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
#17 Irish Fall at #4 Virginia, 4-1
PDF Box
#17 Notre Dame (19-5, 8-3) – 1 | #4 Virginia (18-3, 10-1) – 4
DOUBLES – 3, 2
1. Dominko/Gregg (ND) vs. #5 Dahlberg/Dietrich (UVA), 2-4, 4-4, 5-4, 6-5, unfinished
2. Rice/Brockett (UVA) def. #47 Llorens Saracho/Nad (ND), 7-5
3. Santamarta/Kim (UVA) def. Lee/Patrick (ND), 6-0
SINGLES – 2, 4, 6
1. #2 Dylan Dietrich (UVA) def. #15 Sebastian Dominko (ND), 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
2. #14 Keegan Rice (UVA) def. #72 Perry Gregg (ND), 6-3, 6-3
3. #40 Andres Santamarta Roig (UVA) vs. Giuseppe Cerasuolo (ND), 6-3, 6-5, unfinished
4. Peter Nad (ND) def. #102 Jangjun Kim (UVA), 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
5. Kyran Magimay (ND) vs. Stiles Brockett (UVA), 6-1, 5-7, 1-1, unfinished
6. Douglas Yaffa (UVA) def. Luis Llorens Saracho (ND), 6-3, 0-6, 6-1
Virginia
Virginia sees 33,000 ACA enrollment drop since subsidies expired, more likely on the way
Virginia
The Virginia International Tattoo: Where 250 Years of Freedom Takes the Stage – VisitNorfolk
If you’re uncertain what the words “Tattoo” and “Hullabaloo” mean in the context of Norfolk, Virginia’s largest annual event, Scott Jackson is happy to explain.
“About 15 years ago, I took a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, to see the Edinburgh tattoo, which is the biggest tattoo in the world and the most famous,” says Jackson, Producer/Director of the military-themed spectacle known as the Virginia International Tattoo. “My hotel was at the bottom of a road called the Royal Mile… and when you walk up this mile on the night of a tattoo performance, it’s totally vibrant. It’s so exciting. There’s music on every corner. There’s street performers. There’s food, there’s beer. When I got to the castle, I already felt great. I was already in a great mood.”
The annual Virginia International Tattoo runs April 16–19, 2026, and this year it carries the theme of America’s 250th anniversary. The timing is not lost on Jackson, a student of military history who discovered, in preparing for this year, that George Washington himself called for the first tattoo in American history.
“At that time, a tattoo was a small military ceremony,” Jackson explains. “It was basically a time each night when soldiers were called back to a base, and there was a roll call, and a military ceremony, sometimes called a beating retreat.”
From that origin story, Jackson has built a show that threads 1776 through every act. The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, performing in 1776 uniforms, will demonstrate how fifes, drums and bugles once served as battlefield communication, the original radio operators of the Continental Army. The French Navy Band and a Royal Air Force rifle display team called the King’s Color Squadron represent the allies who stood with the colonies.
“There’s a great line from the musical Hamilton,” Jackson says, “‘I want to be in the room where it happened.’ Well, these were the countries that were in the room where it happened.”
South Korea’s Army Band provides a “a giant umbrella of Korean culture,” with traditional dance and costumes, a taekwondo display team, and two K-pop stars currently serving their mandatory military service.
“In the U.S. in the ’50s, Elvis Presley was drafted into the Army, who felt like it was a distraction, so they actually staged him in Germany. He basically had a desk job,” Jackson says. “Well, the South Koreans said, ‘Oh, you’re a K-pop star, we’re drafting you. We’re sending you to Virginia Tattoo to represent.’”
More than 800 civilian and military performers from six nations will fill Scope’s arena floor. For those making the drive from the Richmond region and beyond, the experience begins well before curtain. According to Jackson, that is precisely what you don’t want to miss.
The festivities aren’t just inside the arena, Jackson notes. For several hours before each performance, the exterior Scope Plaza comes alive with brass quintets, traditional Celtic dancers, beer tastings, festival food and a market of makers selling Tattoo-related merchandise. This is the Hullabaloo, a free pre-show open to the public and Jackson’s answer to Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
“When you can, come early and relax, because then when the show starts, you’re already in a great place,” he says. “If you haven’t gone yet, this is the year to go.”
Tickets are available at vafest.org or by calling (757) 282-2822. Show times are Thursday–Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
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