Virginia
Obama rallies for Democratic governor candidates in New Jersey, Virginia
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Former President Barack Obama spoke in Virginia and New Jersey on Nov. 1 in support of fellow Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill as both battle to become governor of their respective states.
Obama rallied for Spanberger at the Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, praising her for her experience in law enforcement and the CIA. The former president supported Sherrill in Newark, New Jersey, at Essex County College, saying she would be a “governor who thinks for herself” and would “bring people together and not divide them.”
Spanberger is challenging Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the gubernatorial race. Current Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, is nearing the end of his first four years leading the Commonwealth, and under a unique state law preventing governors from serving back-to-back terms, is barred from running in this year’s election.
Regardless of whether Spanberger or Earle-Sears wins on Nov. 4, Virginia will have elected its first female governor.
“The stakes are now clear,” Obama said during the rally in Virginia. “We don’t need to speculate about the dangers to our democracy. We don’t need to ask ourselves how much more coarse and mean our culture can become. Elections matter, and they matter to you.”
Who is Abigail Spanberger?
Spanberger, 46, previously served as the U.S. representative for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District from 2019 to 2025, according to her bio on her campaign website. She also worked at the CIA as an operations officer, gathering intelligence on nuclear proliferation and terrorism from 2006 to 2014, before then-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe appointed Spanberger to the Virginia Fair Housing Board in 2017, USA TODAY previously reported.
After defeating Republican incumbent and Tea Party member Dave Brat by just over 6,600 votes, Spanberger became the first Democrat to represent the district since 1970, according to her bio on her campaign website.
Spanberger then narrowly defeated Nick Frietas, a Republican member of the House of Delegates, in 2020 to be re-elected.
Who is Mikie Sherrill?
Sherrill, who previously served as a naval officer and as a federal prosecutor, represents a federal congressional district near Newark, New Jersey, according to her bio on the U.S. House of Representatives website.
The 53-year-old congresswoman grew up in Reston, Virginia, and after high school, she earned an undergraduate degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, her bio on the House’s History, Art and Archives website says. She was a Navy helicopter pilot, campaigning on her experience. In the video announcing her campaign for governor, she sported her Navy flight jacket.
After 10 years in the Navy, she earned a law degree from Georgetown University, went to work in litigation in New York City and became a federal prosecutor in New Jersey, according to her bio.
Sherrill, in 2018, won a once-solidly Republican congressional seat, beating Jay Webber. She won a closer 2020 re-election race, defeating Republican Rosemary Becchi with 53.3% of the vote to 46.7%.
Polls show likely voters favoring Spanberger
According to a Suffolk University poll of likely voters released on Oct. 23, Spanberger garnered 52% of the vote among survey respondents, followed by Earl-Sears’ 43%. Another 3% said they were undecided.
The poll, conducted between Oct. 19 and 22, surveyed 500 likely voters across Virginia. Spanberger has led the race in every major poll for months, including by as much as 10% in an Emerson College poll conducted in September.
Virginia has been heralded as a national indicator when it comes to its gubernatorial elections, held only a year into a presidential term. Since 1977, except for in 2013, the Commonwealth has elected a governor from the opposite party as the sitting U.S. President, USA TODAY previously reported.
November poll of likely voters shows slight lead for Sherrill
According to an AtlasIntel poll released Nov. 1, Sherrill had a slight lead over Ciattarelli. Specifically, the poll, which recorded responses from more than 1,600 likely voters in New Jersey from Oct. 25 to Oct. 30, showed Sherrill receiving 50.2% of the vote compared to opponent Jack Ciattarelli’s 49.3%, with a 2% margin of error.
Ciattarelli is a former member of the state legislative assembly who lost to current Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in a closer-than-expected 51.2% to 48% governor’s race in 2021. Murphy could not run again due to New Jersey’s two-term cap on consecutive stints as governor.
Although President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Ciattarelli, hasn’t joined him in person on the campaign trail, he did support the Republican candidate during a telephone rally on Oct. 24.
In a recent debate, Ciattarelli graded Trump an “A” for his performance so far in his second term, while Sherrill gave the president an “F.”
Contributing: Aysha Bagchi, Kathryn Palmer, Jennifer Borresen, Karissa Waddick, Phillip M. Bailey &Katie Sobko/ USA TODAY
Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer led fellow Democrats to major gains in November’s election. Now he’s turning his attention to the redistricting of the Commonwealth, and a run in the newly proposed 7th district. He joins Sydney Persing on The Final 5 to discuss.
FAIRFAX, Va. (7News) — Virginia State Police have identified the man who was shot and killed by a trooper after a crash ended in a stabbing attack on Interstate 495 Sunday afternoon.
Jared Llamado, 32, of McLean, died at the hospital on Sunday after he was shot.
RELATED | 2 dead, dog killed after stabbing spree, trooper shooting on I-495 in Fairfax County
Investigators said Llamado was confronted by the trooper who opened fire around 1:17 p.m. The trooper was responding to a report of a road rage incident and found Llamado with a knife, according to a news release.
Four stabbing victims, all women, were also found at the scene, along with a dog that was also stabbed.
Michelle Adams, 39, died from her injuries. The dog also did not survive. The three other women were all taken to the hospital with serious injuries, according to VSP. 7News is not identifying the surviving victims.
Investigators said the stabbings stemmed from a crash in the southbound lanes of I-495.
The trooper who opened fire was not hurt and is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation into the use of force.
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Investigators said they do not believe the attack is connected to terrorism.
Virginia
Two dead after I-495 road rage incident leads to stabbing, Virginia State Police shooting – WTOP News
A road rage incident led to a shooting involving the Virginia State Police on Sunday on Interstate 495. Four individuals were also stabbed.
Two people are dead Sunday in Annandale, Virginia, after a road rage incident led to a shooting involving Virginia State Police on Interstate 495.
A release issued by the Virginia State Police said a trooper fatally shot a man after responding to a report of a road rage incident on the southbound lanes of I-495 just before 1:30 p.m. at exit 52, near the Little River Turnpike.
The man, transferred to a hospital with serious injuries, has been pronounced dead. VSP said the trooper shot in self-defense after the man confronted him with a knife.
The trooper did not suffer any injuries during the altercation.
Officials found four stabbing victims at the scene, but only identified a 39-year-old woman and a dog. Both the woman and the dog died.
Early findings suggest the stabbings took place after a crash on the Capital Beltway. The crash remains under investigation.
The VSP’s release comes after the main lanes of the Capital Beltway Outer Loop, before Little River Turnpike, were closed to traffic for several hours, only recently opening the express lanes. Main lanes between Arlington Boulevard and the Little River Turnpike remain closed.
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