Virginia
Senator flags Virginia governor race as “bellwether” for Trump admin

Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, said on Sunday that his state’s gubernatorial race this fall will be the first “bellwether” test for the new Trump administration and a measure of a “Democratic comeback.”
Newsweek has reached out to the communications teams at the Democratic and Republican national committees for comment via email on Sunday.
Why It Matters
Virginia and New Jersey are the only states holding gubernatorial races this year and will be the first two major state elections held after President Donald Trump’s second term.
Virginia’s election may be seen as a “bellwether,” signaling political trends and voter sentiment. For Republicans, the elections will be a test of whether they can retain some of the voters they won back in 2024. Meanwhile, it will also be a key gauge for Democrats’ messaging as they seek to regain ground over the next few years.
What To Know
On Sunday, Kaine told CNN’s State of the Union co-host Jake Tapper that Virginia’s upcoming gubernatorial race “will be the first bellwether test of a Democratic comeback and I’m feeling really, really good about that right now.”
His comments came after Tapper asked Kaine about the state of the Democratic Party and politics in Kaine’s home state, to which the senator said: “In Virginia, we have gone from one of the most ruby red states in the country to now having put electoral votes behind Democrats five elections in a row. I just won my reelection by a sizable margin against Donald Trump’s handpicked Republican opponent.” Kaine won a third term last November, beating out Trump-endorsed challenger Hung Cao.
Virginia’s gubernatorial elections tend to sway based on the party in the White House, with Democrats typically winning when a Republican is in office. Republican Glenn Youngkin became governor in 2021 under President Joe Biden, and Democrat Ralph Northam won during Trump’s first presidency.
Kaine said on Sunday that Youngkin won the race “by 1.8 percent—the last two Republicans that won the governorship in Virginia won by comfortable double digits. Our governor is Republican, he ran during a very good year to be a Republican, and he won barely.”
Republican governors Bob McDonnell and Jim Gilmore won their respective races by over 17 percent margin and 13 percent margin.
Youngkin is term limited at the end of the year, so the race will be an open contest that could serve as a test of sentiment towards Trump and the Democratic Party. On Saturday, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) elected Ken Martin as its new chairperson.
Kaine, who served as Hillary Clinton’s running mate against Trump in the 2016 presidential election, said that he feels “really good about our chances” in the gubernatorial race, adding that “we just took both houses of the state legislature, we’ve got a great candidate for governor.” The Virginia State House and Senate are both controlled by slim Democratic majorities.
Who Are Virginia’s Gubernatorial Candidates?
While the party primaries on June 17 will determine the nominees, each party appears to have an early favorite: former Democratic U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger and Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears. If either of them wins, they would become the state’s first female governor.
An Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey of 1,000 registered Virginia voters conducted from January 6 to 8 found Spanberger edging 1 percentage point ahead of Earle-Sears, 42 to 41 percent. The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, found 13 percent of voters were undecided and 4 percent were supporting someone else.
Newsweek reached out to Spanberger and Earle-Sears for comment via email on Sunday.
Currently, no other Democrats have publicly announced their campaigns, though Representative Bobby Scott has not ruled out a run, The Virginia Pilot reported in January. Former gubernatorial candidate Merle Rutledge is also running in the GOP primary, but Earle-Sears is viewed as the party’s frontrunner.
Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) (AP Photo/Evan Vucci
What People Are Saying
John Feehery, partner at EFB Advocacy, previously told Newsweek in an email: “Virginia is going to be tough because it is really a blue state despite its purple state veneer, more so because Trump wants to dramatically reduce the government workforce…So I don’t think Republicans are going to do that well, but if they do, it means we had a true realignment election in 2024.”
Kevin Madden, a senior partner at Penta Group, told Newsweek in December: “Both the New Jersey and Virginia contests offer the Democrats a chance to reset their message as they look to rebuild their political coalition.”
Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in part last month: “Ten months before the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial election, the race is tight overall but with clear demographic differences standing out.”
What Happens Next
The deadlocked race will be determined on November 4, 2025.

Virginia
2026 WR Maddox grabs West Virginia offer
Clinton (Tn.) 2026 wide receiver Bryson Maddox holds an offer from West Virginia and is already planning to make it to campus in March.
Maddox, 6-foot-5, 175-pounds, received the scholarship during a telephone conversation with wide receivers coach Ryan Garrett.
The conversation didn’t start around football, instead it was centered on his life and how he has gotten to where he is at this point in his career.
But when things shifted to the gridiron Garrett let him know that he was impressed with his length outside as well as his speed at the position.
“I know West Virginia is in Morgantown and from what I understand it is beautiful up there. I couldn’t be more excited to get up there,” he said.
All of the schools including West Virginia are targeting him at wide receiver and he is coming off a strong junior campaign with over 1,00 yards and 15 scores.
Maddox felt that he clicked well with Garrett during that conversation and now he is excited to get to know the rest of the staff and how they are as both coaches and people.
The plan for now is to make it to West Virginia at some point in March once the dead period ends and at this point that is the only trip on his itinerary.
“I’m pumped to get to Morgantown,” he said.
Maddox also holds offers from programs such as Memphis, Marshall, Akron and a number of others and wants to find a place that has a coaching staff that believes in him and will push him to be his best on and off the field.
There is no timetable for a decision.
Virginia
Virginia National Guard helicopter makes unplanned landing in Washington County – WTOP News

A Virginia National Guard Black Hawk helicopter made an unplanned landing in Cascade, Maryland, on Thursday afternoon.
A Virginia National Guard Black Hawk helicopter made an unplanned landing in Cascade, Maryland, on Thursday afternoon.
Two people were on board the aircraft, which landed safely with no injuries after a reported mechanical issue.
In a statement provided to WTOP, the Virginia National Guard said the helicopter made a “precautionary landing in a field near the Hagerstown Regional Airport,” and will stay there overnight.
Law enforcement are securing the landing site and VNG said its aviation team will recover the aircraft on Friday.
This is the second latest regional incident involving a Black Hawk helicopter.
Last week, a Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 as the regional jet was on its final approach to Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. Sixty-seven people died in the midair collision — 60 passengers in the jet, along with two pilots and two flight attendants. Three pilots were in the helicopter, which was conducting a night training mission and was flying along a helicopter route along the Potomac River.
Cascade, Maryland, is in Washington County, just south of the Pennsylvania state line.
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Virginia
What time, TV channel is Syracuse women’s basketball-Virginia Tech on today? Free live stream
The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team will try to earn its 800th win in program history in a clash with the Virginia Tech Hokies on Thursday, February 6 (2/6/2025) at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia.
WATCH: Syracuse vs Virginia Tech will air on ACC Network, and can be streamed live with fuboTV (free trial).
Here’s what you need to know:
What: NCAA DI Women’s College Basketball
Who: Syracuse Orange @ Virginia Tech Hokies
When: Thursday, February 6, 2025 (2/6/2025)
Where: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Virginia
Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV: ACC Network
Channel finder: DirecTV, Verizon Fios, Cox, Xfinity, Spectrum, Optimum
Live stream: fuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial), Sling (half off first month), Hulu + Live TV
Syracuse’s record (8-13, 2-8 ACC) continues to plunge after dropping Sunday’s clash with Wake Forest in a narrow 70-67 loss. Felisha Legette-Jack said her team “panicked” in a fourth quarter meltdown that saw the Orange give up a 6-point lead at the start of the period.
Sophie Burrows led the Orange in points, setting a career-high with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting and four three-pointers. Kyra Wood also recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and a career best 15 rebounds.
Now the Orange will try to bounce back against the Hokies, who are 15-7 overall and 6-5 in the ACC. The Hokies are coming off a 79-71 win over SMU.
Here’s Syracuse’s upcoming schedule of games:
- Syracuse @ Virginia Tech, Thursday, Feb. 6, 6 p.m. on ACCN (STREAM)
- Wake Forest @ Syracuse, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2 p.m. on ACCNX (STREAM)
- Syracuse @ Stanford, Thursday, Feb. 13, 10 p.m. on ACCN (STREAM)
Fans can get cheap tickets to see the Orange from SeatGeek. Fanatics has a full collection of Syracuse Orange gear to shop online.
Can I bet on the game?
Betting is not available for in-state college teams under New York’s betting laws.
However, fans out of state can still bet on Syracuse basketball, and we’ve compiled some of the best introductory offers to help navigate your first bets from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365 and more.
What is fuboTV?
FuboTV is a live TV streaming service focused on live sports, including U.S. and international soccer, the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and more. It also includes its own fubo Sports Networks with exclusive programming, and 35 regional sports networks such Bally Sports and YES Network. fuboTV carries 55,000 live sporting events annually, and offers 202 channels starting at $79.99, includes unlimited DVR, and streams on most devices. Right now you can try fuboTV free for 7 days.
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