December 2011
27 posts
Cuccinelli urges ballot change after GOP...
BY WESLEY P. HESTER In the latest edition of his e-newsletter, The Cuccinelli Compass, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli suggests a change in Virginia law to relax requirements for candidates seeking to make the ballot in the state for presidential primaries.
Cuccinelli’s suggestion comes days after former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the Republican presidential front-runner in the state,...
Virginians split on urnaium mining
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
A new poll finds Virginia voters divided on the contentious issue of uranium mining, with 43 percent supporting mining for the economic boost it could provide and 41 percent opposed because of potential environmental impacts.
Republicans overwhelmingly support mining 62 percent to 24 percent while Democrats oppose it 54percent to 29 percent, according to Quinnipiac...
Poll shows Gingrich with lead in Va.; Allen, Kaine...
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
Presidential hopeful and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich holds a narrow lead over former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney among Republican Virginia voters heading into 2012, a new poll shows.
Gingrich leads Romney 30 percent to 25 percent with no other GOP candidate breaking single digits, according to the Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday morning.
The last...
UPDATED: Romney to file, Gingrich to visit...
BY OLYMPIA MEOLA Mitt Romney’s campaign intends to file its paperwork on Tuesday to get on the ballot in Virginia, while fellow Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is expected to make a stop in Richmond on Thursday.
Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, Romney’s Virginia campaign chairman, will file the petitions tomorrow, accompanied by state campaign co-chair Del. Christopher K. Peace,...
Cuccinelli: "I didn't get in a line."
BY JIM NOLAN
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is not going to let running for governor get in the way of his working relationship with Gov, Bob McDonnell or his designated heir apparent —Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling — the man Cuccinelli intends to challenge for the GOP nomination in 2013.
“My working relationship with the Governor is not going to suffer during the...
Poll shows voters support Senate power sharing
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
The majority of Virginia voters feel there should be a power sharing arrangement in the state Senate, the latest survey from democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling shows.
Only 31 percent feel Republicans should enjoy outright control of the chamber after picking up two seats, creating a 20-20 split with Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling breaking most ties. Fifty five...
Judge shoots down state Senate Dems' lawsuit
BY WESLEY P. HESTER A Richmond Circuit Court judge has ruled against state Senate Democrats’ attempt to block Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling from casting the decisive vote to reorganize the chamber next month.
Richmond Circuit Court Judge Beverly Snukals found that leaving the Senate deadlocked and unable to agree on its organization would not be in the public interest.
The lawsuit was set up...
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PPP poll shows Kaine leading Allen
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
A new survey of Virginia voters from Democratic polling form Public Policy Polling shows U.S. Senate candidate Timothy M. Kaine leading Republican candidate George Allen by five percentage points.
To this point in the race, the two front-runners have been dead even in almost every public poll. The PPP poll, however, conducted just days after last week’s first debate...
PPP poll shows Obama well-situated in Virginia
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
With the economy still struggling, President Barack Obama is sitting (relatively) pretty in Virginia, a new poll from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling shows.
Obama leads both Mitt Romney, 48 percent to 42 percent, and Newt Gingrich 50 percent to 43 percent. Obama won Virginia in 2008 by a six-point margin over GOP nominee John McCain.
Obama holds the edge over both...
Huntsman to raise funds in Richmond Wednesday
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
Republican presidential hopeful and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman will breakfast in Richmond Wednesday while raising funds for his limping campaign.
Huntsman, cash-strapped and deep in debt, will hold his a fundraiser at the Country Club of Virginia in the morning, meeting with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell privately beforehand
“The governor looks forward to welcoming Governor...
Poll shows Gingrich with huge lead in Virginia...
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
A new poll shows GOP presidential front-runner Newt Gingrich with a huge advantage over Mitt Romney in Virginia, leading 41 percent to 15 percent with no others candidates breaking single digits.
Gingrich, who was barely showing up in Virginia polls just months ago, now leads the state in every age group and gender, according to the survey of Republican primary voters from...
Cuccinelli Goes Splat
BY JIM NOLAN
How’s this for a clash of political styles:
Bill Bolling has “Burgers with Bill” — a tasty annual campaign fundraiser held on the Lieutenant Governor’s birthday every June.
Ken Cuccinelli has paintball.
The Virginia Attorney General held his annual splat-a-thon this weekend in Leesburg — a fund-raising capture-the-flag game for supporters and...
Allen launched ad attacking Kaine's support of...
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
Just hours after Democrats launched a video blasting Republican U.S. Senate candidate George Allen using footage from last week’s debate, Allen’s campaign launched its own video attacking Kaine’s support of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
The video, set with ominous music over a heart monitor heading toward flatline, features clips of Kaine from his...
Dems launch post-debate video labeling Allen a...
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
Democrats have launched their first post-debate video aimed at Republican U.S. Senate hopeful George Allen, focusing on his acknowledgment that “spending was a problem” during his term in the U.S. Senate.
As Democratic candidate Timothy M. Kaine assailed Allen on his record in the senate during last week’s debate, Allen acknowledged: When Tim talks about spending in the years...
Third party cease fire in U.S. Senate race? Don't...
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
Could U.S. senate candidates Timothy M. Kaine and George Allen call a truce on third party involvement?
Not likely.
In Wednesday’s debate, both candidates discussed the Supreme Court’s 2010 landmark Citizens United case that loosened restrictions on corporate campaign donations, with Kaine bringing up a factually inaccurate TV ad targeting him.
The ad from American Crossroads,...
Dems hit Romney ahead of visit
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
Virginia Democrats are trashing Mitt Romney ahead of the GOP presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor’s closed fundraiser in Richmond tonight.
Romney, now trailing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the polls, is due to attend a fundraising event at 6:45 p.m. at a downtown hotel.
“Today, Mitt Romney is visiting Richmond touting the same policies that got us...
Marshall goes after Kaine on abortion issue in...
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, is blasting Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Timothy M. Kaine for what he views as an attack on his “personhood amendment,” which would define life as beginning at conception, in Kaine’s debate Wednesday with George Allen.
The “personhood amendment” discussion was a strange piece of the hour-and-a-half debate, creating the only...
Tea party protests Allen-Kaine debate
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
The gathering outside this afternoon’s Associated Press Day at the Capitol debate between U.S. Senate candidates George Allen and Timothy M. Kaine is about who’s not participating.
The Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation is holding a 1 p.m. rally outside the state capitol to protest the exclusion of numerous candidates based on the qualifications set by event organizers.
As...
Fireworks likely at Allen, Kaine debate
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
Wednesday’s debate between former governors and current U.S. Senate hopefuls Timothy M. Kaine and George Allen might be a battle over which set of “failed policies” failed harder.
Allen will take aim at Kaine’s former role as Democratic National Committee chairman in which he touted President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan, health care reform bill and other legislation...
Romney raising money in Richmond
BY OLYMPIA MEOLA Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is scheduled to hold a fundraiser Thursday in Richmond and Gov. Bob McDonnell is among those expected to make an appearance.
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, made his first public campaign appearance in Virginia in October at the Fairfax County GOP offices. He had held a fundraiser in Northern Virginia the night before.
Lt....
Adoption regs back before board for final vote
BY OLYMPIA MEOLA The Virginia Board of Social Services is scheduled to take final action on state regulations for private adoption agencies next week at a meeting in Richmond. The Social Services commissioner is asking that the board set an effective date of May 1, 2012 for the final regulations. In April, board members struck language from the proposed rules that would have barred...
Fiorina to headline first lady's event
BY OLYMPIA MEOLA
Gov. Bob McDonnell may hobnob in national Republican circles, but his wife, First Lady Maureen McDonnell, is bringing in a national GOP figure this month to support her own initiative.
Former Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from California and once Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina will headline the first lady’s Opportunity Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon on Dec. 16 at the...
McDonnell to hold charter school event
BY OLYMPIA MEOLA Gov. Bob McDonnell is hosting an invitation-only charter school program on Tuesday for Virginia school leaders to meet with representatives from high-performing charter programs around the country.
Innovate to Educate: Chartering the Course for Virginia will be held Tuesday at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and McDonnell is scheduled to attend a reception there in the evening....
Allen amassing massive, and eclectic, endorsement...
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
Some guys collect baseball cards. Others collect comic books. George Allen, apparently, collects endorsements.
Over the past few weeks, Allen, a Republican former governor seeking to win back the U.S. Senate seat he lost in 2006, has raked in more than 1,500 individual backers, his campaign announcing them in waves.
Most recently, the campaign announced the blessings of newly...
McDonnell affirms support for Bolling in 2013
BY OLYMPIA MEOLA
Gov. Bob McDonnell is affirming his support for Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling in his campaign for governor in 2013, saying he prefers a scenario in which both Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli continue to serve in statewide office together.
In a statement released today, following media reports that Cuccinelli is apparently poised to announce a bid for the governorship,...
Richmond Tea Party endorses Radtke for U.S. Senate
BY WESLEY P. HESTER
The Richmond Tea Party, which has been in the news of late for its tax battle with the City of Richmond, has endorsed Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Radtke.
Radtke, from Chesterfield County, is a former Richmond Tea Party president and chairwoman for the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation.
While its not surprising that Radtke would have the support of the...
UPDATED: Obama campaign to open two offices
BY OLYMPIA MEOLA
President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign will open two offices in Virginia this weekend, one in Fairfax and one in Newport News.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-11th, will be in attendance for the opening in Northern Virginia and Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-3rd, will join with other elected leaders in Newport News. Both areas went for Obama-Biden in 2008, but during that...