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Virginia
Republican investment in Virginia coming ahead of election, GOP Chair says
NAACP urges Biden to halt weapons to Israel
SAs the 2024 U.S. presidential election draws near, pressure is mounting on President Joe Biden to do more to facilitate the end of the war in Gaza.
Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin doubled down on an idea that has been kicked around among pollsters and campaign folks recently: The commonwealth is in play for conservatives in the 2024 General Election.
Virginia has trended blue during presidential races since 2008 but some in the Republican Party believe that could change in November. And a recent poll conducted by Roanoke College shows the two presumptive nominees, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, neck-in-neck with each garnering support from 42% of voters surveyed.
On CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper on Thursday, Youngkin echoed the optimism of Trump’s campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, who told NBC in May that Republicans have an opportunity to expand the map in Virginia.
“It is pretty stunning that in 2020 we saw Joe Biden win by 10 points, and I was fortunate enough to win by two [in 2021], but now we see Virginia very tight,” Youngkin said. “I think America and Virginia is ready to really give President Trump the White House back.”
The Democratic Party of Virginia disagreed with Youngkin’s assertion and said the governor has kowtowed to the former president throughout his term as head of the commonwealth.
“Youngkin’s governorship is over and while he continues to beg for attention from Trump and his cronies, like Chris LaCivitia, Virginia Democrats will beat Republicans and Trump just like they did in 2020,” Democratic Party Chair Susan Swecker said.
Both parties investing in the commonwealth?
Virginia’s Democratic Party, though skeptical of Trump’s ability to win in November, isn’t taking the election for granted. Virginia Democrats, along with the Biden-Harris campaign, have invested resources in the commonwealth over the last few months.
The Biden-Harris campaign has opened six offices across Virginia in both rural and urban areas with more expected to be opened in the coming months. The campaign has also launched a Black voter outreach program in Virginia.
“Trump is toxic and has no campaign presence in Virginia, while the Biden campaign is working to win every vote across the commonwealth,” State Senate President Pro tempore Louise Lucas, a Democrat, said. “[Trump is] welcome to waste his time campaigning here.”
And while it’s true that the Trump campaign has yet to invest heavily in the commonwealth, money, manpower and energy are coming soon to Virginia, Republican Party Chair Rich Anderson said.
“They are building out their operation in Virginia and will soon unveil their team and other particulars. My state party staff and I will meet with them in the near term to nail down the role that RPV will play in partnership with the RNC and the Trump 2024 team,” he said.
Trump’s campaign has said publicly and affirmed to Anderson privately that it considers Virginia to be a top-tier, in-play state, Anderson said.
What about Trump’s convictions, Nikki Haley’s voters, and Independents?
When asked by Tapper, Youngkin predicted that Independent voters in the commonwealth would vote for Trump. Independent voters made up 27% of those surveyed in the recent Roanoke College poll that saw the two presumptive nominees neck-in-neck.
He pointed to the economy, national security, energy policy and the southwestern border as reasons why he believes Virginia will swing red in November.
Roughly 35% of voters in Virginia’s Republican primary voted for Nikki Haley. A number of those voters who attended campaign rally in February in Richmond told USA Today that they would not vote for Trump even if he were the Republican nominee.
Youngkin told Tapper that he believes the Republican Party in Virginia is coming together to support the presumptive nominee, regardless of past candidates and differences of opinion. He also said that he believes voters won’t be swayed away from the former president despite his 34 felony convictions on counts of falsifying business documents.
Virginia
Virginia State Police investigates fatal crash on Bayside Road in Northampton County
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia State Police is investigating a fatal crash that happened on Bayside Road in Northampton County Saturday morning.
On March 28 at around 10:52 a.m., a 2016 Nissan Quest was traveling southbound on Bayside Road when it crossed the centerline, ran off of the road’s left side, and hit a ditch and a tree.
The car’s driver, Exmore resident Waylon M. Turner, 42, was seriously injured due to the crash. He succumbed to his injuries after being transported to a local hospital. He wore a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
The crash is now under investigation.
Virginia
Goochland residents sue county over Technology Overlay District approval
GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Four Goochland residents are taking the county’s board of supervisors and planning commission to court, alleging officials failed to lawfully and clearly explain their approved Technology Overlay District (TOD).
In November, the board adjusted zoning rules and approved the TOD and a Technology Zone (TZ) to incentivize data centers and high-tech businesses to be in eastern Goochland.
That approval came after months of community meetings and public comment periods where neighbors shared concerns about the environmental impacts, noise emissions and the county’s rural character.
Plaintiff Cynthia Haas and informal legal advisor John Gessner both live near, but outside, the zone and believe their concerns could lead to unknown impacts of data center development and operations.
“Water, power: nobody knows. It borders on reckless to approve these — or make it easier for them to be built — without knowing exactly what the impacts are,” said Gessner, who also built a career as a zoning lawyer.
“[Data center development] is coming one way or the other,” Haas said. “You’re throwing all this stuff into the TOD without considering the consequences.”
After public hearings, the county made some changes to the project, such as increasing buffers around homes and reforming noise limits.
“It is true there were all sorts of public meetings, but there was never an opportunity to find out really what they were thinking and the reasoning for it,” Gessner said.
The lawsuit claimed Goochland did not properly advertise the project, violated zoning regulations and made last-minute changes to the district without hearing from residents.
Around 300 people have donated to support Haas’s and the plaintiff’s filing, in hopes of reversing the TOD.
A Goochland County spokesperson says its leadership stands by its approval process. In February, its board of supervisors approved a $250,000 fund for the county’s defense. If the county’s defense is less than $250,000, the spokesperson said the additional funds will be returned to the county’s unassigned general fund.
Another $100,000 is being used for the county’s defense, part of a public officials’ liability policy through the Virginia Association of Counties Self-Insurance Risk Pool.
County administration told 8News last year that revenues from businesses in the district would help lower residents’ taxes and help pay for a water and sewer service debt.
The county spokesperson said in part, “Adoption of the TOD and TZ establishes standards and expectations. It does not approve any specific project. Any proposed technology development must still comply with all applicable requirements…”
“We’re going to continue to fight this. We’re not going to let a group of men pass illegal legislation and get away with it,” Haas said. “That’s not the way this is going to working in Goochland anymore.”
A hearing is set for Tuesday, May 26, in the Goochland Circuit Court, where the court will decide which of the 8,500 documents filed will be submitted for the record.
Goochland has asked the court to throw the suit out, but a hearing for that has not been scheduled.
Learn more about the TOD and Goochland County’s full statement on the pending litigation here.
Virginia
West Virginia State Police searching for missing woman last seen in Kingwood
KINGWOOD, W.Va. (WBOY) — The West Virginia State Police are asking communities to keep an eye out for a missing woman last seen in Preston County.
According to a Facebook post by the WVSP, 29-year-old Shania Moser was last seen Thursday, March 26, at around 11 a.m. in the Albright Avenue area of Kingwood.
Moser is described in the post as having blonde hair and brown eyes, being 5′ 2″ tall, and was last seen wearing a purple hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and white Nike shoes.
At the time she was last seen she was driving a 2015 blue Ford Escape with a West Virginia registration reading 1G5016.
Those who have any information on the whereabouts of Moser are urged to call the WVSP at 304-329-1101.
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