6/28), Here Are the VA11 Democratic Candidates’ Positions on Some Major Issues

• Video: Elected Leaders, Virginians Call Out Winsome Earle-Sears’ Extreme Record of Opposing Reproductive Rights, Same-Sex Marriage

• Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine Decry GOP Plan’s Devastating Impact on Rural Virginian Communities: “We refuse to stand by while Republicans gamble with Virginians’ lives”

• Audio: On WAMU, Newly Minted VA Dem LG Nominee Ghazala Hashmi Says “I see myself fighting for [John Reid’s] even though he has abdicated any responsibility in supporting the critical and essential rights of all Virginians”

• Virginia’s Women’s Summit 2025: Bringing Joy and Power in the Times of Uncertainty

• Blue Virginia Interview: VA11 Dem Candidate James Walkinshaw Vows, “I would absolutely continue Gerry [Connolly’s] legacy and work of fighting Republicans tooth and nail when they’re going after our values…our democracy”

• Political Winners and Losers: Virginia Primary Elections 2025

• “Build the Bench” Touts “Historic Number of Democrats” – Including Women, Candidates of Color - Running for Virginia House of Delegates

• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Rips Trump’s Big CRUEL Bill, Says It Must Be Stopped; Worries That Trump Could Get Us Into Another “never-ending war in the Middle East” - Potentially with U.S. Troops on the Ground in Iran

• Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Speaks on US Senate Floor Regarding His War Powers Resolution to Prevent War with Iran

• NEW TV AD: Abigail Spanberger Focuses on Lowering Costs and Strengthening Virginia’s Public Schools

• Democratic Party of Virginia Announces Statewide Ticket and Slate of House of Delegates Nominees

• DLCC: Momentum Is With Virginia Democrats on Primary Election Night

• Virginia Primary Night June 17, 2025 Results: Live Blog

• Virginia Primary Day June 2025: Open Thread

• “FOLDED”: Kiggans and Wittman Skewered in Local Press for Breaking Promise Not to Cut Medicaid

• [UPDATED 3x] Video: Winsome Earle-Sears Says “We always know who our enemy is…we’ve got huge firepower…we’ve got grenades even; we’re going to use them”

• Political Analyst Sam Shirazi’s 2025 Virginia Primary Predictions for Lt. Governor, Attorney General, House of Delegates

Blue Virginia Weekly News Roundup (6/15/25)

"No Kings" Day Photos; Brutal Reviews of Earle-Sears’ Appliance/Plumbing/Electric Business; Primary Day on Tuesday; Hegseth Flunks Rep. Vindman's "Military 101 Questions"; Cuccinelli Nomination "Dead"

Note: given that Twitter (where Blue Virginia has over 32,000 followers) is now under far-right/anti-democracy Elon Musk’s disastrous ownership, check out Blue Virginia over at BlueSky, Threads, Spoutible, Mastodon, etc. Also, if you want to make a donation to Blue Virginia, you can do that here. Thanks!

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• Video, Highlights From James Walkinshaw’s VA11 Democratic Campaign Kickoff; Walkinshaw Declares “I’m running for Congress because we’re in a five-alarm-fire moment for our country”

• VA Speaker Don Scott on Shootings of Minnesota State Lawmakers and Their Spouses: “Let me be clear: political violence is never acceptable. Ever.”

• “No Kings” Day Photos, Updates from Virginia

• Video: Watch Pete Hegseth Flail, Flunk Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07)’s “Military 101 Questions” About VERY Important Topics

• Youngkin Calls Out VA National Guard for “No Kings Day”: “This is the governor of Virginia attempting to suppress political turnout through intimidation and kiss his leader’s orange ass at the same time. Truly vile.”

• Blue Virginia Interview: VA11 Dem Candidate Amy Papanu Says “I refer to myself as a moderate Democrat. That is so important these days to get things done in Congress.”

• Video: Elected Leaders, Small Business Owner Call Out Sears for Ripping Off Customers, Then Attacking Negative Reviewers

• Blue Virginia Interview: VA11 Dem Candidate Dan Lee Says “Why I’m in this race is because I believe in a country that provides guaranteed health care for all Americans through Medicare for All”

• 62-Year-Old Richmond Resident with Major Health Issues: “I Voted for Trump. His Medical Debt Policy Hurts Me.”

• Sen. Mark Warner: “For years, Iran has threatened the safety of Israel and the region and Israel has an undeniable right to defend itself and its citizens”

• Sen. Mark Warner: “This footage is outrageous — it’s something I’d expect out of an authoritarian nation, not the United States of America”

• Brutal Reviews of Winsome Earle-Sears’ Appliance, Plumbing and Electric Business: “worst company I have ever dealt with”; “this place is a complete scam”; “won’t be around much longer with her around…she’s a [wack] job”

• VA Senate Majority Leader Surovell Letter to UVA Rector Says Cuccinelli Nomination is “Dead”; Any Board of Visitors Member Who Facilitates Cuccinelli’s Continued Service Would be Engaging in “malfeasance and incompetence” and Subject to Removal

• New VA11 Democratic Poll, “From Super PAC Supporting James Walkinshaw,” Finds Walkinshaw Ahead 52%-11%-11% After “Balanced Positive Profiles” Read

• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Decries Trump Politicizing the Military, Holding a Parade “that would be more appropriate for Moscow than Washington”; “Going over the Governor” to Call in the National Guard and Marines…

• VA Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell Argues, Correctly: “Today it’s California. Tomorrow it could be Virginia.”

• There Are Now Two Dems – Amanda Pohl and Lisa Vedernikova Khanna – Who Have Announced Campaigns to Take on the Abysmal Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA01)

• BREAKING: Winsome Earle-Sears Took Money From Known Nazi Sympathizer and Cosplayer

• Kenny Boddye Responds to Winsome Earle-Sears’ “Slaves did not die in the fields so that we could call ourselves victims Email: “We Owe Them More Than This”

• With VA Dem LG and AG Primaries in Just Over a Week, the 2Q25 Fundraising Totals Are Coming In

• With 1 Week Until the Virginia Dem AG Primary, Jay Jones’ Allies Send Letter to Shannon Taylor Expressing “Serious Concerns” Over Dominion Energy Contributions; Taylor’s Campaign Says “Jones repeatedly accepted contributions from Dominion Energy and Dominion Energy lobbyists”

• In Blue Virginia Interview, LG Candidate Victor Salgado Rips 2025 VA GOP Ticket as “one of the most reactionary, bigoted tickets”; Would LOVE to Debate “hate-filled unserious clown of a person” John Reid

• Video: VA Senate Privileges & Elections Committee Votes 8-4 to Reject Eight Youngkin Nominees, Including Ken Cuccinelli, to the UVA Board of Visitors

• NEW: Spanberger Announces Plan to Lower Virginians’ Energy Costs, Continues Focus on Making Virginia More Affordable

• Sen. Tim Kaine on Trump Activating 2,000 National Guard Troops in Los Angeles: “Trump is trying to escalate violence with this move”

• DGA Announces Initial $5 Million Investment in the Virginia Governor’s Race

Blue Virginia Weekly News Roundup (6/8/25)

9 Days Until the 6/17 primares - have you voted yet?; VA11 Dems set "firehouse primary" dates (caucus 6/28), rules; Sen. Warner Says the More the “big ugly bill gets exposed, the uglier it becomes”

Note: given that Twitter (where Blue Virginia has over 32,000 followers) is now under far-right/anti-democracy Elon Musk’s disastrous ownership, check out Blue Virginia over at BlueSky, Threads, Spoutible, Mastodon, etc. Also, if you want to make a donation to Blue Virginia, you can do that here. Thanks!

• After Winsome Earle-Sears Proposes Ending Car Tax, Fmr. VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Trump-Supporting Republican, Says This Is “nothing more than a cheap political ploy”

• Revisiting David Rothkopf’s Prescient Warning One Year Later: With 9 Days Until the June 17th VA Dem LG & AG Primaries, Turnout Is Super-Low and People STILL Seem Mostly Tuned Out - Lots of “Blank Stares” If You Mention the Election…

• Photos: Henrico Dems Protest Rep. Rob “Robs the Poor” Wittman (R-VA01), Calling Out His Lies, Cowardice, Failure to Show Up, Avoiding His Constituents, etc, etc.

• VA11 Democratic Committee Issues “Call to Caucus & Candidate Filing Forms”: Early Voting on 6/26; Caucus on 6/28; Filing Fee of $6,990; 150 Signatures Required (Deadline: 6/18)

• Ivy Main: “The war on woke…energy?” Meanwhile, “Unless we tell data centers to go elsewhere, we need more generation, and fast”

• Loudoun4All Statement- Virginia Republicans Exploit Loudoun Children in Renewed Anti-Trans Election-Year Crusade

• Blue Virginia Interview: VA11 Dem Candidate Leo Martinez Says “I already had to leave from one country, see one democracy destroyed; I can’t let that happen and just watch it from the living room in my house”

• TONIGHT: Sears to Deliver Commencement Address at School Where Homosexuality Is “Prohibited” and Declared “Sinful”

• Abigail Spanberger Announces Plan to Lower Virginians’ Housing Costs, Continues Focus on Making Virginia More Affordable

• One Day Ahead of the 60th Anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, Remember Winsome Earle-Sears Has an Extreme Record Attacking Reproductive Rights

• With 11 Days to Go Until the 6/17 VA Dem Primary, the AG Candidates (Jay Jones and Shannon Taylor) Are Up with Dueling Ads

• Video: Six of the VA11 Dem Candidates Spoke for About 1 Minute Each at the Fairfax City Dems Meeting Last Night

• Fmr. VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) on the Trump-Musk “Bromance” Ending: “Musk should know that Trump does not accept criticism well, and he will take the knees out from under anyone who publicly questions him”

• Blue Virginia Interview: VA11 Dem Candidate Amy Roma Says She’s Running Because “Our country is absolutely being torn apart,” She “knows how to get things done,” and “career politicians are struggling to figure out how to compete against something like Trump”

• New Report by The Commonwealth Institute Summarizes the Severe Harm of the House Reconciliation Bill for Virginia

• Abigail Spanberger: “Congressional Republicans Are Working to Undo the Progress We’ve Made and Take Away Healthcare From Virginia Families

• Tomorrow: Winsome Earle-Sears to Headline Event Alongside Far-Right-Extremist (climate denier, anti-reproductive-freedom, “described homosexuality as Satan’s work”; denied that Joe Biden was the legitimate president; etc.)

• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says the More the “big ugly bill gets exposed, the uglier it becomes”; “if interest rates go up simply 1% more…this $2.4 trillion deficit more than triples”

• Virginia LGBTQ+ Caucus Celebrates Pride 2025 as Both “a celebration” and “an ongoing protest against efforts to criminalize and delegitimize the lives and identities of LGBGT+ individuals”

• “Kiggans and Wittman voted to gut clean energy tax credits that are currently bringing $18.2 billion in investment and almost 11,000 jobs to Virginia”

• NEW: Earle-Sears Campaign Ejects Media from Falls Church Event

• In Blue Virginia Interview, LG Candidate Levar Stoney Says “to get the national party out of a funk, we need to win [in Virginia]…in an impressive way and I think we will”

• Video: At Townhall Meeting, Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04) Says “We have the power to decide is that man in the White House going to end our republic or not?”

• Video: Elected, Reproductive Rights Leaders Call Out Winsome Earle-Sears for Unearthed Comments Attacking Reproductive Rights

• BREAKING: Gov. Glenn Youngkin Sets Date (9/9/25) for Special Election in VA11

• FACT CHECK: Virginia Republican Delegates Carrie Coyner and Kim Taylor Claim to Support Contraception—Their Voting History Says…That’s a Lie

• Was This Morning’s Politico Article About the 2025 Virginia Governor’s Race Mostly “Concern Trolling” or Did It Make Valid Points?

• Video, Highlights From Stella Pekarsky’s VA11 Democratic Campaign Kickoff; Vows to “stand up and be loud” Against Trump’s Assault on Our Democracy, Federal Workers, the Environment, etc.