AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) – In a divisive political atmosphere, and a divided Virginia government, the 2024 election is important in the Commonwealth.

The presidential election is not Virginians’ only item on the ballot this year—the U.S. Senate spot held by Democratic incumbent Tim Kaine is up for election this year.

Kaine plans to rerun for the spot, launching his campaign in Virginia. The Republican Party is looking to take control of the seat and take down the Democrat’s lead in the Senate.

The Virginia Ballot will see five different names on June 18 when the primary elections take place. Those names are:

All of the candidates, except for Cao, were in Augusta County for a public forum to win over voters.

Though they had their differences, each of them agreed on wanting to take down Kaine in November. Kaine has held a political position since 1994, when he was elected to Richmond City Council.

Parkinson was the first to speak at the forum. He hoped to charm the audience with his dedication to his family and his desire to fix issues, like the drug problem the Shenandoah Valley faces. However, he wanted voters to understand he would protect the rights given to them by the Constitution, like the right to a comfortable life.

“I’m running on public safety, ending the illegal immigration crisis from the southern border, stopping fentanyl from getting into our communities and the cost of living is crushing the American family, the middle-class, and I want to make sure we attack “Bidenflation”, and all the policies Tim Kaine is supporting,” Parkinson said.

The next speaker, Emord, said his experience as a constitutional lawyer set him apart from the others. In his career, he “took down bureaucrats” and worked to protect people from bureaucratic leaders attempting to make legislation under the table. He said he would help Virginians keep money in their pockets and live the lives they choose.

“We don’t need bureaucrats telling us how to live, we know how to live ourselves, and we need them to get out of the way. That’s what the people of this area of Virginia believe strongly. I know that, I’ve been here many, many times,” Emord said. “They want the government out of their lives, and that’s what I want to do, I want to get there and get them out.”

Eddie Garcia, a U.S. Army veteran who served for more than 20 years, wanted the crowd to understand he comes from an average background. One of his selling points he said was the lack of endorsements/money given from people in Congress. He said he understands the working class and wants to support them, rather than be above the working class and not support them.

“The people in Washington D.C. have enriched themselves, they have increased their power and control over everybody’s lives. The working people, the farmers, the ranchers, the single moms, the landscapers, the bricklayers, the construction workers, all those people who put on their hard hats, who lace their work boots, they show up to work before the sun comes up and they don’t go up until the sun goes down,” Garcia said. “These people are getting left behind.”

Smith was the last speaker, his campaign focused on the national issues that are constantly debated in Congress but never solved. He emphasized the importance of immigration reform to voters in the crowd.

“I will stand up for the constitution, I will make sure that our border is under check. My personal belief is that we should not have any type of immigration until we get our border fixed. The people who are currently in the system can proceed, but no new applications until we can get our border under control,” Smith said.

You can find more information about each candidate’s platform on their campaign websites.

Copyright 2024 WHSV. All rights reserved.

APPOMATTOX COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – A woman from Pamplin, Virginia was killed in a crash early Friday in Appomattox County, according to Virginia State Police.

Amanda G. Layne, 44, was taken to a hospital, where she died of her injuries, according to police.

The crash occurred at 4:45 a.m. May 17, 2024 on eastbound Route 460. Police say Layne was driving a Dodge Durango near the intersection with Old Evergreen Road, went off the road to the right, and hit a mailbox and a tree.

Copyright 2024 WDBJ. All rights reserved.

In need of a reset in their final regular season series after suffering a disappointing series loss last weekend, the Cavaliers got just that and did so with a combination of excellent pitching and power hitting.

Evan Blanco allowed only two unearned runs in 7.1 innings and UVA hit three home runs as No. 18 Virginia (38-14, 16-12 ACC) got back in the win column with a 7-3 victory over Virginia Tech (32-18, 14-14 ACC) in the Commonwealth Clash series opener on Thursday night at Disharoon Park.

For Blanco, who has been responsible for most of UVA’s quality starts in what has been a difficult season from a pitching staff perspective, Thursday’s outing was the longest of his career and the longest by any UVA pitcher since Brian Edgington tossed a complete game in the Super Regional against Duke last June. He allowed only five hits, issued only four walks, and the two runs the Hokies scored on his watch were unearned due to an error.

After a scoreless first inning, Virginia gave Blanco some early run support as Harrison Didawick drew a one-out walk and then Eric Becker drilled a two-run home run off the scoreboard in right-center field.

The Cavaliers kept it coming in the third and did so again with the long ball as Henry Ford reached on a single and then Jacob Ference went yard with a hard-hit line drive that cleared the fence in left field for a two-run homer.

Harrison Didawick followed that up with a double down the right field line and he scored on a Henry Godbout grounder that found the gap in the right side of the infield for an RBI single to make it 5-0.

The lone blemish on Blanco’s brilliant outing came in the top of the fourth. After giving up a one-out single, he appeared to have gotten out of it with a routine grounder to third base, but Becker airmailed the throw to first base, turning the final out of the inning into a scoring play to get Virginia Tech on the board. Blanco then issued a walk and an RBI single to Christian Martin before inducing the inning-ending fly-out with UVA still ahead 5-2.

Virginia answered in the bottom of the fifth with its third homer of the day and an historic one for Harrison Didawick, who smashed a solo shot into the bullpen in right field to become just the third Cavalier to ever hit 20 home runs in a single season, joining Brian Buchanan (1994) and Jake Gelof (2022, 2023).

After a 1-2-3 frame from Blanco in the top of the sixth, the Cavaliers scored their seventh and final run of the game in the bottom half, as Luke Hanson hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a Bobby Whalen bunt, and scored on a two-out single from Casey Saucke to make it 7-2.

Blanco worked around a single in the seventh and retired the first batter of the eighth before exiting to a well-deserved ovation from the crowd of 4,275 at Disharoon Park.

He was replaced by Chase Hungate, who gave up a run on a pair of singles, but got UVA to the ninth still leading 7-3. Angelo Tonas closed it out in the final frame, retiring the Hokies in order to secure Virginia’s 7-3 victory.

Blanco was the player of the game, giving up zero earned runs over a career-high 7.1 innings pitched. Though nine different Cavaliers recorded a hit in the game, Harrison Didawick was the only batter with multiple hits, going 3 for 3 with three runs scored, including his 20th home run of the season.

Virginia will look to take the series in Friday’s game 2, which has an adjusted start time of 12pm due to expected inclement weather on Friday evening. The game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.