Southeast
Governor says Trump could become the first GOP presidential candidate to win his state in 20 years
It’s been two decades since a Republican carried Virginia in the race for the White House.
You have to go back to then-President George W. Bush, who won the Commonwealth in his 2004 re-election victory.
Democrats have carried the state in four straight presidential elections, including President Biden’s 10-point victory over Donald Trump four years ago as he won the White House.
But GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin thinks the former president has a very good shot of ending the Republican losing streak in Virginia as Trump faces off this autumn with Biden in a 2024 election rematch.
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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, speaking at the podium, is joined by, from left, Govs. Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Doug Burgum of North Dakota at a news conference at an oil refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana, on Monday. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
“Let’s just begin by remembering where we were in 2020 when Joe Biden won Virginia by 10 points, and the fact that we’re having this discussion is a huge turn of events,” Youngkin said earlier this week in a Fox News Digital interview in New Orleans, as he attended a Republican Governors Association (RGA) conference.
Youngkin emphasized that “we’re here in June and there’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge, but Virginia looks like it’s in play and that’s pretty exciting.”
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The governor was interviewed a couple of days ahead of the release of a Fox News poll that indicated Biden and Trump are deadlocked in Virginia.
The survey, conducted June 1-4, shows the Democratic president and his Republican predecessor in the White House each with 48% support in a head-to-head match.
In a multi-candidate race, Biden stands at 42% and Trump at 41%, with Democrat-turned-independent Robert K. Kennedy at 9% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent Cornel West each at 2%.
Yougkin captured the governor’s office in 2021 as the GOP also won the races for lieutenant governor and attorney general in the party’s first statewide victories in a dozen years. They also flipped the state House, and the victories in a state that had trended blue over the previous decade energized Republicans nationwide.
But last November, Democrats won back the majority in the state House and defended their control of the state Senate in a setback for Youngkin, who led the Republican charge on the campaign trail even though his name wasn’t on the ballot.
Looking ahead to this autumn’s elections, Youngkin noted that he’s “fully endorsed” Trump and said “we’re going to enthusiastically campaign in order to win this thing.”
There was plenty of speculation last year that Youngkin would potentially launch a White House run of his own, but the governor has kept his focus squarely on his home state.
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Asked about the possibility of a 2028 White House run, Youngkin pivoted and said his priority is “to be the best governor I possibly can in the Commonwealth and I gotta tell you, I love this job. We have made huge progress, and I’ve got almost another two years to continue to do for Virginia what Virginians hired me to do.”
Listing some of his accomplishments during his tenure so far as governor, Youngkin touted that “commonsense conservative policies work.”
Political pundits also view Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia as another potential contender for the 2028 GOP presidential nomination.
When asked about his next political chapter, Kemp told Fox News Digital “I am focused on winning in 2024. Then we’ll worry about anything else.”
Kemp, a popular conservative governor, earned Trump’s ire starting in late 2020, after he certified Biden’s narrow victory in Georgia in the presidential election following multiple recounts of the vote.
Trump, who had unsuccessfully urged the governor and other top Republican officials in the state to overturn the results, returned to Georgia twice to campaign against Kemp as the governor ran for re-election in 2022. But in that year’s GOP gubernatorial primary, the governor squashed former Sen. David Perdue, whom Trump had backed in hopes of ousting Kemp.
Asked if he’ll be involved with helping Trump try to win back Georgia in the presidential election, Kemp said, “I’m involved right now. We have a lot on the ballot in Georgia… We’ve got to hold our majorities and we’ve got to hold Georgia, just like we did in 2022. That’s what I’m working on right now, helping to make sure we have a ground game to do that. And making sure that we keep Georgia red.”
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Kemp was interviewed in the wake of Trump’s convictions on all 34 felony counts in the first trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history.
Kemp wouldn’t say if Trump’s guilty verdicts will make the governor’s job harder in the autumn.
“We’ll let voters decide that. To me, at the end of the day, this is about the people, it’s not about me. It’s not about some DA in New York City that I think was being political,” he said.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is another Republican who’s far from a Trump ally.
Sununu is a longtime vocal GOP critic of the former president who was a top supporter and surrogate of Trump’s last challenger in the presidential primaries — former ambassador to the U.N. and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
After Haley dropped out of the race in March, Sununu reiterated that he would vote for the GOP standard-bearer. And Sununu said he will still vote for Trump even after the former president’s conviction.
Asked if he would join Trump on the campaign trail in swing-state New Hampshire, the governor said, “I’m going to campaign with the candidates that need the help. Trump is Trump. People are going to make their minds up about President Trump whether individuals are on the campaign trail with him or not. I’m really about making sure we win that Statehouse. We have more than 201 Republicans in the House of Representatives. More than 14 senators, a strong executive council and most importantly winning that Corner Office.”
Sununu, who joined Youngkin and Kemp and a handful of other governors at a news conference during the RGA gathering, emphasized that “the presidential race is going to take care of itself. We’re going to focus on the state house races where the effort needs to be.”
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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Southeast
Florida driver hits student with her truck, covers license plate before fleeing, deputies say
A Florida woman was arrested after she allegedly struck a teenager who was crossing the road with her truck, covered her license plate and sped off.
Sarah Wright, 37, was arrested Thursday and charged with leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving with a suspended license.
The crash happened shortly before 4 p.m. at the intersection of Gage Avenue and Noah Street in Deltona, Florida, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim, a 16-year-old boy, was riding his scooter home from Pine Ridge High School when he was struck by a black Chevrolet Silverado as he was using the crosswalk, the sheriff’s office said.
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Sarah Wright, 37, is facing charges of leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving with a suspended license. (Flagler County Jail)
The teenager fell to the ground, resulting in a serious laceration to the back of his head as well as an arm injury, but he remained alert and conscious after the incident.
A witness reported that she was checking her mailbox nearby when she heard the crash. She told investigators that the suspect, later identified as Wright, exited her truck after the crash and checked on the boy before she went back to her vehicle and covered her license plate with paper and tape.
But the witness still managed to see the first character of her tag. A neighborhood Ring camera also captured the truck fleeing the scene.
A witness managed to see the first character on the truck’s tag and a neighborhood Ring camera captured the vehicle fleeing the scene. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
The victim and the witness were also able to provide a detailed description of the suspect.
Officials were then able to locate a suspect vehicle captured on a nearby License Plate Reader camera within minutes.
Wright was found in Flagler County and taken into custody with assistance from Florida Highway Patrol and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
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Sarah Wright was booked into the Flagler County Jail on a $3,500 bond. (iStock)
She was booked into the Flagler County Jail on a $3,500 bond.
The teenage victim required staples for the laceration and treatment for his arm injury, but he is expected to make a full recovery.
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A child was hospitalized on Saturday after being hit by a drone that was part of an Orlando, Florida holiday drone show.
According to the Orlando Fire Department, a 7-year-old boy was transported to the hospital because of injuries sustained from the falling drones, FOX 35 in Orlando reported.
In a video posted online by X user MosquitoCoFl, hundreds of drones being used as part of an aerial light show appeared to be flying into position before several started falling from the sky before slamming to the ground.
A man could be heard saying to children nearby, “Oh no! I don’t believe they’re supposed to be falling.”
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Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
Geese also appear on the water, flapping their wings to try and get out of the way of the chaotic scene.
City officials told the station the holiday drone show was permitted by the FAA.
Still, after one drone show went wrong, the city chose to cancel the second that night at 8 p.m. due to “technical difficulties.”
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Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
The FAA told Fox News Digital it will investigate the cause of the drone show malfunction.
“Several small drones collided and fell into a crowd during a holiday drone show over [Eola] Lake in Orlando, Florida,” the FAA said. “The incident occurred around 6:45 p.m. local time on Saturday, December 21.”
According to the agency, drone arrays and light shows are subject to FAA regulations and typically require a waiver to a regulation that prohibits operating more than one drone at a time.
For each drone show application, the FAA looks at things like the software controlling the drones, procedures for setting up safe and restricted areas to keep people a safe distance from the show, procedures if drones fail, and procedures for when an aircraft gets too close to the show.
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Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
Additionally, the FAA reviews how the operator will keep the drones inside a confined area using Geofencing, and whether the operator has an adequate number of people to run the show.
For the second year, the City of Orlando used Sky Elements Drones as its vendor to operate the drones, the station reported.
Sky Elements Drones did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter.
In a statement to Fox 35, the vendor said, “Sky Elements Drones wants to extend our sincere hope for a full and speedy recovery to those impacted at our Lake Eola show in Orlando on Saturday, Dec. 21.
“The well-being of our audience is our utmost priority, and we regret any distress or inconvenience caused,” the company continued. “We are diligently working with the FAA and City of Orlando officials to determine the cause and are committed to establishing a clear picture of what transpired. Millions of people see our shows annually, and we are committed to maintaining the highest safety regulations set forth by the FAA.”
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Southeast
Florida boy has open heart surgery after being hit by drone at holiday show, parents say, NTSB investigating
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating an accident in which a 7-year-old Florida boy was struck by at least one drone at a holiday airshow over the weekend, resulting in him having to undergo open-heart surgery.
The NTSB on Wednesday said it was investigating the Saturday night malfunction at an aerial light show in Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando.
Adriana Edgerton and Jessica Lumsden, parents of Alexander, said one of the red and green-lit drones struck him and knocked him out upon impact, causing a chest injury, Fox Orlando reported.
Hundreds of drones being used as part of a Saturday night aerial light show in Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando appeared to be flying into position before several started falling from the sky before slamming to the ground, according to videos posted online.
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Alexander, a 7-year-old boy, has undergone heart surgery after he was struck by a falling drone during a holiday airshow in Orlando, his parents said. (Fox Orlando )
“Before they went down, the green one went straight at us. I went to the left. My son went to the right, and it hit my son,” Lumsden told the news outlet.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the boy’s parents.
The city canceled the show after the drones crashed.
“Due to technical difficulties, the 8 p.m. Holiday Drone Show at Lake Eola has been canceled. We apologize for any inconvenience,” the city posted on X.
MYSTERY DRONES COULD BE IDENTIFIED FASTER USING NEW DETECTION TOOL, BUT FAA LACKS RESOURCES
Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
It was not clear what led to the drone difficulties.
The vendor for the drone show, Sky Elements Drones, told the news outlet it wanted to extend “our sincere hope for the full and speedy recovery to those impacted” at the show.
“The well-being of our audience is of the upmost priority, and we regret any distress or inconvenience caused,” the company said. “We are diligently working with the FAA and City of Orlando officials to determine the cause and are committed to establishing a clear picture of what transpired. Millions of people see our shows annually, and we are committed to maintaining the highest safety regulations set forth by the FAA.”
Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the malfunction.
Drone arrays and light shows are subject to FAA regulations and typically require a waiver to a regulation that prohibits operating more than one drone at a time, the agency said.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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