Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

A World War II-era boiler in Virginia is at the center of a growing debate over the paper industry’s role in climate change — and how much pollution goes uncounted due to loopholes in federal reporting rules.

The Smurfit Westrock paper mill in Covington, a 126-year-old facility located north of Roanoke, released more climate-warming pollution in 2023 than any other paper mill in the country, according to a sweeping new report by the Environmental Integrity Project.

The watchdog group found that the facility reported emitting 970,084 metric tons of greenhouse gases last year — but in reality, it released more than 2.5 million tons. The discrepancy stems from an Environmental Protection Agency policy that allows facilities to omit emissions from the burning of wood and wood byproducts, known as “biogenic” fuels.

“This plant is burning dirty fuels using a boiler built in 1940, and the pollution is hitting communities and the climate alike,” said Jen Duggan, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project. “Even in the digital age, we need paper products. But there is no reason a clean sheet of paper needs to be made with dirty fuels and antiquated methods.”

The Smurfit Westrock press office did not to respond to an email seeking comment Monday.

The report, titled “A Paper Trail of Pollution,” paints a dire portrait of the U.S. pulp and paper industry.

Over a six-month period, researchers reviewed thousands of public records and visited mills across the country, ultimately studying the 185 largest paper and pulp facilities in the United States. Their findings suggest that many of these plants are operating with outdated infrastructure, lax oversight and little accountability for their true environmental impact.

Among the most striking revelations is that nearly three-quarters of the mills rely on outdated boilers, with an average age of 41 years. One of the oldest, built in 1928, remains in use at a mill in Longview, Washington. In contrast, experts recommend replacing industrial boilers after about 15 years. At more than 40% of the facilities studied, at least one boiler was a half-century old or older.

The Covington mill, which employs several hundred people and is a fixture of the local economy, has long drawn criticism from nearby residents for the foul odors, soot and water pollution it produces.

In 2023, it was the nation’s top emitter of methane — a greenhouse gas more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period — releasing more than 214,000 metric tons. The mill also ranked third among U.S. paper facilities for hydrochloric acid emissions, releasing an estimated 170,000 pounds.

The plant’s impact extends beyond the air. State records document at least a dozen incidents over the past five years in which locals reported dark, cloudy, or contaminated discharges — including black liquor, a toxic wood-processing byproduct — flowing into the nearby Jackson River, a tributary of the James River, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.

One complaint, filed in November 2022, warned of “polluted water destroying the Upper James River fishery.” The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality dismissed the complaint.

Victoria Higgins, Virginia director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said the Covington facility is a clear example of how outdated equipment and regulatory gaps are allowing the paper industry to skirt accountability.

“Pollution from industrial factories burning trees is an under-counted source of climate-warming pollution,” she said. “In order to deliver on the promise of clean air and a stable climate in Virginia, we need to ensure facilities like the more than century-old Smurfit Westrock mill are moving to cleaner energy sources.”

An industry steeped in tradition

The American paper industry traces its roots to 1690, when the first mill opened in Germantown, Pennsylvania, using discarded cotton rags and waterwheels for power. By 1810, about 185 mills were operating across the country, but a shortage of rags pushed papermakers to experiment with alternative fibers like straw, bark and eventually wood.

With the advent of mechanical wood grinders in the 19th century, wood pulp became the industry standard, and the U.S. quickly rose to become the world’s top paper producer. That growth came at a cost — mill operations contributed to large-scale deforestation, including the cutting of tens of millions of acres of woodland in a single year by some companies.

Today, the U.S. has more trees than it did 50 years ago, thanks in part to replanting efforts by the industry, which now plants over a billion trees annually. The modern paper sector is dominated by a few major corporations and concentrated in states like Wisconsin, Georgia, and Alabama. More than half of paper produced in the U.S. is now used for packaging and wrapping.

Federal law currently allows the paper industry to exclude emissions from the combustion of biogenic materials — such as wood, wood chips, and black liquor — on the theory that trees will regrow and eventually recapture the carbon released during combustion.

But environmental groups and scientists increasingly question that logic, particularly when emissions from burning these fuels are both large and immediate, while regrowth can take decades.

Nationwide, the 185 mills studied reported a total of 33.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA in 2023. But after factoring in emissions from biogenic fuels — which the EPA does not currently require mills to report — the Environmental Integrity Project estimates that the true number is closer to 115 million tons. That’s more than three times the reported total.

Other pollutants are also under-regulated. In 2020, the mills collectively released more than 46,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, a pollutant linked to heart and lung problems, including premature death. Many mills, including some of the worst offenders, lack basic pollution control devices such as scrubbers that can significantly reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.

The latter chemical is responsible for the rotten egg-like smell associated with many mills, including the one in Covington, and can trigger nausea, headaches and respiratory issues.

Hydrogen sulfide pollution is especially concentrated. In 2023, 90 of the mills reported emitting a combined total of eight million pounds of the chemical, with nearly half of that coming from just 12 plants. Six of the top 10 emitters of hydrogen sulfide across all industries last year were paper mills, the report said.

The report also found that regulatory enforcement has been inconsistent and often toothless.

A third of the 185 mills studied had an air pollution violation in the last three years. Over the past five years, 95 of them were subject to 267 enforcement actions, which resulted in just $7.4 million in total penalties — a modest sum for an industry with multibillion-dollar revenues.

Pollution not unique to Virginia plants

Beyond Virginia, the report includes case studies of plants in Washington and South Carolina, where local residents have filed thousands of odor complaints, voiced worries about health risks, and called on regulators to tighten enforcement.

In Port Townsend, Washington, a mill has spent 12 consecutive quarters in violation of the Clean Air Act. In Catawba, South Carolina, residents have logged nearly 50,000 odor complaints since 2018 against a mill now owned by a private equity group led by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Duggan and her colleagues argue that the solution lies in modernization and tougher oversight. The report calls for pulp and paper mills to replace aging boilers with zero-emission industrial heat systems and shift toward cleaner energy sources. It also urges a greater commitment to using recycled paper over virgin wood, which requires more energy and water and generates significantly more emissions.

According to the group, manufacturing a ton of cardboard from recycled materials requires half the energy, 32% less water, and produces just a quarter of the climate pollution.

The study’s authors also demand an end to the biogenic loophole in EPA reporting rules and warn that the issue could worsen if efforts to eliminate or weaken greenhouse gas reporting requirements under President Donald Trump’s administration succeed.

“The American paper industry should modernize these plants to use cleaner and more efficient power systems and increase recycling to reduce climate pollution and protect the health of nearby communities,” Duggan said. “And this industry should not be allowed to hide its climate pollution.”

For residents of Covington and other communities living in the shadow of aging mills, the hope is that attention from this report will bring pressure for long-overdue reforms — before the paper trail of pollution grows any longer.

The internal drama roiling Virginia Republicans deepened over the weekend as John Reid, the party’s embattled nominee for lieutenant governor, accused Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s political action committee of extortion — escalating an already explosive rift just months before November’s elections.

In a defiant video posted Sunday afternoon on X, Reid alleged that a representative of Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC told his team the organization would purchase damaging opposition research and “the lies and threats against me would suddenly stop” if he agreed to drop out of the race.

The allegations come just 48 hours after it became public that Youngkin had personally asked Reid to withdraw over concerns about a social media account linked to explicit content.

Reid, a conservative radio host and the first openly gay statewide candidate from either party in Virginia, said he had hoped the controversy would settle, but instead the pressure had intensified.

“I had certainly hoped that we could put the bigotry and ugliness of last week behind us and unify our Republican ticket this year,” Reid said in the video. “But shockingly, once again representatives of my campaign have been told by the leader of Governor Youngkin’s political organization that the attacks on me will continue unless I drop out of the race for lieutenant governor.”

Spirit of Virginia is headed by political consultant Matt Moran, vice president of Creative Direct.

Under Virginia law, it is a crime to threaten a person’s reputation, safety, property, or immigration status in order to extort money, property, or any financial benefit. Specifically, the law classifies it as a Class 5 felony to use threats, accusations of criminal conduct, or the misuse of immigration documents as leverage for financial or personal gain.

However, Eric Claville, a political and legal analyst at Norfolk State University, urged caution before drawing any legal conclusions from Reid’s allegations.

“This is politics, and politics is all about perception, and with that being the case, I would not want to speak on the legality of it, because we don’t have all the evidence,” Claville said. “We can only speculate, and that’s what both sides are doing now.”

Claville noted that while Reid’s accusations may stir public outrage, proving criminal conduct would require far more than speculation.

“When you take a look at what has transpired, it is all speculation and hearsay. Therefore, in the legal court, that would have to be tried out and also go through the legal process in order to make a determination,” he said. “However, in the court of public opinion, which is different from a legal proceeding, it basically comes down to the rules of what is reality and what is not, as it relates to the audience, or the public at large.”

For now, Claville said, Reid appears to have the stronger public narrative.

“You have candidate Reid making a strong case on his end, and there really is not a strong rebuttal on the other end,” he said. “So at this point, that’s going to have to go through the legal proceedings and of course, the court of public opinion.”

Ultimately, Claville emphasized that the larger issue is mostly political.

“At the end of the day, the question is, what is the impact upon the ticket – and that impact is massive, and they’re going to have to determine if this is a viable path forward to be competitive in the upcoming election,” he said.

As of late Monday afternoon, Republican leadership remained notably silent. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears — the party’s nominee for governor and the headliner of the statewide GOP ticket — has yet to weigh in on the controversy.

A spokeswoman for Earle-Sears’ campaign and a spokesman for Spirit of Virginia did not respond to multiple phone calls and text messages. Neither did Ken Nunnenkamp, the party’s executive director.

Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, the newly elected chair of the Republican Party of Virginia, declined to comment Monday. But at an event in Fairfax County earlier in the day, he vowed to support the entire GOP slate.

Adding to the signs of turmoil, an event scheduled for Wednesday at Atlas 42 in Henrico County featuring the statewide Republican ticket — with Youngkin billed as a special guest — has been canceled, according to a report by Virginia Scope.

Even as the controversy swirled, Reid was set to appear Monday evening at a rally hosted by the Loudoun County Republican Committee in Sterling. Loudoun GOP Chair Scott Pio told The Mercury that the event would go forward as planned and that Reid continued to have his support.

“The Republican Party has been removing staunch Republicans for the past three years from elected office all across the state because they’re unhappy with conservatism being pushed,” Pio said, voicing his frustration with efforts to boot Reid off the ticket.

In his video, Reid did not mince words about the pressure he said he faced.

“This is extortion and it is illegal in Virginia, and I am more outraged now,” he said of the proposal his campaign received from Youngkin’s PAC. Reid added that he has engaged legal counsel to “pursue all options” and slammed what he called the arrogance of party insiders trying to oust him after he became the legal nominee.

“The insiders in Virginia politics made a big miscalculation if they thought that I would bow down to anyone or run away scared,” he said. “I’m a conservative Trump supporter and I’m gay, and everybody knows it because I’ve told you in person and in the media for decades.”

The latest twist follows days of escalating conflict that first broke into public view Friday when The Richmonder reported that Youngkin had privately urged Reid to withdraw after a Tumblr account — bearing the same username Reid uses elsewhere — surfaced featuring sexually explicit content. A spokesperson for Youngkin’s PAC said the governor learned of the account late Thursday and called Reid the next morning.

“The governor was made aware late Thursday of the disturbing online content. Friday morning, in a call with Mr. Reid, the Governor asked him to step down as the lieutenant governor nominee,” Spirit of Virginia said in a statement.

Reid denied the account was his, countering in an earlier video that “anyone on the internet can open accounts with the same or similar names as other people,” and saying he had never publicly performed or posted pornographic material.

Reid said while he expected “harassment and vulgar attacks” from “radical” Republicans and “angry leftists,” he did not expect Youngkin, whom he had long supported, to call for his resignation “without even showing me the supposed evidence or offering me a chance to respond.”

“I did not accept that and I deeply resent it,” he said.

Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said the turmoil surrounding Reid’s candidacy highlights deeper challenges for Virginia Republicans heading into a critical election cycle.

“The biggest challenge that you have as a first-time statewide candidate is getting your name out there in the public,” Farnsworth said. “That’s not going to be a problem for John Reid.” But, he cautioned, the downside is significant: “This controversy won’t help Reid or the Republican ticket.”

Farnsworth noted the predicament reflects broader tensions within the GOP.

“It is a very difficult situation for Republicans to both keep the enthusiasm of evangelical Christian voters and reach out to an increasingly visible gay segment of the electorate in Virginia,” he said. While Republicans have long struggled with balancing those constituencies, Farnsworth said, “it is certainly a more intense one right now, particularly given the governor’s rebuffed efforts to avoid a bigger controversy.”

Ultimately, Farnsworth argued, the situation adds yet another complication to an already challenging election year for Virginia Republicans.

“The Republican party did not need another problem this year,” he said.

Reid’s unexpected ascent to the ticket came after Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity dropped out for health reasons last week. Had Reid agreed to withdraw, the Republican Party of Virginia’s state central committee would have been tasked with picking a replacement, Peake previously confirmed.

The controversy also unfolds against the backdrop of a broader debate over LGBTQ rights, as the General Assembly advances a constitutional amendment to erase a now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage — an issue that has divided Republicans, with many in the House and Senate either voting no or abstaining.

U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Fairfax, a fixture in Northern Virginia politics for more than three decades, announced Monday he will not seek reelection after a resurgence of cancer, saying the sun is setting on his time in public service.

In a statement published on his social media accounts, Connolly thanked supporters for their “good wishes and compassion,” crediting their encouragement with giving him strength “in my fights — both against cancer and in our collective defense of democracy.”

He revealed that although initial treatments had seemed successful, his cancer has returned. “I’ll do everything possible to continue to represent you and thank you for your grace,” he wrote.

Connolly, 75, said he will soon step down as ranking member of the House Oversight Committee and finish out the remainder of his term with “no rancor and a full heart.” He added, “With pride in what we’ve accomplished together over 30 years, my loving family and staff sustain me. My extended family — you all have been a joy to serve.”

The news struck a deeply emotional chord among colleagues and political leaders across Virginia and Washington, D.C.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., reflected on Connolly’s announcement with admiration, saying, “No one has fought harder when it comes to Virginia’s federal workforce, transportation infrastructure, congressional oversight, and our commitment to critical alliances like NATO.”

Kaine said he spoke with Connolly on Monday morning, telling him of his “profound admiration for his service and deep love for him and Smitty,” Connolly’s wife.

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., Connolly’s counterpart on the committee, also expressed his support following the announcement.

“I’m saddened to hear that Ranking Member Connolly’s cancer has returned,” Comer said in a statement Monday. He praised Connolly as “a steadfast public servant who has spent his career serving Northern Virginians with honor and integrity.”

Comer added, “It’s an honor to serve the American people alongside him and I am rooting for him as he battles cancer once again. Our prayers are with Ranking Member Connolly and his family.”

Born in Boston, Connolly’s life reflected a unique mix of scholarship, global expertise, and local passion. He spent a decade with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, managing oversight on international economics, narcotics policy and U.N. affairs, and publishing reports on U.S. policy in El Salvador, Central America, Israel and the Persian Gulf.

Later, Connolly moved into leadership roles in the private sector at SRI International and SAIC before fully turning to public service in Fairfax County. He was elected Providence District Supervisor in 1995, and in 2003, became chairman of the county’s Board of Supervisors, where he guided Fairfax’s rapid growth while promoting education, environmental stewardship and smart development.

Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, recalled first working with Connolly during those local government years.

“The congressman was a visionary leader for Fairfax County who moved on to a national role defending federal workers and our democratic institutions,” Surovell said. “Northern Virginia is a better, stronger place because of Gerry Connolly’s tireless advocacy, and our democracy is healthier because of his unwavering dedication.”

Connolly carried that same blend of policy chops and political muscle to Washington after winning election to Congress in 2008. Representing Virginia’s 11th District — anchored in suburban Fairfax County — he quickly built a reputation for mastering the nuts and bolts of government reform.

He co-authored the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act with Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California, seeking to streamline how the government buys new technology and reduces waste.

Connolly also worked to cut red tape through the Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014, which scrapped about 100 outdated or redundant federal reporting requirements. His commitment to oversight and efficiency earned him recognition as one of the most effective lawmakers in Congress by the Center for Effective Lawmaking.

“Throughout his career, Gerry Connolly has exemplified the very best of public service — fiercely intelligent, deeply principled, and relentlessly committed to the people of Northern Virginia and our nation,” U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said Monday. Warner called Connolly “one of the toughest fighters I know” and said he was “keeping him in our hearts and prayers.”

Connolly’s record reflected a consistently progressive bent. He championed abortion rights, voting against the Stupak-Pitts Amendment and supporting federal funding for Planned Parenthood. He campaigned for LGBTQ rights long before marriage equality became the law of the land, backing efforts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act.

He was also a strong advocate for environmental protections, helping to found the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, and supported investments in renewable energy technologies.

Connolly did not shy from political combat, especially during the Trump presidency. He voted to impeach Donald Trump and memorably blasted Republican proposals to rename Dulles Airport after Trump, quipping, “If Republicans want to name something after him, I suggest they find a federal prison.”

State Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, praised Connolly’s fighting spirit and intellect.

“Congressman Connolly always brings unmatched intellect, wit, and passion to his work,” Bagby said. “Cancer stands no chance against his fighting Irish spirit.” Bagby credited Connolly with making the commonwealth stronger through decades of dedicated service.

In recent years, Connolly continued to dominate his electoral contests, defeating a primary challenger in 2024 with more than 86% of the vote and cruising to reelection against Republican Mike Van Meter.

Even as health challenges loomed, he maintained an active role in legislative oversight and defending democratic institutions.

Connolly’s retirement marks the close of an era for Northern Virginia, where his leadership became synonymous with effective, passionate advocacy. His colleagues emphasized that his impact would long outlast his time in office.

Former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor, also praised Connolly’s legacy and spirit, calling him a model public servant whose impact will be felt across Virginia for generations.

“For more than three decades, Congressman Connolly has stood up for Virginians — dedicating his career to public service and making our Commonwealth stronger,” Spanberger said Monday. “He has responded to the needs of his neighbors, strengthened the communities he represented, and worked to grow the Democratic Party in Fairfax and across Northern Virginia.”

A Franklin County jury has awarded $750,000 in damages to two families who were evicted from a Smith Mountain Lake campground after the owner learned one of the family members was Black. The verdict marks the largest fair housing jury award ever secured by the Virginia attorney general’s office, according to a news release by Attorney General Jason Miyares.

The case centered on Regina Turner, owner of Lazy Cove Campground, who had rented lakeside lots to families for decades. But in June 2020, she abruptly sought to evict two families after discovering that one of the husbands, Damien Smith, was Black.

According to a complaint filed with the Virginia Fair Housing Board, which was first reported by The Washington Post, Turner told a tenant, “You didn’t tell me that your friend’s husband is Black… Had I known, I wouldn’t have rented the lot to them. I saw the son, but I figured everyone makes a mistake.”

Miyares hailed the jury’s decision as a critical victory against racial discrimination in fair housing.

“Housing discrimination — and discrimination of any kind — will not be tolerated in Virginia,” Miyares said in a statement Thursday. “We are pleased by the jury’s verdict, and I’m immensely proud of my Civil Rights Unit. The people of Franklin County have spoken: Smith Mountain Lake is for everyone.”

Turner denied evicting the families but admitted to making the controversial phone call. “I did say that to a degree,” she said in an interview with The Post. “I said I have a right to know who’s moving in. I did feel betrayed.” However, court documents also allege that she told another tenant’s mother, “No Blacks are allowed in my campground.”

The lawsuit stemmed from the experiences of two longtime friends, Amanda Mills and Angela Smith, who had viewed Lazy Cove as a perfect escape during the pandemic, setting up their campers side by side. Mills had negotiated a lease with Turner without issue, but after learning of Smith’s husband’s race, Turner took swift action to remove both families.

When the families attempted to leave, Turner refused to refund their rental fees or allow them to sell their campers — restrictions not imposed on other tenants. The Smiths say the most painful part of the ordeal was Turner’s alleged remark about their son.

The jury needed less than two hours to deliberate before awarding $100,000 to each couple for their losses, humiliation, and emotional distress. They also imposed $550,000 in punitive damages to hold Turner accountable and deter future discrimination.

“It was like a sigh of relief, but at the same time, I’m still angry because we never should have had to go through this,” Damien Smith said following the verdict. “It was 2020 at the time, and somehow we’re still getting judged by the color of our skin versus the kind of person we are.”

Turner’s attorney has since filed a motion to overturn the verdict, with a court hearing scheduled for April.

Virginia took another decisive step in its ongoing reckoning with its Confederate past as the House of Delegates in a bipartisan move approved legislation to strip tax-exempt status from organizations tied to the Confederacy.

House Bill 1699, which passed by a 53-42 vote on Friday, targets groups like the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), ending their property and recordation tax privileges.

For Del. Alex Askew, D-Virginia Beach, the bill’s sponsor, the measure is about fairness and priorities in a state still grappling with how to honor its history without glorifying a legacy rooted in oppression.

“A tax exemption is a privilege and not a right,” Askew said during a news conference at the state Capitol in Richmond last week, emphasizing that the legislation isn’t about erasing history but addressing fiscal responsibility and equity.

The bill specifically targets several groups, including the UDC, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society, and the Stonewall Jackson Memorial, Inc. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, these organizations would be required to pay taxes on their properties, aligning with Democrats’ broader efforts to reassess Virginia’s support of Confederate symbols and institutions.

“According to the administration and the Department of Taxation, my bill would have a positive effect on state and local revenues,” Askew said. “And I’ll say it again: This legislation does not challenge Confederate organizations’ right to exist. It is not about free speech, it’s not about taking down any monuments. But it’s about fairness and financial and fiscal priorities of Virginia.”

Askew’s bill represents a renewed effort after an identical proposal was vetoed last year by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The earlier measure, sponsored by Sen. Angelia Williams Graves, D-Norfolk, had successfully passed both chambers of the General Assembly in 2024 before being blocked by the governor.

Del. Alex Askew, D-Virginia Beach, flanked by Del. Nadarius Clark, D-Suffolk (left), and Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico (right), during a news conference in Richmond on Jan. 23, 2025. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

Youngkin justified the move by arguing the legislation unfairly singled out specific groups and set a dangerous precedent. In his veto statement, he called the current property tax exemption system inconsistent and outdated, noting that some organizations with exemptions, like the UDC and the Ocean View Democratic and Social Club, have affiliations or names that are politically or socially contentious.

“Narrowly targeting specific organizations to gain or lose such tax exemptions sets an inappropriate precedent,” Youngkin said.

He argued for broader reform that would give local governments greater autonomy to determine tax exemptions based on their specific tax base and needs. The governor also criticized the shift in the legislative process that now allows a simple majority to revoke exemptions, saying it undermines fairness in the tax system.

Askew, however, said during the news conference that groups like the UDC should be treated differently because they perpetuate the “lost cause” narrative, which he argued romanticizes the Confederacy and obscures the true cause of the Civil War.

“Let’s be very clear about what we’re dealing with. Organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy have promoted the lost cause,” Askew said. “Why is the commonwealth supporting groups that rewrite history to obscure the true cause of the Civil War? A war fought to uphold the institution of slavery, America’s original sin?”

History or oppression?

The debate over Confederate memory has divided Virginia politics for decades, and this year is no different. While Democrats champion legislation to curtail state support for Confederate-linked groups, Republicans have introduced bills to bolster protections for Confederate monuments.

HB 1884, introduced this year by Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick, aims to restrict local governments’ ability to remove or alter war memorials, including those commemorating Confederate figures.

Williams framed his proposal as a response to what he described as selective erasure of history. In an interview last week, he said his concern extended beyond the removal of statues to efforts to “re-contextualize everything” and exclude certain parts of the past.

“There seems to be a revenge-type of mentality,” Williams said.

“The word ‘vindictive’ comes to mind because this is still history, but we’re picking which history we want to remember.” He argued that preserving all aspects of history, even the difficult ones, is essential, adding, “I think that we need to remember all history, and so this ties into that.”

While Williams views the preservation of monuments and historical context as a necessary acknowledgment of all aspects of history, Askew sees such efforts as perpetuating a false narrative that continues to glorify a cause rooted in oppression.

“It breaks my heart that in this year, 2025, we’re still having the same debate,” Askew said at the news conference.

“House Republicans introduced a bill to protect Confederate monuments when in fact there are commemorations of Confederate history everywhere we look. You encounter it right here in our capitol, you see it visiting the historical sites across the commonwealth, including buildings that were once used in universities as Confederate hospitals.”

Scrutiny over historic role, tax status

Founded in 1894 to assist Civil War veterans and their families, the UDC, a national service organization with 12,000 members, including 1,700 in Virginia, is headquartered in Richmond. The group operates from a historic building visited by about 500 people annually and employs four staff members living in the Richmond area.

Though the UDC describes itself as a historical and educational organization, it has faced widespread criticism for its role in constructing Confederate monuments throughout the South and promoting a revisionist narrative of the Civil War, which it refers to as “The War Between the States.”

According to its 2022 tax filings, the UDC reported $10.4 million in net assets and an annual income of $157,988, with the Virginia branch alone holding $2.1 million in assets and generating $147,897 in income.

After Askew’s bill cleared the House Finance Committee on Monday in a 12-10 party-line vote, passing without discussion or opposition, UDC President Julie Hardaway, who resides in South Carolina, reached out to The Mercury by email the next day, claiming that she had attempted to voice her opposition to the bill virtually but was “denied that opportunity.”

Committee Chair Vivian Watts, D-Fairfax, refuted the claim, stating, “It was on the public docket, posted more than 24 hours in advance, and when the bill came up, I asked for comment, paused, looked around, no one was there to testify. And I did not receive any information that anyone had registered for virtual comment.”

In a statement on the UDC’s website, Hardaway condemned Askew’s proposal as discriminatory and unconstitutional. She argued the bill unfairly targets Confederate organizations, stripping their tax-exempt status while other groups remain protected under Article X, Section 6 of the Virginia Constitution, which grants exemptions for property used for historical and cultural purposes.

“This is viewpoint discrimination,” Hardaway said, pointing out that the UDC’s tax-exempt status, granted in 1950 for property deeded to it by the state, aligns with these constitutional protections. She warned that passing the bill could set a precedent for other historical organizations to lose their exemptions and open the door to legal challenges.

“For these reasons, the UDC strongly opposes Virginia House Bill 1699 and believes that Confederate organizations have been targeted with a bill aimed at organizations the party in power deems unworthy,” Hardaway said.

Exposing hidden Confederate ties

But Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, signaled that Democrats are preparing a slate of new legislative efforts aimed at addressing the legacy of Confederate-affiliated organizations like the UDC.

“We have a number of pieces of legislation, as well as packages that we are planning to roll out in the coming days and weeks as we are here to make sure that the voices of Virginians are heard, particularly Black Virginians,” Bagby said, adding that the proposals will focus on issues of equity and history.

He emphasized the importance of learning from the past rather than erasing it.

“When we turn the page, we don’t want to tear those pages and forget about it. We want to move on, but we also want to be able to reflect and understand the past,” he said.

House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, suggested that the organizations targeted by Askew’s proposal are just the tip of the iceberg in a much broader effort.

Scott noted during last week’s news conference that while groups like the UDC are prominent and well-known, lawmakers are committed to identifying others that may be operating under less visible names or structures.

“There are so many of these organizations in Virginia. This is the former capital of the Confederacy,” Scott said. “We have more monuments and roads named after the Confederacy than any other state in the union.” He likened the effort to “catching racquetballs,” acknowledging the challenge of identifying every group tied to the Confederate legacy.

Scott encouraged Virginians to assist in uncovering lesser-known organizations that may be hiding under different names or tax-exempt entities.

“We’ve got the ones we can catch, but if you got some that you wanna add to the list, feel free to send them to [Askew]. We will find them,” he said.

He also accused some groups of deliberately obscuring their ties to Confederate history.

“They have done a very good job of camouflaging the whole idea around the War Between the States,” Scott said. “If you have someone that they’ve hidden away under some different names or some different way, let us know, because we want all of them.”

Askew remains steadfast in his push to strip tax exemptions from Confederate-affiliated organizations, even as he acknowledges the steep challenges ahead.

He said he was surprised when Youngkin vetoed Williams Graves’ similar proposal last year and expressed little hope that the governor would support his version this time around.

“I don’t expect the governor to change his mind or pass this bill this year,” Askew said. “But I do promise you that when his term ends, we’ll bring this bill back. We’ll work with the next administration to assure our history is told truthfully, not rewritten to serve the interests of those who seek to glorify the Confederates.”

Askew emphasized the importance of holding lawmakers accountable on this issue, framing it as a moral test for Virginia’s leadership. He called on those running for statewide office to take a clear stance on whether they support or oppose such measures.

“Virginia deserves to know where their leaders stand. Those running for statewide office here this year must make their resistance clear. No ambiguity, no dodging these questions,” he said.

The Democratic-controlled Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on Tuesday afternoon struck down several Republican-backed bills aimed at restricting voting access in Virginia while advancing measures to expand ballot accessibility, including a local option for ranked choice voting.

Defeated proposals included stricter photo ID requirements, a shorter early voting period, and tighter voter registration verification rules. Despite the partisan divide, the committee unanimously approved a bipartisan bill to shorten the voter registration closure period, signaling rare cooperation in an otherwise contentious debate over election laws.

By an 8-7 party-line vote, the panel killed a Republican proposal to reinstate stricter photo ID requirements for voters. Senate Bill 1070, sponsored by Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, would have required voters to present a photo ID at the polls, ending the current option to sign a statement affirming identity under penalty of perjury.

Peake defended the measure, saying photo ID laws previously worked well in Virginia and enjoyed broad public support. “Eighty percent of the population supports photo ID, and I’m just trying to help bring the commonwealth into agreement with that 80%,” he said.

A national Gallup poll from October found that 84% of Americans favored a photo ID requirement for voting.

Supporters, like Melody Clarke of Virginia Institute Action, argued that voter ID laws increase trust in elections and boost minority participation. Opponents, including Chris DeRosa of the Virginia League of Women Voters, countered that the bill would turn away legitimate voters without improving election security.

By another 8-7 party-line vote, the committee defeated another Peake proposal to reduce the early voting period for primary elections from 45 days to 14 days. SB 1072, merged with an identical bill from Sen. Timmy French, R-Shenandoah, aimed to streamline election operations and reduce costs associated with maintaining lengthy early voting periods, according to Peake.

Peake argued the change is necessary to address overburdened registrars and underutilized resources during early voting.

“Fourteen days is more than enough for primaries,” he said. “Registrars are horribly overworked, and people are not showing up in these primaries, even the presidential ones.” French added that the current 45-day period was costly for localities in his district, stating, “It’s costing about $150,000 a year in my district alone — money that could go to schools.”

Supporters of the bill, including Clarke of Virginia Institute Action, highlighted the financial and personal toll of extended early voting. “These very extended elections cost a lot of money, and it’s not just money. Grandmothers who work in registrar’s offices don’t get to spend time with their grandkids because of 45 days of early voting,” Clarke said.

Opponents, however, warned the proposal would reduce voter access and create barriers for those with limited availability.

Kristin Szakos, an election worker from Charlottesville, said the longer early voting window reduces Election Day congestion and helps prevent errors.

Gaylene Kanoyton of the Virginia NAACP emphasized the importance of prioritizing voter access over cost savings. “Once you start cutting back on voting rights and cutting back on access, it’s going to keep cutting, and we’re not going for it at all,” she said.

Committee members also debated the bill’s potential impact.

Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, supported the proposal, citing weeks of low voter turnout in smaller jurisdictions. “The last two weeks or 14 days is very reasonable,” he said.

But Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, opposed the measure, arguing that elections should focus on voters’ needs, not registrars. “It’s not ‘We the registrars of the United States.’ It’s ‘We the People,’” he said.

In closing, Peake called the current 45-day period excessive and costly. “135 days of early voting out of 365 is absurd,” he said. Despite his arguments, Democrats on the panel ultimately rejected the proposal.

The panel further voted to defeat SB 1073, another Peake proposal which proposed verifying voter registration information — such as Social Security numbers — against federal or state databases before finalizing registration.

Peake argued the bill would bolster election security and prevent fraud.

“We could make sure that our elections would be foolproof, and that way when somebody lost, as a sore loser, they can’t go around saying, ‘Oh, I think some illegal person voted in the election and cost me the election,’” Peake said. He called the requirement “very easy” and emphasized it would apply only to new registrations.

Supporters like Clarke of Virginia Institute Action called the bill “common sense,” adding, “It’s unfortunate that we have so many measures that would help all Virginians, including your constituents, of the individuals who are voting against these measures.”

Critics argued the measure would create barriers for voters and overburden local election offices. “This requirement would impose undue and costly burdens on local offices of voter registration and likely lead to the denial of the right to vote to qualified residents,” Szakos, the election worker from Charlottesville, said.

Democrats on the committee ultimately defeated the proposal, citing concerns about restricting voter access.

But they advanced a bill that would allow localities to use ranked choice voting for local offices, such as mayoral and school board elections. SB 1009, sponsored by Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim, D-Fairfax, passed on an 8-7 party-line vote.

Ranked choice voting enables voters to rank candidates in order of preference, redistributing votes until a candidate secures a majority.

Salim’s legislation directs the State Board of Elections to establish standards, approve compatible vote tabulation software, and create educational materials to inform voters about the system. It also requires the Department of Elections to review the state’s voting equipment testing process and submit a report by 2026.

“This bill provides localities the flexibility to include mayoral and school board races in their adoption of ranked choice voting,” Salim said. “It clarifies and continues the concept, allowing every jurisdiction to choose how to make every vote count in a way that fits their community.”

Supporters highlighted the benefits of ranked choice voting in crowded local races. Sean Crow of UpVote Virginia noted examples of races where localities could improve outcomes, such as Arlington’s sheriff races, Loudoun County’s school board contests, and mayoral elections in Newport News and Richmond.

“All of these are local races with crowded fields, and all of these are races which are currently not covered under the ranked choice voting local option,” Crow said.

Fatima Moaihead of the Humanization Project emphasized how ranked choice voting could amplify underrepresented voices. “This bill provides each community the opportunity to choose how to best get voters’ voices heard for all local offices, not just some,” she said.

However, opponents argued that it complicates voting and could discourage turnout.

Clarke of Virginia Institute Action expressed concerns about its impact on elections. “We are opposed to ranked choice voting because the ballots are more complex than the traditional one person, one vote,” she said, adding that turnout tends to drop in districts adopting RCV.

The proposal, seen by supporters as a step toward modernizing Virginia’s election practices, now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

In a rare display of bipartisan support, the committee unanimously advanced a proposal to reduce the period when voter registration records are closed before elections. SB 991, sponsored by Sen. Angelia Williams Graves, D-Norfolk, aims to align voter registration deadlines more closely with absentee ballot requests, giving Virginians more time to register ahead of elections.

“What this does is just bring all of those dates in line to the same date,” Williams Graves explained. “The last day to register to vote and the last day to request an absentee ballot are now 10 days prior to election day. This bill came from the registrars.”

Under the proposed change, the closure period for voter registration would decrease from 21 days to 10 days for primary and general elections. For most special elections, the period would shrink from 13 days to 10 days.

Supporters say the adjustment would improve accessibility, particularly for voters who register closer to Election Day.

David Bailey of the Voter Registrar Association voiced support for the measure, noting that it could ease administrative burdens.

“When you cut off at 21 days, certainly you could have more people that happen to go provisionally or have to come back later,” Bailey said. “If you allow the registration to go ahead and take place up until 10 days, it should shorten some of the work.”

If enacted, the bill could simplify voter registration timelines and encourage greater participation, while also helping election officials better accommodate last-minute registrants.

Five Waynesboro voters have filed a lawsuit to prevent the majority of the Waynesboro Board of Elections from following through on their controversial pledge to refuse certification of the November 2024 election results, a move they argue would violate Virginia state law.

The plaintiffs — Jennifer Lewis, Ann Criser-Shedd, Greg Fife, Chris Graham and Andrea Jackson — are seeking a court order to compel the election officials to certify the city’s votes.

The lawsuit, filed in Waynesboro Circuit Court on Oct. 21, comes after two GOP officials from Waynesboro filed their own lawsuit challenging Virginia’s voting system ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election while threatening to not certify the results.

In their complaint, Curtis Lilly, the chairman of the Waynesboro Electoral Board, and Scott Mares, the board’s vice chair, expressed their concerns over the reliability of electronic voting systems, which they argue are prone to inaccuracies. Instead, they demanded that all ballots be counted by hand.

However, state law does not currently require a mandatory hand-count unless irregularities are proven, and all paper ballots are required to be counted by optical scanning machines, which help speed up the counting process and reduce the risk of human error.

Before each election, the scanners undergo rigorous testing using a predetermined sample of votes to ensure accurate tallying before any real votes are counted. Additionally, it is illegal to connect ballot scanning machines to the Internet at any point, further safeguarding the integrity of the voting process.

All of the scanners used in Virginia’s elections are certified to meet both state and federal standards and are handled under a strict chain of custody to ensure security and accuracy.

In their counter-suit, the five Waynesboro voters ask the court to require the election officials to certify the election results unless they prevail in their own suit. The plaintiffs further argue that the election officials’ stance violates the Virginia Constitution, which mandates that election results be certified in accordance with established procedures, including the use of legally authorized voting equipment.

“The chairman and vice chairman should do their job; instead they are purposely misinterpreting what they are charged to do. I cast my vote and have every right to expect that it will be counted on Election Day,” said Lewis, one of the plaintiffs.

Jackson, another plaintiff, said that voting in the 2024 election was “very important” to her.

“I am frustrated that the election officials are not doing what they take an oath to do, which is to make sure the election runs smoothly and every vote counts. Instead they are distracting us from our local elections by filing nonsensical court cases,” Jackson said.

Long before becoming a lawyer, state lawmaker and Virginia’s first Black House Speaker, Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, was, for years, unable to vote. After a previous felony conviction, it wasn’t until former Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell restored his rights that Scott could participate in democracy again — eventually paving the way for his own run for office.

The Justice Department on Friday filed a lawsuit against Virginia, alleging that a state program aimed at removing people from the voter rolls, which Gov. Glenn Youngkin touted in an executive order in August, was implemented too close to the Nov. 5 elections and wrongfully included eligible voters. Scott said it’s another example of Youngkin’s administration restricting voting access.

“I would not be where I am today if I had to depend on somebody like Glenn Youngkin to help me get my rights restored,” Scott said in an interview Monday.

In a memo in response to the suit obtained by The Mercury over the weekend, Richard Cullen, a counselor to Youngkin, wrote that Virginia’s process for removing noncitizens from the voting rolls has taken place under both Democratic and Republican governors. It also outlines how Youngkin believes he is not violating a federal policy to have purged rolls by a set time that would allow a buffer to resolve any errors.

“Federal law does not prohibit the removal of noncitizens from the voting rolls,” the memo said, adding that the 90-day “quiet period” under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) is “not relevant to this process since Virginia conducts an individualized — not systematic — review per Virginia law in order to correct registration records.”

Youngkin on Friday called the lawsuit “unprecedented,” underscoring that his executive order simply was “appropriately enforcing a 2006 law” signed by then-Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, which requires Virginia to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls.

“With the support of our attorney general, we will defend these common sense steps that we are legally required to take, with every resource available to us,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Virginia’s election will be secure and fair, and I will not stand idly by as this politically motivated action tries to interfere in our elections, period.”

But Scott commended the Justice Department for taking action (it also recently filed a similar suit against Alabama).

“The reason that we have this 90-day rule is that we don’t want citizens to be accidentally removed,” Scott said.

Related lawsuit stresses potential effect on naturalized citizens

The DOJ suit also isn’t the only litigation that Youngkin faces over his Executive Order 35.

A federal suit filed by the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights and the League of Women Voters of Virginia earlier this month alleges that the process used to purge the rolls violates the National Voter Registration Act, disenfranchising eligible voters while raising concerns over transparency and accuracy in the state’s voter registration system.

The legal action by the two nonprofits came after reports surfaced that Virginians were being removed from the voter rolls due to alleged inaccuracies and outdated information. Many of these removals, the suit argues, were done without proper notification or investigation, leaving eligible voters unaware that they could no longer cast their ballots.

The lawsuit also claims that the purges disproportionately affect minority communities, low-income voters, and those who may not have easy access to the internet to check their voter status. It further asserts that the Youngkin administration has failed to adequately confirm whether a voter is ineligible, potentially silencing their voice in the democratic process.

“Naturalized citizens serve in our armed forces, pay taxes, and show their patriotism daily with their acts and contributions to our society,” Monica Sarmiento, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, said in a statement earlier this month.

“Forcing new American communities to carry undue burden that no other community is required to comply with is discrimination, and does not represent the values that our commonwealth stands for,” Sarmiento said.

Under Youngkin’s executive order, the Virginia Department of Elections is now required to send just one notice to individuals at risk of being removed from the voter rolls.

This notice is based on information from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), but there is no requirement for the accuracy of that information to be verified by either the Department of Elections or local election officials before action is taken.

State Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, said Monday that the law referenced in Youngkin’s executive order relates to persons who self-identify as “non-citizens” on DMV forms that are turned over to the State Board of Elections, which then checks the information against the voter rolls and notifies those persons of pending removal from the state’s voter registration list, giving them 14 days notice of removal and the right to challenge.

“And there are failsafe measures to this,” Stanley said. “Even if they are subsequently removed from the rolls, let’s say, in error, those persons can still register to vote on Election Day under our ‘same day’ registration law. So I fail to see why the federal government is doing this but for no other reason but to try to upset our otherwise sound voter registration process here in Virginia for political purposes.”

And Rich Anderson, the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said in a phone interview Monday afternoon that Youngkin’s executive order “brought together a lot of operating practices and standards that may have been scattered over a number of other places, put it together in one document and demonstrated to the commonwealth that the governor took this seriously and was exercising his responsibilities as the chief executive.”

One of the responsibilities of the executive branch, working with the legislative branch, is to “ensure confidence in our electoral processes and systems, and that was the whole intent of this, I think,” Anderson said.

But Elections Commissioner Susan Beals, whom Youngkin appointed as Virginia’s top elections official just weeks after assuming office in early 2021, said in an interview one week before the governor issued his executive order that a process to prohibit non-citizens from voting was already in place.

“Anybody who comes to the DMV and shows documents that indicate they are a non-citizen — whether it is a visa or residency — their name is sent to the Department of Elections on a monthly basis so we can double check to make sure that they did not make their way on our voter rolls. If we find them on the rolls, we cancel them,” Beals said in the interview.

Previous election access issues

The two lawsuits are the latest in a string of voting access issues during Youngkin’s tenure.

Voting rights advocates blast Youngkin admin over error affecting 3,400

In October 2022, registrars around the state scrambled to process a backlog of over 200,000 new voter registrations amid a “computer glitch” between state agencies. In October 2023, more than 3,000 people had been mistakenly removed from voter rolls. Earlier that year, the administration also quietly adjusted its restoration of voting rights process.

Virginia’s Constitution permanently disenfranchises people with felony convictions unless a governor pardons them or restores their rights.

McDonnell, the Republican governor who restored Scott’s rights, along with democratic Govs. Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam, had streamlined the process and eventually made it automatic. Now a petition-based process, Youngkin’s restoration numbers have dropped compared to his predecessors’ and little criteria has been made available to explain conditions for a restoration petition to be granted.

The Virginia chapter of the NAACP took Youngkin to court last year to get answers but a judge ruled that most details are exempt from being shared through a provision in the Freedom of Information Act.

Though Youngkin’s changes to the process aren’t going against the law, Democratic lawmakers feel it’s being used as a way to limit who can vote. The latest executive order falls amid continued allegations by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that illegal immigrants are trying to vote.

In a recent telephone rally with Trump, Youngkin touted the purge of over 6,000 people as noncitizens. But a Washington Post review of records and interviews with election officials found that most of the purge stemmed from paperwork errors, like people forgetting to check a citizenship box.

It also noted that of Virginia’s three illegal voting prosecutions to occur since 2022, none involved a question of citizenship.

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.

The morning of Monday, April 16, 2007, is forever etched in Virginia Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Kaine’s memory.

On that tragic day, Seung-Hui Cho, an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, killed 32 people and wounded 17 others in a mass shooting before taking his own life. The incident, carried out with two semi-automatic pistols, remains one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

“I still have a lot of almost PTSD kind of scar tissue about that,” said Kaine in a recent interview. At the time, he was in the second year of his four-year term as Virginia’s governor.

Now, 17 years later, Kaine is seeking a third term in the U.S. Senate. The Democrat faces a challenge from Republican Hung Cao, a retired Navy captain and political newcomer. With polling data showing Kaine holding a comfortable lead, both candidates are ramping up their campaigns as they approach the final stretch.

Kaine and Cao clash on immigration, the economy in heated debate at Norfolk State University

For the Minnesota-born, Harvard-educated lawyer, who began his career in public service as a civil rights attorney before moving into politics, sensible gun regulations are one of the key issues defining Kaine’s campaign and setting him apart from his opponent. If reelected, it’s an area that he wants to continue to work on.

“We haven’t done enough yet to reduce gun violence,” Kaine said in the interview. “I had a teacher tell me not long ago, ‘when we do that moment of silence at the beginning of every day, I know every adult in the building is thinking, let today not be that day.’”

Virginia’s children, parents, and teachers shouldn’t have to worry every day, Kaine added.

“So I do feel like there is more that can be done. Virginia has done some good things, and with the NRA headquarters here, we ought to be able to pass some of these gun safety laws in Congress,” he said, referring to universal background checks, closing loopholes in gun sales, and banning assault weapons, measures he has advocated for in his time on Capitol Hill.

Throughout his 12-year tenure in the Senate, Kaine has been a steadfast advocate for progressive policies, focusing on healthcare, education, and climate change.

His bipartisan efforts relating to military issues — such his role in sponsoring the War Powers Consultation Act, which seeks to clarify the role of Congress in war decisions, and his support of the expansion of the GI Bill and improving mental health services for military personnel — have also helped solidify his reputation in a state with a significant military presence.

Kaine’s incumbency gives him a distinct advantage, not only due to name recognition but also thanks to his deep ties across the commonwealth. As the husband of Anne Holton — the daughter of former Republican Gov. Lindwood Holton — he has positioned himself as a champion of Virginia’s diverse demography, from residents of urban centers like Northern Virginia to the rural regions of the Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“Showing up is part of the job, and I tell people if somebody won’t show up for it, they’re never gonna stand up for you,” Kaine said about his strategy for remaining a popular contender in Virginia, a state that has leaned Democratic in more recent times, but that still remains open to electing Republicans, as Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 2021 victory has shown.

“I want people to know that I will stand up for them and you do that by being everywhere. Plus I enjoy it. I mean, I love the job, but more than the 36 weeks a year I’m in D.C., I love the 16 weeks when I’m in Virginia, and figuring out ways I can help with whatever challenges or aspirations people have.”

Kaine’s opponent Cao, who immigrated to the U.S. as a child after fleeing communist Vietnam, presents a sharp contrast to the Democratic incumbent.

With a platform closely aligned with former President Donald Trump — who endorsed him earlier this year — the Loudoun County resident has focused heavily on issues like immigration and national security, echoing Trump’s “America First” rhetoric.

Cao declined to be interviewed for this story, but he has openly supported Trump’s plan to deport all undocumented immigrants that are currently in the country. Cao also supports the former president’s effort to build a border wall, which he began during his first term in the White House.

“We will build the wall, we will secure the border through advanced technology, we will support the Border Patrol and border states, and we will repel this invasion,” Cao said on his website.

The Republican has also echoed Trump’s calls for imposing more tariffs for imports from countries like China, which he called “an existential threat” to the United States.

“There is no excuse for American exports to be taxed at a higher rate than Chinese imports,” Cao said on his website.

As a former Navy special operations officer who has served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, Cao has lamented the drop in the U.S. military’s recruitment numbers.

Since 2013, male enlistments have decreased by 35%, going from 58,000 men enlisting in 2013 to 37,700 in 2023, according to the service data. Meanwhile, female recruitment has hovered around 10,000 recruits each year.

“Our military must have the resources it needs to face growing instability around the world. Right now, we face abysmal recruiting numbers and deficits in overall readiness. This is a leadership problem first and foremost and our active duty servicemembers deserve better,” Cao said on his website.

Looking ahead to the Nov. 5 election, Kaine conceded in the interview that at least the presidential contest will be close, in part because Democrats have failed to communicate what he called the economic victories of President Joe Biden’s administration.

Among these accomplishments, Kaine named the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which authorized $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure spending with $550 billion of that figure going toward new investments and programs, such as the Green New Deal, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

“I do blame Democrats’ messaging, because if you ask people, ‘If you see a Republican ad on TV, what are they talking about?’ Maybe inflation, something about the economy,” Kaine said. “When they see a Democrat on TV, what Democrats talk about is access to abortions, a really important issue, but you often don’t see Dems really leaning into the economy. That’s why our first ad, which is up on TV, is an economy ad.”

Kaine said that his positions on the economy contrast sharply with those of Cao, his Republican opponent.

“He opposes the infrastructure bill, and he opposed the inflation Reduction Act, including all these clean energy investments,” Kaine said. “I mean, we’re going to have a vote on reauthorizing the infrastructure bill in 2026. I’ll vote, yes, he’d vote no. For those who care about infrastructure investments, like roads, rail, bridges, ports, broadband, you know, electric transmission, offshore wind, I’m going to keep these.”

At their only televised debate at Norfolk State University last week, the two candidates clashed over a variety of positions, including abortion rights.

While Kaine said that he has introduced legislation that would codify Roe v. Wade in order to statutorily protect women’s access to abortion, Cao accused his opponent of supporting “unlimited abortion” up to and including after birth.

“What he wants to do is take it out of the hands of voters,” Cao said at the debate. “I want to keep it back in the hands of voters because I don’t want a senator from California or a congressman from Idaho making decisions for Virginians.”

They don’t like abortion, but Kaine’s GOP challengers say they won’t seek a federal ban

Cao also said that Kaine has had a 99% failure rate in passing legislation, claiming that only three out of the 220 bills Kaine has introduced during his time in the Senate have been successful.

When Kaine challenged the accuracy of this claim, Cao responded with a remark that drew a reaction from the audience: “There are two truths in the world — never walk into a Target store wearing a red shirt, and never go against an Asian when it comes to math.”

Larry Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said that although Virginia’s Senate race “isn’t even vaguely competitive,” Kaine has shown no fear of running tough races.

“His first for the city council in Richmond wasn’t easy. Same for lieutenant governor in 2001, and governor in 2005. Kaine’s first race for the Senate was against a former governor and senator — George Allen — who had barely been ousted in 2006. He won them all,” Sabato said.

Kaine’s contest against Cao is more like 2018, when Kaine defeated Corey Stewart, his Republican challenger, with 57-41% of the votes, Sabato added, “though 2024 isn’t as Democratic a year as 2018 was.”

Cao could only have a chance if he were running a “vigorous first-rate campaign” while Trump was winning Virginia, Sabato said.

“Neither precondition applies. Even Republicans complain that Cao hasn’t been seen enough on the trail. And despite a questionable poll or two, Trump isn’t winning Virginia.”

While Kaine could be considered lucky given these circumstances, in politics and other parts of life, “you still make your own luck to a great degree,” Sabato said. “Kaine is smart, hard-working, and reflects the state’s values and partisan lean. That’s why he’s on his way to a third term.”

Kaine also has a significant fundraising advantage, having raised almost $16 million for his reelection bid, as opposed to Cao, who has raised just a little over $3 million, according to data by the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit tracking candidates and campaign money in Virginia politics.

While Cao vowed at the NSU debate to certify the presidential election if Harris won on Nov. 5 — “If she won, then she won,” he said — Kaine warned the audience that his opponent had affirmed in a recent Virginia Constitutional Conservatives survey that if elected, he would sponsor legislation to release and seek compensation for the offenders jailed for their role in the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“I have experienced January 6th, I’ll never forget this, I’ll never forget,” Kaine told The Mercury.

“I never want it to be repeated, whether I’m in the Senate or not, it should never be repeated. But we certainly saw it, and we could see it again. I do not expect Donald Trump to lose this race and do anything other than raise hell. If we win, I still think he’ss going to raise hell and pretend that he won. So we have to be prepared for that.”

Kaine said that with the 250th anniversary of the United States around the corner, there is also a

forward looking aspect to the debate around the events of Jan. 6.

“Every generation has to carry the mantle of putting the torch of a functioning democracy in the hands of the next generation,” Kaine said. And by stepping aside, Biden had done just that, he added. “The president made a patriotic decision, and those of us who are in leadership positions now, we have to be able to put the torch of democracy in the hands of the next generation.”

Learn more about Virginia’s most-watched races this fall by reading The Mercury’s 2024 Voter Guide.

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.

In a sign of deepening divisions among Republicans in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, at least four members of the district’s 37-member GOP Committee, including the vice chair, were ousted over the weekend, and another resigned after refusing to sign renewed loyalty pledges for state Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland, the party’s nominee.

The four purged members and the resignee were among 25 Republican officials who in early June signed an open letter urging former President Donald Trump to reconsider his endorsement of McGuire, advocating instead for Trump’s support of U.S. Rep. Bob Good, R-Farmville, the incumbent.

Jim Herring, who has served as the committee’s vice chair for two years and the former chair of the Goochland County GOP, told members in an email Sunday that the Republican Party of Virginia’s decision to demand the renewed pledges was “unwarranted, unprecedented and unauthorized.”

After consulting with Chris Marston, the RPV’s official legal counsel, other attorneys and past Republican officials, his belief was confirmed, Herring wrote in the email, which was obtained by The Mercury.

“In fact, it is very similar to the actions of prosecutors against Donald Trump. They make up allegations, find a politically weaponized judge, and then convict him knowing that all of this will probably be overturned on appeal,” Herring wrote.

McGuire has been a source of contention within the party since he announced his bid for Congress just one week after winning his seat in the 10th state Senate District last year — particularly among those backing Good, who went on to lose to McGuire in the June 18 primary election by a mere 366 votes out of more than 62,000 cast.

Even after McGuire’s narrow victory was confirmed by a recount, which Good requested, and an additional review of the results, some Republican hardliners in the district have refused to accept the former Navy SEAL as their party’s nominee, instead turning to social media to launch a write-in campaign on behalf of Good, who has not publicly supported this effort.

At a Sept. 14 meeting of the executive committee of the RPV’s State Central Committee, the party’s 80-member governing body in Virginia, Jeff Ryer, chairman of the 1st Congressional District Committee and the spokesman for the Trump campaign in Virginia, expressed concern that McGuire lacked “fulsome support” in the 5th District, RPV Chair Rich Anderson said in a phone interview Monday.

Consequently, Ryer made a motion for the committee to require a renewed loyalty pledge from the 25 party officials who had signed the letter to Trump.

“It’s an affirmation statement, I don’t call it a loyalty statement,” Anderson said. “It just reaffirms that they will support the eventual nominees that would come out of these contests, whether they are a primary or a party run process. And with all the contention down in the 5th District because of a hotly contested race, a number of our congressional district committee chairs were concerned that perhaps not all were going to support McGuire.”

But in his email to committee members, Herring, the former vice chair, alleged that top party officials decided to “dictate to the 5th District Committee” members who had signed the Trump letter that they would have to “sign a loyalty oath or get kicked out” of the Republican Party.

“This decision was NOT brought to the (whole) State Central Committee for review or approval, and most were not even aware of this action,” Herring wrote, adding that the committee then agreed to “send a letter to those affected” and set a deadline by which they had to return their signed pledges for Sept. 27 at 5 p.m.

“The form they sent in their letter was similar to the loyalty oaths they had required before, with the exception of one part … the naming of specific candidates you pledge to support. To my knowledge, this action has not been done before, at least in the over four decades that I have been involved,” Herring wrote.

Ryer said Monday that he made the motion to ask for the renewed pledges because based on several news accounts it had become apparent that what he believed to be “a false narrative was developing that leaders in the party were not fully supportive of our nominees.”

Ryer pushed back against allegations that the loyalty pledges had been used to force 5th District Republicans on the record in an effort to get them removed from the party as a punishment for asking Trump to reconsider his endorsement.

“It was my hope — and the hope of the executive committee — that all who had signed the June 6 letter would fulfill their previously professed pledge to support all our nominees, as required by the party plan,” Ryer said, adding that he had made his motion solely in the capacity of his role as the 1st District chair and a longtime member of the State Central Committee.

But Rick Buchanan, the chairman of the 5th District GOP Committee, in an email to Anderson and State Central Committee leadership sent after the deadline had passed on Friday afternoon pointed out that members had already signed similar pledges of support earlier this year, as a requirement under the RPV’s party plan to attend mass meetings and conventions.

Although he “immediately” forwarded the request for the renewed affirmations to the entire committee, Buchanan also said that no member of the State Central Committee had reached out to him directly or any of the district’s 24 unit chairs “to inquire about the necessity of this action as a remedy,” suggesting that the distrust between the two fractions was based on miscommunication.

“Hearsay and assumption lead directly to dysfunction. The truth can only be found by going straight to the source, and the SCC and RPV have yet to reach out to develop an understanding. Mr. Chairman, this is not the way to work together as brothers in our political fight against our common enemies,” Buchanan wrote.

Singling out Republican officials from the 5th District for supporting the candidate “we felt was the best candidate in a primary is more than an overreach,” Buchanan said in the email. “This action is pay-back for sending the letter to President Trump. Though some question the veracity of the letter, we firmly stand behind everything the letter says.”

Buchanan declined to comment for this story Monday.

In their letter to Trump, the district’s top GOP officials had hailed Good, the chairman of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, as a champion of America First policies “by introducing legislation to codify policies defunding chain migration and requiring that immigrants are self-sufficient.”

During his time in Congress, Good also offered multiple bills that would build upon Trump’s regulatory relief for businesses across the country, the party officials wrote.

“We the undersigned leaders of the 5th District Republican Congressional Committee strongly urge President Donald Trump to reconsider his endorsement of Congressman Bob Good’s opponent in the Republican Primary,” they concluded.

After receiving the request for his renewed loyalty pledge, at least one 5th District Committee member — Glenn Mozingo of Cumberland County — handed in his resignation on Thursday.

“I am writing to advise that I will not sign the pledge form that was enclosed with your letter dated September 16, 2024, and I am resigning as a member of the Cumberland County Republican Committee with immediate effect. I understand that my membership on the 5th District Congressional Committee will lapse as well,” Mozingo wrote in an email to RPV Executive Director Ken Nunnenkamp which was obtained by The Mercury.

Mozingo wrote that he wasn’t aware of any reservations among 5th District Committee members regarding their loyalties to Trump or Hung Cao, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.

“Consequently, it is apparent that this is a transparent attempt to coerce each committee member to publicly go on record in support of John McGuire, which I will not do.”

Although he signed the pledge, James Hankins, another 5th District vice chair, also lashed out against RPV leadership.

“On a personal leave I feel insulted by being asked to sign this,” Hankins wrote in an email to Anderson. “I am signing this form this one time. If I am ever asked to do this again, I will resign from all posts I hold with the Republican Party and I will never raise another dollar for the 5th.”

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.

As Republicans in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District remain divided over their support of their party’s nominee, state Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland, and U.S. Bob Good, R-Farmville, the incumbent, Democrat Gloria Witt sees an opening in the traditionally conservative district.

Political analysts suggest the GOP infighting could provide Witt, a political newcomer with lifelong roots in the mostly rural district, an advantage in the Nov. 5 election, after some Republican hardliners have vowed to write in Good, the chairman of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

And in a district where turnout and enthusiasm are crucial, a divided Republican electorate could allow the Democrat to make unexpected gains in the general election.

“A write-in campaign benefiting a defeated GOP primary candidate is certainly part of a best-case scenario for a Democratic candidate in District 5,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington.

“So too is a strong performance by Vice President Kamala Harris in the debate against former President Donald Trump last week. But even those tailwinds for Democrats do not erase the fact that the boundaries of the district are very, very friendly to Republicans.”

But while Witt is quite aware that the rift between Good and McGuire supporters could potentially reshape the contest’s dynamics heading into November, she remains unfazed and vows to stay focused on shaping her own message.

“I’m hearing the same things about the tensions between the McGuire and Good campaigns, but I’m really not paying too much attention to them, they do what they do,” Witt said in a recent phone interview. “My focus is on appealing to the interests of the voters of District 5, and I believe that we do have enough votes to win based on the interests that impact them.”

Witt, a businesswoman and community activist from Amherst County, won her party’s nomination in the June 18 primary after defeating her two primary opponents, Gary Terry, a Kentucky native and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and Paul Riley, an intelligence analyst and U.S. Army veteran.

According to data from the Virginia Department of Elections, Witt prevailed with 57.17% of the vote, compared to Terry’s 22.43% and Riley’s 20.40%.

Witt said in the interview that since announcing her candidacy in the spring, she has been crisscrossing the district that spans 11,000-square-miles t, which encompasses the majority of Southside, including Danville, and the cities of Charlottesville and Lynchburg.

“I’m averaging about 3,000 to 4,000 miles a month. We are canvassing, we are phone banking, we are engaging in postcarding and doing the work,” Witt said. “We cannot afford to have anybody on the bench. We all have to be engaged, it is a crucial election cycle, every vote counts. We intend to win this based on what people care about.”

Despite the ongoing intra-party feud among supporters of McGuire and Good, Witt’s campaign remains an uphill battle in a district that has been mostly Republican since 2002, when former Democrat-turned-independent Rep. Virgil Goode joined the GOP. Trump won the 5th with 53% in both 2016 and 2020, and in the 2021 gubernatorial election, Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe with 60% to 39.4% of the vote.

And Witt isn’t the only one hitting the road. Sean Brown, a spokesman for McGuire’s campaign, said in a text message that McGuire is “campaigning tirelessly to get the message out that we must grow our economy, secure our borders, and strengthen our national defense.”

“Voters in the 5th District understand what is at stake in this election and that the only way to achieve these goals is to elect Donald Trump and deliver a Republican majority in the House and Senate,” Brown said.

Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland. (Virginia House of Delegates)

But Witt said that the GOP has changed in the eight years since Trump’s first presidential bid.

“We are no longer operating with the standard GOP platform, which is not your momma and daddy’s platform. It has been hijacked and replaced by something that is new and different,” she said, citing Project 2025, an initiative launched by the Heritage Foundation in 2022 aimed at advancing conservative and right-wing policies to restructure the federal government and strengthen executive power in the event of a Trump victory in November.

“I believe that the voters of District 5 are aware of the impact of Project 2025, and if we allow it to be implemented across the nation, it is going to impact all of us.”

Witt said that codifying Roe v. Wade and women’s reproductive health remains the premier concern that she hears from voters as she travels the district. “There is a lot of energy from women to be recognized for having domain over their bodies,” she said.

Other priorities include furthering economic growth across, access to public education with a focus on K-12, “and this whole idea of protecting social security, strengthening families and healthcare.”

Harris’ nomination as her party’s presidential candidate has also helped motivate Democrats in the district, Witt said.

“I think that there is a lot of energy around this concept of being future-focused driven by opportunity for all of us versus the other choice, which would mean the control of our rights, a loss of democracy and a questionable economic future. The choices are pretty clear, and I think the rise of Kamala Harris just paints this picture that is so much more positive.”

Witt said that after six months of heavy campaigning, she has yet to meet her opponent, who has faced criticism from GOP officials in the district for what they said was a lack of campaigning.

“From what I know he is pro-God, pro-Trump, pro-guns, and he was present on Jan. 6 at the Capitol,” she said, referring to the attack on the U.S. Capitol building by a mob of supporters of then–resident Trump in early 2021. While McGuire, a former Navy SEAL, attended the rally that day, there is no evidence that he participated in any violent activities.

And seven weeks before the election, both candidates have yet to face off in a debate.

Last week, the Amherst County Democratic Committee invited McGuire to a forum at the Nelson Heritage Center in Nelson County to be held in late September or early October.

“We believe all citizens have a right to know the views of those who seek to represent them. We are hopeful Senator McGuire will agree to participate in the forum,” Craig Pleasants, vice president of the Amherst County Democrats, said in a statement.

Brown, McGuire’s spokesman, said that his campaign was considering an invitation to a debate hosted by the Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest at Hampden-Sydney College in Farmville. “We’re just waiting on dates and times,” Brown said.

Witt said that she was ready to face McGuire.

“I am willing to engage in a debate or forum, I am ready, willing and able, depending on whoever invites us to the table you will get a yes from me,” she said.

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.

As Vice President Kamala Harris gears up to debate former President Donald Trump at what may be their only presidential debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday, new polling shows the Democrat with a significant lead over the Republican nominee in Virginia.

A poll by Morning Consult conducted between Aug. 30 and Sept. 8 among 498 likely voters and published Monday has Harris up by 10 percentage points (52-42%) over Trump in the commonwealth — roughly the same margin by which Democrat Joe Biden defeated the then-incumbent in 2020 (54-44%). Among self-identified independent voters, Harris leads Trump by eight points, or 48-40%.

The survey signals better news for the Harris campaign than a Roanoke College poll released last month, which had the vice president ahead by just three points (47-44%) and within the margin of error. It also marks a substantial improvement compared to an earlier poll from May that had Biden and Trump tied by 42-42% in a head-to-head matchup, putting Virginia in play for Republicans for the first time in years.

Harris holds slim lead over Trump in Virginia, Roanoke College poll says

“For a brief moment, when Biden was at his lowest, it was possible to believe that Virginia would be competitive,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

“While we always want to see more polling, I’d say a lead of +10 for Harris strongly suggests Virginia is headed for a fifth Democratic presidential victory,” Sabato said, adding that other ‘in-reach’ states for Trump, such as Minnesota, New Hampshire, and New Mexico, “have disappeared from the discussion” since Harris entered the race.

Jeff Ryer, a spokesman for the Trump campaign in Virginia, said in an email that the new polls are “in no way reflective of what we’re hearing at the doors and on the phones from the tens of thousands Virginia voters our thousands of volunteers have personally contacted.”

And since the Democrats have confirmed they have 25 offices and 132 staffers on the ground in Virginia, “it’s obviously not what they are hearing either,” Ryer said.

A spokesman from the Harris campaign declined to comment.

Nationally, the Morning Consult poll finds Harris leading Trump by just three percentage points (49% to 46%), which is roughly in line with the survey’s results among registered voters in the previous weeks.

The survey also found that Harris’ popularity has declined a bit among likely voters over the past week, with voters just one point more likely to hold favorable opinions about her than unfavorable ones (50% to 49%).

But nationwide Harris remains more popular than Trump, whose net favorability rating is 10 points underwater, as she continues to receive more positive news coverage than the former president has ever received in Morning Consult’s tracking dating back to November 2022.

A new Washington Post-Schar School poll released Tuesday morning has Harris ahead of Trump by eight percentage points (50-42%), largely owed to an 18-point advantage among women voters and by a sense of unity among Democrats.

The survey also found that 53% of Virginia voters have an unfavorable opinion of the former president, while 39% view him more favorably. In contrast, Harris enjoys a 49% favorability rating, with 42% of voters finding her unfavorable.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is also ahead of his Republican challenger, former Navy Capt. Hung Cao, by 12 points, or 53-41%, the poll says.

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.

Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals on Wednesday expressed concerns with the operational performance of the U.S. Postal Service ahead of the 2024 presidential election in Virginia, warning that mail-in ballots may not be processed in time to be counted.

“Election officials depend on the U.S. mail service to deliver ballots to voters and to return ballots to election officials,” Beals told members of the Virginia House of Delegates Privileges and Elections Committee at a meeting in Richmond. “What I am hoping to change is the expectation of voters, that if I put my ballot in the mail five days before election day that it is going to get there. You need to plan further out than that.”

Beals, who was appointed as Virginia’s commissioner of election by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in March 2022, responded to a question by Del. Phillip Scott, R-Fredericksburg, who had asked what she considered “the biggest threat” to the upcoming election.

Beals said since before the 2023 election cycle, the Department of Elections has seen issues with mail-in ballots cast by voters who had been living in the same house for decades.

“For example, the registrar tries to mail you a ballot and it gets mailed back to the registrar with one of those yellow stickers,” Beals said. “We had some cases where voters were trying to mail their ballot to an elections office and it’s being returned to the voter. We’ve had long delivery times and we’ve had examples of ballots that were sitting in the processing centers for days.”

The Postal Service has faced significant challenges in delivering mail-in ballots on time since the 2020 presidential election. The surge in mail-in voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic strained the postal system, leading to delays and concerns about the timely counting of votes.

Few answers to missing and months-late mail: ‘The Postal Service in Richmond is broken’

Last week during a news conference, the Postal Service outlined its preparations for the “secure and successful delivery of election mail” in the Nov. 5 general election and briefed U.S. House and Senate committee staff of its preparedness to deliver the nation’s ballots.

“Our letter carriers and facilities teams across the country, the 640,000 women and men of the Postal Service, are fully focused on the critical mission of delivering the nation’s election mail — just as we have done so excellently through this current primary season and as we have done in the past,” Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement.

But despite these efforts to improve operations, issues such as staffing shortages, operational changes, and the sheer volume of ballots have continued to cause problems during more recent elections in many states — including in Virginia.

Beals told the committee on Wednesday that her department first started raising concerns with the Postal Service prior to the 2023 election.

“Virginia was a little bit of a canary (in a) coal mine on the issue of USPS and their performance because we had that statewide election in 2023, and a lot of other states did not, that’s their off-year,” she said.

Last year, the department started hearing from registrars about issues with mail ballots not being delivered to voters, not receiving them back in time, and ballots coming back as being undeliverable to voters who had not changed their address in years.

“We immediately reached out to USPS, we had an in-person meeting prior to the November election, and another in-person meeting after the election,” Beals said. But when the concerns remained, Beals requested to meet with members of Virginia’s congressional delegation and with representatives of both U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, D-Va., on Capitol Hill.

“They sent me immediately to their committees to detail the types of issues that we were seeing in Virginia,” Beals said, adding that she additionally flagged the mail delivery problems with the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) and the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent agency overseeing the operations of the Postal Service.

“It’s been frustrating for us because every time we’ve raised these issues we were assured that they were going to be addressed, and then the subsequent elections weren’t necessarily seeing them get addressed, we’re still seeing some of the same issues,” Beals told the committee.

A spokesman for the Postal Service in Virginia did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Wednesday. But according to data released by the agency last week, nationally, the Postal Service in 2022 delivered 99.89% of ballots from voters to election officials within seven days. The 2022 midterm elections saw a similar level of on-time performance, with 99.93% of ballots delivered within the same timeframe.

And Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, a member of the committee, cautioned against drawing conclusions before more data on mail-in voting in Virginia is available.

“I think it’s important that we don’t scare the voters into thinking that this is not a safe and valid way to vote, because absentee balloting has been a hallmark of our democracy,” Krizek said in a brief interview Wednesday. “I think it’s a very important form of voting and I’d hate to see it go away or people be afraid to do it.”

Beals’ message to Virginians planning to vote by mail this year is to not wait until the last minute to request and mail back their ballot — and to stay on top of the process.

“Make sure that once you request your ballot and it’s been a week or two, go ahead and call your registrar’s office and ask where it is. And as soon as you receive it, turn it around and put it back in the mail, don’t let it sit,” Beals said.

“I know folks sometimes get their ballot and sometimes let it marinate and think about it, but you can’t do that this year. You need to make sure that you mail it back or you can drop it at a dropbox at your registrar’s office or at a polling location on Election Day.”

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.

One month after announcing her White House bid to succeed President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris holds a slim three-point lead over former President Donald Trump (47-44%) in a head-to-head matchup in Virginia, according to a new poll released Tuesday by the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research at Roanoke College.

The vice president also holds a 45-42% advantage when other candidates are included, the poll found. In the U.S. Senate race, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., leads his Republican challenger, retired U.S. Navy Capt. Hung Cao, by a comfortable 49-38% margin.

The new survey is the first Roanoke College Poll that includes Harris as the Democratic party candidate. The vice president formally clinched the Democratic nomination on Aug. 5 — just two weeks after Biden dropped out of the race. Her campaign gave Democrats a slight edge after a previous IPOR poll from last spring for the first time found Trump and Biden, then the presumed Democratic nominee, tied in a head-to-head matchup in the commonwealth.

“The switch from Biden to Harris made a difference in Virginia, but perhaps not as great as some may have thought,” said Harry Wilson, senior political analyst for IPOR and professor emeritus of political science at Roanoke College. “The news for Harris is certainly better than it was for Biden, but her three-point lead is still within the margin of error.”

Both major party candidates are polling very well within their party, and there is a miniscule number of undecided voters, Wilson added.

Although only 2% of likely voters say they are undecided in the multi-candidate question, 8% (two-way) to 13% (six-way) say they will vote for someone other than Harris or Trump (Robert Kennedy Jr. polls at 6%; Cornel West and Chase Oliver at 2%; and Jill Stein at 0% in the six-way race).

“The party bases remain important, as always. The number who say they will vote third party is declining, and those voters may well determine who wins in Virginia,” Wilson said. “One big takeaway continues to be the chasm between the views of Democrats and Republicans. None of it is new, but it is remarkable that partisans interpret everything through different lenses.”

Nearly four in five (79%) of likely voters are very certain of their vote choice, and another 18% are somewhat certain, the poll found. More than half (60%) are very enthusiastic about voting, and 25% are somewhat enthusiastic.

The economy continues to dominate among the most important issues, being cited by 48% of respondents. Abortion (16%) and immigration (15%) were chosen more frequently than foreign affairs (6%) and crime (4%). Two-thirds (68%) of likely voters plan to vote on Election Day, while 31% say they will vote earlier.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump at a rally in February in South Carolina. Half of the poll respondents said they thought Trump’s response to to the attempted assassination showed toughness. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Biden’s departure from the race has also impacted the campaign and voters’ perceptions. When asked in the new poll about what their votinge plans had been beforeprior to Biden’s withdrawal, respondents gave Trump a six-point lead (although the candidates were tied in the May poll). Some who had planned to vote for other candidates appear to have changed their minds, and 3% said they had not planned to vote in a Biden-Trump matchup.

With 45%, likely voters generally perceive Harris to be more liberal than Biden, with only 16% thinking she is more conservative. Half of the respondents (50%) believe Trump’s immediate response to the attempted assassination last month showed toughness, and nearly as many (44%) see it as an attempt to gain votes.

A bare majority (51%) believe Trump is a threat to democracy. Slightly fewer (47%) see the Democratic party process of replacing Biden with Harris as such a threat. Slightly more likely voters (56%) see Trump as strong enough to deal with adversaries of the United States, such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia, while less than half (49%) say the same about Harris.

Harris’ approval rating is also underwater at 43% favorable and 53% unfavorable, just slightly better than Trump. Both vice presidential candidates are also viewed negatively, with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sitting at 34% and 51%, and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, at 32% and 55%. The U.S. Supreme Court fares slightly better with 45% favorable and 52% unfavorable.

In the U.S. Senate race in Virginia, Kaine breaks the negative trend with 50% favorable — tying his all-time high from six years ago — and 41% unfavorable. Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s ratings rose to 54% favorable, which is his best rating during his term, and 40% unfavorable.

For its poll, the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research at Roanoke College interviewed 691 likely voters in Virginia between Aug. 12 and 16. The survey has a weighted margin of error of 4.5%.

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.