Latest news with #HouseOfDelegates
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
A lifetime of service: remembering Judge John Hatcher
FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WVNS) – Fayette County is remembering a man who lived in service to the people. Oak Hill's new city manager is excited to hit the ground running Retired Circuit Court Judge John Hatcher Jr. passed away peacefully after a lifetime of service to his county, state, and country. Before taking an oath to serve West Virginia's twelfth district, Judge Hatcher took an oath to serve his country as a member of the U.S. Army. He would be commissioned as Captain and serve as a JAG Officer in Vietnam before his honorable discharge. Those who knew him remember Judge Hatcher for his commanding presence and distinct humor.'Oh, Judge Hatcher was awesome! Judge Hatcher was all business,' said Fayette County Assessor Eddie Young. 'He had a sense of humor that was very dry, but it was funny! I always like Judge Hatcher.' Before taking the bench, Judge Hatcher would represent the residents of Fayette County as a member of the House of Delegates. There, he would serve as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee. He would then put his skills to work serving the Twelfth District as Circuit Judge for nearly three decades before announcing his retirement in 2018. Young told 59News it was Judge Hatcher he went to for guidance when he took the assessor role over twenty years ago.'When I first took this office, I went to Judge Hatcher, talked to him and said, 'do you have any advice for me?' He kicked his feet up and started naming off stuff. It seemed like he appreciated me asking him that,' he said. 'I loved Judge Hatcher; he was a good guy.' In lieu of flowers, family members have requested donations be made to the Honorable John W. Hatcher Jr. Memorial Law Scholarship at the West Virginia University College of Law. Friends and loved ones will pay their respects this weekend to a man devoted to family, service and community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
These Hampton Roads candidates raised the most money in House of Delegates races
Four out of the top five biggest fundraisers for House of Delegates races in Hampton Roads are Democrats. All 100 seats are up for election in the fall, and Democrats have fielded candidates in each race. Republicans have candidates in 83 races. Top fundraising Democrats in the region include House Speaker Don Scott of Portsmouth, who raised about $3.4 million; Del. Jeion Ward of Hampton, who raised $394,000; Del. Michael Feggans of Virginia Beach, who raised $378,423; and Jessica Anderson, a Democratic candidate for District 71, who raised $357,000, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which consolidated numbers from campaign finance filings made last week. Republican Del. Barry Knight, who represents Virginia Beach, rounded out the top five candidates, raising about $312,000. In Hampton Roads, House candidates who have raised top dollar amounts received funding from groups such as utility company Dominion Energy, developer Comstock Hospitality Holdings and Virginia Trial Lawyers PAC. Much of Scott's funding came from large donations, categorized for General Assembly races as over $1,000. In addition to $125,000 from Dominion, he received $35,000 from East Coast Amusements, which sells arcade machines, and $30,000 from PPE Resort Casino Petersburg. Dominion gave $25,000 to Ward, but also to Republican candidates in other districts. Donations include $20,000 to Knight, $15,000 to Del. Amanda Batten of James City and $7,500 to Del. Anne Tata of Virginia Beach. VPAP characterizes Scott's and Ward's districts as strongly Democratic — Scott doesn't have a Republican challenger, and Ward opponent John Chapman has so far raised a little more than $800. Each has donated to other campaigns. Scott's PAC is the fourth largest donor in Virginia, contributing more than $2.2 million to other campaigns. Most of that money went to the House Democratic Caucus, but the campaign has also given smaller amounts to individual candidates such as Del. Patrick Hope of Arlington, who received $25,000. Scott's campaign also has supported down-ballot races in Hampton Roads. Matthew Hamel and Stephanie Morales each received $10,000 for their campaigns for commonwealth's attorney of Chesapeake and Portsmouth, respectively. Ward's PAC donated $150,000 to the House Democratic Caucus. Knight is in a similar boat in a strongly Republican district, having raised about $312,000 to opponent Cheryl Smith's $12,500. Knight's PAC donated $41,000 to other Republican campaigns between 2024 and now, with $21,000 going to the Republican Commonwealth Leadership PAC and $5,000 to Del. Chad Green, who represents parts of Gloucester and James City County. He also donated $5,000 to Felisha Storm, who is challenging Del. Nadarius Clark in District 84. Districts 71, 86, 89 and 91 are considered competitive by VPAP, with no clear party favorite. Democrats have so far raised more money in those districts. In District 71, Anderson has outpaced Batten, raising about $357,000 to the Republican incumbent's $306,000. Likewise, Democrat Virgil Thornton raised about $150,000 to Republican incumbent AC Cordoza's $106,000 in District 86, which includes parts of Hampton and York. In Virginia Beach's District 97, Feggans has raised $378,000 to Republican challenger Tim Anderson's $241,000. District 89 is up for grabs after Republican Del. Baxter Ennis announced his retirement this year. Democrat Karen Carnegie and Republican Mike Lamonea, are in a tight fundraising race, with Carnegie raising $205,000 to Lamonea's $195,000. Both won primary elections in June to secure their party's nomination. Democrats running for statewide office are outpacing Republicans in two of three races. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger has raised $27.1 million to her opponent Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears's $11.6 million. Democrat Ghazala Hashmi, a state senator, has raised $3.5 million in her campaign for lieutenant governor. Her Republican opponent, conservative radio host John Reid, has raised about $441,000. Breaking the trend, incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares has raised $9.4 million to Democratic nominee Jay Jones' $4.9 million. Both are from Hampton Roads — Miyares from Virginia Beach; Jones from Norfolk. Kate Seltzer, 757-713-7881,
Washington Post
15-07-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
DNC pours large donation into Virginia's high-stakes elections
RICHMOND — The Democratic National Committee will contribute $1.5 million to help elect Democrats in Virginia this year, highlighting the national significance of the state's contests for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates ahead of next year's congressional midterms. The donation to Virginia's combined campaign, announced Tuesday, comes on the heels of an even bigger political windfall from House Speaker Don L. Scott Jr. (D-Portsmouth), who last week made a total of $3 million in contributions for his party's legislative candidates.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dougherty wins Democratic nod in House race; Flowers cruises in Petersburg local primary
A former Democratic nominee will get another shot at trying to unseat a Republican House of Delegates incumbent, while Petersburg's commissioner of the revenue wins big in that city's first-ever party primary for a constitutional officer and the race for the No. 2 spot on the Democratic statewide ticket this November went down to the wire. Those are the headlines stemming from June 17 Democratic primaries both locally and across Virginia. Results are unofficial until they can be certified by both local and state electoral boards. In the 75th House District, Lindsey Dougherty won a three-way primary to oppose Republican incumbent Carrie Coyner. The two women faced off in 2019 with Coyner coming out on top with 55% of the vote. In Petersburg, incumbent Brittany Flowers won the Democratic nomination – and essentially the November race since no Republican or independent candidate came forward – with 81% of the vote over challenger Mary 'Liz Stith' Howard. Flowers has been in the revenue commissioner's office since 2013 and commissioner of the revenue since 2018. A six-way race for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor went down to the wire with state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi of Chesterfield and former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney swapping the lead several times. Late in the evening, Hashmi rode a 4,000-vote margin into an apparent victory over Stoney. The margin between them was less than 1%. Finally, in the Democratic primary for state attorney general, former Del. Jay Jones of Norfolk defeated Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor in another close contest. Jones took it with 51% of the vote. All results from the primaries are unofficial, pending certification by local boards of election and the Virginia Board of Election. More: Eighty-two, déjà vu: GOP incumbent Taylor announces re-election bid in repeat of 2023 race The race in the 75th was a three-way battle involving 2019 party nominee Dougherty, first-time candidate Dustin Wade, and Stephen Miller-Pitts Jr., who was hoping to be the district's Democratic nominee for the second straight election. Dougherty took southeastern Chesterfield County by almost 400 votes over Wade, but Wade came back to win northern Prince George County by close to doubling the total for Dougherty. Hopewell showed some of the tightest margins in the whole district. Dougherty and Wade tied in Ward 1. Wade won by one vote in Ward 2. Dougherty took Ward 3 by four votes and eight votes in Ward 6. However, double-digit margins in the remaining wards, include 38 in Ward 4 and 23 in Ward 7, pushed Dougherty over the top. She wound up taking the district with 43% of the vote to Wade's 34% and Miller-Pitts' 23% Miller-Pitts had a decent showing in Chesterfield and was actually ahead of Dougherty in Prince George. However, he was not able to get much traction in Hopewell, finishing a distant third. November will be a rematch of the 2019 contest when Coyner, then a member of the Chesterfield School Board, defeated Dougherty with 55.1% of the vote. The last time a Democrat represented any part of Hopewell was in 2021 when the city was split between two districts. The seat Coyner has held since 2020 has been in Republican hands since 1992 when then-Hopewell Mayor Riley Ingram defeated Democrat Beasley Jones in what was the 62nd House District. In her last contest in 2023, Coyner defeated Miller-Pitts by 1,200 votes. More: Private Fitz Lee: Dinwiddie native, Medal of Honor recipient and new namesake for Fort Lee Incumbent Commissioner of the Revenue Brittany Flowers is being opposed by Mary "Liz Stith" Howard, chair of the Petersburg Redevelopment & Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, for the Democratic nomination. It is the first time since the 2020 Virginia General Assembly permitted candidates for local offices to carry official political backing that Petersburg has a primary for a local office. Last year, Vice Mayor Darrin Hill was the only certified Democrat in the councilmanic elections, but he got that nomination by acclimation after no one else filed for the party. Petersburg Registrar Dawn Wilmoth said with only one true local race in the primaries, the city's turnout was 3,034, or 12.5% of registered voters. "It's very similar to what I expected," Wilmoth told The Progress-Index. "Sadly, I was hoping for more." Flowers handily defeated Howard with almost 81% of the vote, winning comfortably in all seven Petersburg wards. Because there are no declared opponents for the November general election, Flowers will be returned to office come Jan. 1. More: LISC VA updates City Council on wealth-building work in Petersburg, future projects The Tri-City area was definitely Stoney country in the race for the lieutenant governor nod. Stoney, a former state government official and two-term Richmond mayor, easily outdistanced Hashmi and state Sen. Aaron Rouse of Virginia Beach in all five localities. Hashmi won her home county of Chesterfield and handily won the city of Richmond over Stoney. In the race for the attorney general nomination, Jones took Petersburg, Hopewell, Dinwiddie and Prince George, with Hopewell having his closest victory margin. Taylor took Colonial Heights but only by a slim margin. Democrats and Republicans have already settled on their nominees for the race to become Virginia's 75th governor. Neither former Rep. Abigail Spanberger nor Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears was opposed for their party nods, meaning they got a free pass to the November ballot. Republicans were also solidly behind unopposed incumbent Jason Miyares in his bid for a second term as state attorney general. Jones will face off with him in November. If her lead holds, Hashmi will square off against Republican nominee John Reid, a former Richmond newscaster and radio-show host who gained the GOP nod when his primary challenger withdrew for health reasons. History will be a big factor in the elections this November. Spanberger and Earle-Sears want to become the first woman to be Virginia's governor, and Earle-Sears − the first Black woman to be lieutenant governor in the commonwealth − wants to carry that milestone mantle into the governor's mansion. Should she win, Earle-Sears would be the second person of color to win the Virginia governorship, following Douglas Wilder in 1989. The election will also feature the first openly gay candidate for statewide office in Reid facing the first Muslim and person of Indian heritage in Hashmi. Miyares, seeking his second term, is the first person of Hispanic descent to hold one of Virginia's three highest political offices. To view the latest totals, click on the Virginia Department of Elections primary results page. Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Results of Democratic primaries in House, statewide office, Petersburg
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Virginia Democrats hold statewide primaries Tuesday: Here's what to watch for
Democrats are closely watching two statewide primaries set to take place in Virginia on Tuesday in what could be a barometer for voter enthusiasm within the party ahead of November's general elections. Republican and Democratic primaries for state House districts will take place across the district, leaving the Democratic primaries for lieutenant governor and attorney general as the only statewide primaries on Tuesday. Republicans already have their statewide nominees locked in, while former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (Va.) easily earned the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in April. Tuesday's races stand to give Democrats some insight into voter enthusiasm six months into President Trump's second administration as they seek to maintain their narrow hold on the House of Delegates and flip the state's executive branch in the fall. Here are three things to watch ahead of Tuesday's Virginia primaries. There are no statewide Republican primaries on Tuesday, but both parties will be watching turnout in state House district primaries across the commonwealth. Democrats will also be watching turnout in their party's crowded lieutenant gubernatorial primary and competitive attorney general primary. However, turnout is important for Virginia Democrats in particular because it could give insight into how activated the party's base is during the first year of Trump's second administration. In 2017, the first year of Trump's first administration, Democrats saw victories in the gubernatorial, lieutenant gubernatorial and state attorney general races. And while Democrats did not win a majority in the House of Delegates that year, they narrowed the GOP majority to a one-seat advantage. Virginia Democrats are already on track to surpass 2021 early vote numbers. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, more than 204,000 Virginians cast ballots as of June 15, when early voting wrapped. Of those ballots cast, more than 189,000 were cast in the Democratic primary. In 2021, more than 124,000 ballots were cast in the Democratic primary. Six Democrats are running to be their party's nominee for Virginia lieutenant governor, including Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, state Sen. Aaron Rouse, state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef, federal prosecutor and law professor Victor Salgado and attorney Alex Bastani. The winner will take on conservative radio host John Reid, who became the GOP nominee after Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity dropped out of the primary in April. A number of high-profile figures in and out of Virginia have waded into the primary to make endorsements. Stoney has received endorsements from former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D). Rouse has received endorsements from Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), and Virginia state Senate President Louise Lucas (D). Hashmi has been backed by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Stoney led the field in fundraising as of Monday, raising more than $2 million, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Rouse trailed with more than $1.8 million, followed by Hashmi, who brought in more than $1.7 million. The lieutenant governor's position in Virginia is not only seen as a potential stepping stone to running for governor but also a tiebreaking vote in the state Senate. Former state Del. Jay Jones is facing off against Shannon Taylor, Henrico County commonwealth's attorney, in the Democratic primary for attorney general. Whoever wins will face off against Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R ) in November. Both candidates have received high-profile endorsements. Jones has been backed by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), along with McAuliffe and former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. Taylor has the backing of former Attorneys General Mark Herring and Mary Sue Terry, EMILY's List and former House of Delegates Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, as of Monday, Jones has raised roughly $2.7 million in the race while Taylor has raked in $2.1 million. The primary has pitted two of the most influential Virginia energy donors against each other, with Clean Virginia backing Jones and Dominion Energy backing Taylor. Last week, Clean Virginia launched a six-figure attack ad against Taylor. Both candidates have invoked President Trump in their campaign messaging in a bid to give voters a preview of how they would take on the administration if elected attorney general. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
