State and National Government
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The anti-Donald Trump group The Lincoln Project took credit Friday for five people appearing with tiki torches at a Charlottesville campaign stop by Virginia’s GOP candidate for governor, a stunt recalling white supremacists who descended on that city amid violence in 2017.
Charlottesville TV station WVIR covered the campaign stop and reported candidate Glenn Youngkin was inside a restaurant when the group dressed in matching hats, khakis and white button-down shirts appeared beside his campaign bus. The former private equity executive and political newcomer is in a close race against former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe as Tuesday’s Election Day nears.
Photos showed the group holding large tiki torches. Their appearance recalled two days of chaos in August 2017, when white supremacists gathered in the college town for a “Unite the Right” rally ostensibly to protest the planned removal of a Confederate monument.
McAuliffe staffers promoted a reporter’s tweet about the group’s appearance, using it to attack Youngkin and suggesting that those holding the torches were his supporters. Youngkin staffers accused the McAuliffe campaign or Virginia Democrats of being involved, drawing disavowals.
“What happened today is disgusting and distasteful and we condemn it in the strongest terms. Those involved should immediately apologize,” McAuliffe campaign manager Chris Bolling said in a statement. The Democratic Party of Virginia issued a statement saying neither the party nor its “coordinated partners and affiliates” had anything to do with “the events” at the campaign bus stop.
The Lincoln Project then weighed in, saying it was behind what it called a “demonstration.”
A new statewide poll from Fox News shows Republican Glenn Youngkin leading Democrat Terry McAuliffe by eight percentage points, 53-45%. All other recent polls have shown the governor’s race to be a dead heat, so the Fox News one is currently an outlier. At Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center Poll, Research Director Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo says different polls use different methods in determining who really are likely voters, but she doesn’t question any pollster’s intent to be accurate. She says the Fox poll was taken a few days more recently than the others, and voter shifts are certainly possible in that time, but an eight percent shift in that time would typically be unlikely. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
Click here for full Fox News poll results and methodology
Photo: WFIR/Gene Marrano
A former Republican Governor who was also the father-in-law of Democratic US Senator Tim Kaine has passed away. Linwood Holton Jr. was Governor in the early 1970’s, when he also signaled support for desegregation by placing his children – including Tim Kaine’s future wife Anne Holton – in mostly back Richmond Public Schools. Holton practiced law in Roanoke before entering politics and four years ago “Linwood Holton Plaza” was dedicated downtown across from Elmwood Park, featuring quotes from the former Governor.
Despite their different party affiliations, Tim Kaine said in a statement that Linwood Holton was his “public service role model.”
Photo: Chris Hurst Facebook
Jason Ballard
Many of the House of Delegate Districts in the area are considered “safe” for incumbents who are either unopposed or represent a district heavily tilted towards their party – but in the New River Valley a familiar face could have a stiff challenge as he seeks a third term. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
While candidates continue last-minute campaign stops ahead of Tuesday’s election, one claims that Southwest Virginia has more pull if people show up at the polls. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
Youngkin – Clark Palmer photo
A rally in southwest Roanoke County today drew a big crowd as Republican candidate for Governor Glenn Youngkin told the party faithful – with the polls now showing a dead heat – this is their moment, as he looks to block Democrat Terry McAuliffe from winning a second term on election day. Republican candidate for Attorney General Jason Miyares and local elected GOP officials also addressed the crowd.
By next Tuesday night – or sometime early Wednesday morning – we should know who the next Governor of Virginia will be. The Democratic nominee is Terry McAuliffe – who was also the Governor before Ralph Northam. McAuliffe spoke recently with WFIR’s Gene Marrano and here is a Longer Listen:
We will hear an extended conversation with Glenn Youngkin later this week.
The Democratic Party of Virginia brought its “Get Out the Vote” bus tour to Washington Park in northwest Roanoke this morning, where former Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe – pinch hitting for husband Terry, who is running again for Governor – extolled the virtues of early voting. Also on the GOTV tour bus was the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, delegate Hala Ayala. Their next stop this afternoon was in Harrisonburg. Terry McAuliffe will be in Roanoke tomorrow morning at 9;45 at Sweet Donkey Coffee.
With eight days to go before election day, Virginia Tech Political Science Professor Bob Denton says it’s clear that the candidates for Virginia governor believe the race is as potentially close as polls increasingly suggest — as evidenced by their own actions. Most recent polls have shown a difference of less than 3%among likely Virginia voters, and a couple of them show a virtual tie. Denton says the very fact that Terry McAuliffe is calling on President Biden to campaign with him tomorrow is another sign that his camp is nervous, but he says if Democrats get a strong election day turnout, the GOP remains at a numbers disadvantage. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones: