Virginia
Die-hard Trump supporters question whether Virginia can turn red – Washington Examiner
SALEM, Virginia — While former President Donald Trump projected confidence Saturday on the stage in Virginia, his supporters openly questioned whether the Republican nominee could flip the commonwealth from blue to red.
Trump’s trip to Salem comes as Republican insiders have openly been floating since the summer that 2024 will be the year that Virginia could shift from the Democratic column and into the battleground category. Virginia used to be a top battleground in 2008 and 2012 but has gone to the Democrats in the last four presidential cycles.
2024 ELECTIONS LIVE UPDATES: LATEST NEWS ON THE TRUMP-HARRIS PRESIDENTIAL RACE
While Trump lost Virginia in both 2016 and 2020, some GOP insiders in the state think victory remains within reach, pointing to two separate polls, one conducted by the conservative-leaning Rasmussen Reports and another from the University of Mary Washington, that show the former president is cutting into Vice President Kamala Harris’s lead, putting Trump within striking distance.
Trump’s detour to a non-battleground state just days before Tuesday’s election reflected that sentiment and he assured his supporters there’s a real shot at victory.
“I’ll tell you what if we win Virginia, we will win the whole thing,” Trump said at the rally on Saturday evening. “It’s possible that without winning Virginia, we will still win the whole thing. We’re going to win Virginia, your governor felt it, I felt it for a long time.”
However, the majority of voters who spoke to the Washington Examiner at Trump’s rally on Saturday were doubtful about Trump’s prospects of flipping the commonwealth red, aware of what a heavy lift it would be to overpower voters in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.
“I think it’s probably a long shot that Virginia goes red, but I’m not going to give up,” said Sharon Bibb, 68, who lives in Fishersville.
Rebecca Bane, 77, who lives in Salem and works as a bookkeeper for a family business, also questioned whether the state could be flipped in this presidential cycle.
“I think it’s sad that we are such a state with long roots and being very conservative, and then we’ve got this whole group up near the D.C. area that votes against us. They swing the vote of Virginia because of all the people that work in D.C. area,” she said, although she emphasized she was happy to see the former president in her town.
“I think it’s special. It really is. He came to Roanoke eight years ago. We saw him over at the Roanoke Civic Center. And now he even got better. He came to Salem,” Bane added.
Joshua Francisco, 35, an industrial maintenance foreman, expressed frustration about the power of the northern Virginia vote.
“We have a lot of Democratic voters that live up north towards Richmond, that actually they live in Virginia, so they get to vote in Virginia, but they’re Democratic,” he said. “Virginia is the majority Republican state, and just the population up there, how many there is, it turns our state blue.”
“I hope he will flip it because of all the residents in [the] northern part of Virginia. I doubt if he can really,” Francisco added.
Although, not everyone was skeptical about Virginia’s prospects of becoming a Republican state this cycle.
PATHS TO VICTORY FOR HARRIS AND TRUMP IN 2024
Sandra Duncan, 56, who lives in Blacksburg and works as a software engineer, said she was surprised that Trump would visit Virginia in the final push before the election, but added that she trusts the campaign must have some encouraging internal data.
“Well, we were surprised that he would come and spend his time here, because typically in Virginia, you know, goes Democrat, and it’s just great to see that he’s so enthusiastic and so bullish that maybe there’s a chance to flip this state,” Duncan explained. “We’re just seeing a ton of enthusiasm. So we believe it can happen.”
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — West Virginia has plenty of state symbols, be it the black bear as the state animal, the cardinal as the state bird or the rhododendron as the state flower, but did you know that the Mountain State also has its own official gun?
The Hall Flintlock Model 1819 was first manufactured in Harpers Ferry by John H. Hall in 1811 and was adopted by the United States Army in 1819, making it the first breech-loading rifle ever adopted by a country’s military.
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Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution -
Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution
All of this information is listed in Senate Concurrent Resolution 7, which was introduced and passed during the 2013 West Virginia Legislative session, and officially recognizes the Model 1819 as the official firearm of the State of West Virginia.
On top of being created in West Virginia, the resolution also points out that the rifle saw use during the Civil War, an event that directly led to West Virginia’s statehood.
While having an officially recognized state firearm may seem far-fetched, West Virginia is not the only state that has one. As a matter of fact, a fifth of the states in the country have officially designated a state firearm, including West Virginia’s neighbors in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In this world of college football, with the transfer portal and recruiting battles, bad blood is present more than ever before between head coaches.
That’s not the case between the Virginia Tech head coach and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, however. In fact, Franklin revealed at ACC Kickoff on Thursday that the two are actually close friends, dating back to their time at the Nike trip that various coaches take over the summer.
“Dabo’s my guy,” Franklin said on Thursday. “We go way back. We’ve been on the Nike trip for a long time. His wife and my wife are friends.”
The long-time Penn State head coach is making the move to the ACC after being fired from the Nittany Lions in October. 12 seasons of being with the program had Franklin hold a 44-21 record against top 10 opponents, an impressive record for a new conference foe of Swinney’s.
But when that trip comes around, there’s a camaraderie between Swinney and Franklin and both of their wives. In fact, the two hang out with each other instead of the other coaches at times. It simply comes to an “edgy” time in college athletics that raises tempers.
“I’m going to be honest, I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily like the type of people that love a lot of other coaches and a lot of other programs,” Franklin said. “It’s hard when you just compete year-round.”
On Swinney’s end, there are a few who could immediately come to mind among Clemson fans. Perhaps the most recent would be Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, who played the most significant role in the tampering of former linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
It’s a select list of coaches who make the good side of the Tigers’ head coach, and Franklin is certainly on that list. On the other hand, Hokies’ head coach has Swinney on his own shortlist.
“Obviously, tremendous respect for what he has built at Clemson and what he’s done at Clemson, and what he’s done for the ACC,” he said.
The two will see that close relationship face off at Memorial Stadium this upcoming season. Clemson will host the Hokies on Oct. 24 in what could be a potential title-eliminator for the ACC Championship.
Of course, the last game that we’ve seen the Tigers play in was against Franklin’s former team in Penn State at the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. That game ended in a 22-10 contest that saw a foundation of Franklin players end Clemson’s season in disappointment.
Swinney will see many of those players once again in October, including starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, in that contest. The anticipated Hokie starter recorded 260 yards and two passing touchdowns on the Tigers in the Bronx that day.
Although friends become foes, another ACC coach has given Swinney his flowers for what he’s been able to do for the conference. In the upcoming moments, Franklin will look to prepare his team to prove itself on one of the biggest stages in the ACC, while Swinney looks to put his team back at the top of a conference he’s dominated for over 15 years.
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MARTINSVILLE, Va. (WSET) — Extreme drought conditions in parts of Virginia have prompted an emergency drought warning for a wide swath of the region, including Bedford, Campbell, Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Patrick, Pittsylvania and Roanoke counties, along with the cities of Danville, Roanoke, Salem and Martinsville.
The governor has warned that if conditions worsen, she will activate mandatory nonessential water-use restrictions.
In Martinsville, city leaders have issued a voluntary water conservation notice and are urging residents and businesses to cut back where they can. The request comes as local businesses that rely heavily on water say the drought is already affecting day-to-day operations.
SEE ALSO: Botetourt County residents adjust daily routines as voluntary water restriction continues
John Hughes, owner of John’s Car Wash, said the dry conditions have hit his business hard in recent weeks. “For the last 3 weeks, it’s been hitting pretty hard. We done three yesterday and haven’t done anything today with the drought and hot weather. Yeah, I’m really concerned about it,” Hughes said.
Restaurants are also feeling the strain. David Kitzmiller, an owner of Be Wiched, said water is essential for routine tasks such as washing dishes and preparing some menu items.
“We use a lot of water for washing dishes and some of our recipes if they limit us in anyway defiently can’t produce and its a scary aspect,” Kitzmiller said.
Kitzmiller added that cutting back is not always realistic for businesses that must meet sanitation needs. “Not really feasible for a business that depends solely relies on water to wash their dishes, so that can’t definitely be an impact there,” he said.
City leaders emphasized that the conservation request is voluntary for now, but they are encouraging everyone to do their part by taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet when it is not in use, washing only full loads of laundry, and limiting outdoor watering whenever possible.
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