Analyst: Cuccinelli campaign likely to “confound” many, take populist tone
A noted Richmond political expert expects the Ken Cuccinelli campaign for governor to take a direction that may “confound” many people. Bob Holsworth expects Cuccinelli’s Republican campaign to adopt a populist theme, one more typically associated with Democratic candidates. Holsworth says Cuccinelli needs to go beyond attacks on federal government overreach and address concrete state issues to be successful. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Area police kick off Click it or Ticket campaign
Police departments from all over the area gathered yesterday on the Blue Ridge Parkway to kick off the Regional Click it or Ticket campaign. WFIR’s Timothy Martin says police will be out in force over the next two weeks.
Cuccinelli, Jackson, Obenshain bring initial statewide GOP campaign swing to Roanoke
The freshly-nominated statewide Republican ticket touched down in Roanoke today as part of a three-day fly-around tour of Virginia. GOP convention delegates selected Ken Cuccinelli, E.W. Jackson, and Mark Obenshain as the party nominees for Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General over the weekend. WFIR’s Evan Jones reports on their Roanoke visit.
VDOT: new highway funding speeds safety improvements for foggy Fancy Gap mountain
Virginia’s new transportation funding bill appears ready to speed up VDOT plans for new safety measures on Fancy Gap Mountain on Interstate 77, where heavy fog sometimes leads to big pileups. VDOT wants to install a variable speed limit system to slow traffic when fog moves in, but it never had the funding. Now, pending final approval next month, VDOT will be able to advertise bids for such a system by June of next year. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
More people took advantage of free tax preparation service this year
The Virginia Community Action Partnership says more people benefited from free tax preparations services this year, but there are still lots that didn’t. WFIR’s Timothy Martin reports.
Car plows into parade crowd in Damascus, VA
DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) _ Witnesses described a frantic scene and close calls after an elderly driver plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a small Virginia mountain town’s parade.
Investigators say they are looking into whether the man had suffered a medical emergency before the accident. The driver was being treated and hasn’t been identified.
About 50 to 60 people suffered injuries ranging from critical to superficial, but no fatalities were reported. Three of the worst injured were flown by helicopter to area hospitals.
It happened during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival, an annual celebration of the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, near the Tennessee state line.
VA GOP candidates on statewide campaign swing
Photo credit: rpv.org
The Republican candidates for Virginia governor, lieutenant Governor and attorney general will campaign together in a statewide fly-around Sunday through Tuesday. Ken Cuccinelli, Mark Obenshain and E.W. Jackson will visit ten cities in those three days. It is their first series of first joint campaign appearances since their nominations Saturday at the Virginia GOP convention in Richmond. The events include a 10:30 a.m. appearance in Roanoke at Landmark Aviation’s outdoor courtyard at Roanoke Regional Airport, and an 8:45 a.m. Tuesday appearance at the Lynchburg airport general aviation terminal.
VA Republicans choose E.W. Jackson for Lt. Gov. nomination
Rev. E.W. Jackson
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Republicans have chosen firebrand conservative minister E.W. Jackson’s for lieutenant governor, the first black candidate the party has nominated for statewide office since 1988.
Jackson provoked the loudest ovation of the day at from the tea party-dominated Republican Party convention in Richmond on Saturday, declaring in an impassioned speech, “I am not an African-American, I am an American!”
He won the nomination on the fourth ballot over six rivals. As the only black candidate, he becomes the first black Republican nominee since the party nominated Maurice Dawkins in 1988.
Jackson heads a nondenominational church in Chesapeake and credits his religious background for his shift from the Democratic Party. His first GOP bid for office came last year when he lost the U.S. Senate nomination to former Sen. George Allen.
Obenshain wins GOP nomination for VA Attorney General
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ State Sen. Mark Obenshain has won the Republican nomination for attorney general in Virginia 35 years after his father won the party’s U.S. Senate nomination.
Obenshain was nominated by acclamation on a voice vote after his rival, Del. Rob Bell, conceded defeat after the first ballot at the Virginia Republican Convention on Saturday.
Obenshain’s father, Richard Obenshain, won the party’s U.S. Senate nomination in the same building in 1978, but was killed in August of that year when a small plane carrying him home from a campaign event crashed when Mark Obenshain was 16. John W. Warner took his place on the ballot and won the first of five U.S. Senate terms.
Onstage with Obenshain when he accepted the nomination was his mother and Richard Obenshain’s widow, Helen Obenshain.
Cuccinelli nominated by acclamation
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia’s conservative activist attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, has been nominated by acclamation for governor at a statewide Republican convention dominated for the first time by the tea party.
Cuccinelli was unopposed for the nomination. Several thousand delegates to the convention will also choose their nominees for lieutenant governor from seven candidates, and choose between Del. Rob Bell of Albemarle and state Sen. Mark Obenshain of Harrisonburg.
In remarks to the convention Saturday, Cuccinelli tacked to the center in a speech that stressed mainstream themes and fought back against Democratic attacks portraying him as a right-wing extremist.
He made scant mention of his support for abortion restrictions and instead noted his crackdowns on Internet predators and human traffickers, to exonerate the wrongly convicted and aid the intellectually disabled.
