Free Republic

Every vote matters. Canvassers say that to you when they knock on your door and call your phone before Election Day. But contests rarely come down to a single vote. Tuesday was an exception. Democrat Shelly Simonds picked up 11 votes in a stunning day-long recount to upset Republican incumbent Del. David Yancey in the 94th House District Race, 11,608 to 11,607. The recount changes the complexion of the Virginia House of Delegates as Republicans and Democrats split the chamber 50 members to 50 members and ushers in a new era of politics in the General Assembly, which begins its...

RICHMOND — Days after Virginia Democrats’ astounding Election Day successes, one of the state’s most influential gun rights groups sent a warning to its members. “Gun control will be coming at us hard and heavy,” the Virginia Citizens Defense League said in an email with the subject line “2017 Elections and the path ahead.” With the Democrats gaining clout, the group said, it expects a push for legislation in Virginia to implement universal background checks, ban assault weapons and restrict handgun purchases. The Defense League has urged members to reach out to non-gun owners to boost ownership and take off...

FINDING THE PATTERNS   Virginia's House of Delegates nearly doubled its number of female lawmakers on Tuesday, while across the country, Democratic women won key mayoral and other races. Many say dismay over President Trump's election motivated them to run for office themselves. WASHINGTON—Jennifer Carroll Foy is one resilient woman. Three weeks after announcing her candidacy for the Virginia state legislature, Ms. Carroll Foy discovered she was pregnant – with twins. That led to bed rest, and a very premature delivery. But she kept on running, and on Tuesday, she became one of 11 Democratic women to win Republican-held seats...

Five states are going to court to try to preserve an Obamacare mandate that forces employers and insurance plans to offer free birth control.California, Delaware, Maryland, New York and Virginia late Thursday filed a request for a preliminary injunction to stop federal regulations that weaken Obamacare’s birth control mandate. California had sued to stop the rollback after it was announced by the Trump administration in early October. “These backwards rules will deny millions of women across the U.S. access to healthcare, unconstitutionally permitting discrimination against women,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Thursday about the new court filing. “The Affordable...

<p>RICHMOND, Va. — Republican Roxann Robinson has won re-election to the House of Delegates, eliminating one of the remaining opportunities for Democrats to claim control of the chamber.</p> <p>So far, the Associated Press has called 49 races for Democrats and 48 for Republicans in the 100-seat chamber.</p>

Republicans regained a bare majority in the House of Delegates on Wednesday, a day after losing a 32-seat advantage in a wave of Democratic victories that crashed from Northern Virginia through Richmond to Hampton Roads. But the GOP’s 51-49 margin is far from secure, as both parties prepare for weeks of vote recounts in at least four closely contested races that ultimately will decide the balance of power in the House.

Transgender woman beats 13-term incumbent who authored bathroom-ban bill and referred to her as 'him' much of the campaign (but she would rather talk about rush hour traffic) Democrat Danica Roem of Virginia, a former journalist, makes history as the first openly transgender person elected and seated in a state legislature She defeated 13-term incumbent Bob Marshall, who has been in the legislature since 1992 and authored the state's anti-trans bathroom-ban bill Roem focused on jobs, schools and, with particular fervor, northern Virginia's traffic congestion in her campaign She lives with her boyfriend, who she has not named, and his...

A first-time politician who lost his girlfriend to gun violence has defeated the National Rifle Association-backed incumbent in a state house race in Virginia.... Hurst’s girlfriend, 24-year-old journalist Alison Parker, was shot dead on live television during a routine morning broadcast in 2015, along with WDBJ7 cameraman Adam Ward. Parker had been quietly dating Hurst, another reporter at the station.... ....On Tuesday, Hurst won with 54% of the vote to defeat Joseph Yost, an incumbent with an A-rating from the NRA.

Democrats appeared poised to make huge gains in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates — and potentially take control of the chamber for the first time in 18 years — as strong voter turnout put a slew of GOP incumbents in danger of losing their seats. The biggest upsets occurred early in Northern Virginia, where Democrat Danica Roem became the first transgender person elected to the House of Delegates, defeating social conservative Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, and Democrat Lee Carter shocked House Republican Whip Jackson H. Miller, R-Manassas, despite tepid support from his own party.

Danica Roem Elected Virginia's First Transgender State LegislatorDanica Roem, a journalist turned public works advocate, has won Virginia’s 13th District House of Delegates seat, making her the state’s first transgender legislator.Roem beat out the district’s 26-year incumbent, conservative values and government transparency champion Bob Marshall. The race attracted national attention as Marshall, a conservative who proposed a bill restricting which bathrooms transgender people could use, faced off against the transgender stepmother who plays in a metal band.

Virginia House of Delegates candidate Danica Roem (D) has defeated longtime Del. Robert Marshall (R), becoming Virginia's first openly transgender elected official and one of just few in the nation, according to The Washington Post. "Danica will bring a reporter’s eye to Richmond, and we eagerly anticipate her results-oriented approach to deliver for her constituents in the 13th," Virginia House Democratic Caucus Leader David J. Toscano and Caucus Chair Charniele Herring said in a statement. "As a journalist, Danica Roem has covered the issues critical to Virginians and listened to a wide range of perspectives. During her campaign, Danica expanded...

Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer said in a statement that whether the monuments go to museums, cemeteries or elsewhere, "it is clear that they no longer can be celebrated in shared civic areas, like Charlottesville's Downtown Mall."

Tom Brock, a Democratic House of Delegates candidate from Hampton Roads under fire for past social media posts, said Monday that his posting of racial jokes in 2011 is being taken out of context.((snip)In that conversation, Brock wrote: “Q: Why do kids prefer white teachers over black teachers? A: It is easier to bring an apple than a watermelon?”

The Republican-sponsored bill made any acts of violence towards police officers, firefighters, and members of the National Guard a class 3 felony, punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison, and a $100,000 fine. McAuliffe vetoed the measure because he wanted to include the same penalty for anyone inciting violence due to someone’s “race, religious convictions, color, sexual orientation, or national origin,” he said in a statement. . . . Republican Delegate Scott Lingamfelter slammed McAuliffe’s decision, calling the governor’s decision “disgusting.” “They’re putting their lives literally on the line to protect the public, and anyone who would murder them,...

Senate and former top prosecutor at the Pentagon said, "I defy anyone to give me a motive for Assad using gas on women and children."  Senator Black cited the 2013 sarin gas attack that was falsely blamed on President Assad and warned against a knee-jerk reaction into war, based upon accounts detailed by White Helmets and rebels, who are at war with President Assad.  "If President Assad had these weapons, why wouldn't he use them on ISIS soldiers instead of his own people?  ISIS are masters of manipulation and we cannot take America to the brink of WWIII based upon...

RICHMOND, Va. — The Democratic governor of Virginia has vetoed a religious freedom bill which would have prohibited the government from punishing those who believe in biblical marriage and conduct their public lives in accordance with that conviction. “Although couched as a ‘religious freedom’ bill, this legislation is nothing more than an attempt to stigmatize,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe asserted in a statement on Thursday in rejecting S.B. 2314 and H.B. 2025. “No person shall be required to participate in the solemnization of any marriage, or subject to any penalty by the Commonwealth, or its political subdivisions or representatives or agents,...

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D.) wants the state's legislature to adopt a bill forbidding citizens from purchasing more than one gun per month. McAuliffe submitted the proposal, which includes punishments of up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine, as an amendment to an unrelated, Republican-backed gun bill that would have prevented other states from obtaining information about concealed-handgun permit holders in Virginia.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D.) vetoed a bill on Friday that aimed to allow victims of domestic violence to carry concealed firearms without obtaining a permit. House Bill 1852 would allow anyone in Virginia who has a protective order and is over 21 to carry a concealed firearm without a permit for up to 45 days after the order is issued. It would then give anyone with an active order an additional 45 days to carry concealed should they apply for a permanent concealed-handgun permit, which can take up to 45 days to process. The person with the protective order...

Virginia governor has vetoed several bills intended to fight voter fraud Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D.) vetoed a bill that would require the state Department of Elections to turn over information to local registrars about individuals who are registered to vote in multiple states simultaneously. McAuliffe has vetoed a handful of bills in recent weeks intended to prevent voter fraud. The bill, HB 2343, was introduced by Republican delegate Robert B. Bell and would have required the Department of Elections "to provide to the general registrars a list of registered voters who have been found through list comparisons and data-matching...

RICHMOND — Gov. Terry McAuliffe has vetoed a bill that would require voters to submit photo ID when requesting a physical absentee ballot, calling it an “unnecessary and impractical barrier” to absentee voting. House Bill 1428, sponsored by Del. Hyland F. “Buddy” Fowler Jr., R-Hanover, would require any voter submitting an application for an absentee ballot by mail or by fax to submit with the application a copy of one of the forms of ID acceptable under current law. The bill would exempt from the requirement military and overseas voters and people with disabilities. “The requirement would not in any...