Virginia Politics & News
Virginia news from The Daily Signal, covering state politics, education policy, election integrity, and the political shift between Northern Virginia and the Commonwealth’s conservative regions.
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news
Virginia Woman Admits to $7.2 Million Child-Credit Tax Scam
More than a year after it was reported the IRS sent thousands of refunds to the tiny town of Parksley, Va., a woman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud. Linda Avila admitted to obtaining more than $7.2 million in refunds by exploiting the federal government’s child tax credit program. Avila filed more than… -
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How a Former Governor’s Conviction Is Reverberating in Virginia
A Virginia Republican’s forthcoming retirement after three-and-a-half decades in the General Assembly could give Democrats a better shot at regaining control of the state Senate next year. Earlier this year, Republicans took control of the Virginia Senate and halted hopes of Medicaid expansion when Democratic state Sen. Phil Puckett abruptly resigned. Now, moderate Republican state Sen. John Watkins has announced… -
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‘I Love ISIS!’ Was This Virginia Mom Helping Terrorists?
A Virginia woman has been arrested for allegedly attempting to provide material support to the terrorist group ISIS. Heather Coffman, 29, began exchanging messages with an undercover FBI official in July. Coffman allegedly believed the undercover agent was a fellow ISIS sympathizer and offered to put him in touch with her contacts, according to an affidavit… -
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This West Virginia Teen Ran for Office … and Won
On Tuesday, Saira Blair of West Virginia became the youngest state lawmaker-elect in the nation. Blair is an 18-year-old freshman at West Virginia University. According to the Wall Street Journal, she is an economics major and “hopes to become a financial planner.” She ran as a Republican on what she calls a “fiscally conservative platform,”… -
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Is This Redskins Ad the Reason the Virginia Senate Race Is Shockingly Close?
U.S. Senate candidate Ed Gillespie ran this ad last week during Monday night football—and some are speculating it’s the reason the Virginia Republican, who was lagging significantly behind incumbent Sen. Mark Warner in the polls, is doing so much better than expected. .@BretBaier speculates that Gillespie’s pro-Redskins ad was effective. #vasen — Kevin W. Glass (@KevinWGlass) November 5,… -
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Watch This Virginia Voting Machine Select the Candidate This Voter Didn’t Vote For
An anonymous Virginia voter has posted a YouTube video of a voting machine selecting the wrong candidate. In the video, the voter attempts to select Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va., but the box next to his opponent, Democrat Suzanne Patrick, is selected instead. The YouTube user, VaBeach23451, wrote in the video’s description: “The voting machine cast… -
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Virginia Braces for Aftershocks from Wallops Rocket Explosion
The failed launch and fiery explosion at the Wallops Island spaceport could blow up Virginia’s projected financial windfall at the commercial site. The state invested $26 million in 2009 to bring privately operated space flights to the Eastern Shore. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport was estimated to generate $4.25 billion for Virginia’s economy through 2020. After the… -
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Virginia School Bans Chapstick
A school board in Virginia got an earful from one of its students last week over its ban on lip balm. Last winter, Grace Karaffa, a student in Augusta County, was told by her teachers she was not allowed to bring lip balm to school or to wear it while in the building because of… -
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Report: Virginia Taxpayers Will Pay $20,000 Per Undocumented Student
RICHMOND, Va.— Virginia classrooms this school year will include as many as 2,800 new undocumented children, who will cost state taxpayers $54 million. The cost for school-eligible children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and have been released in Virginia—often to extended family members—is among the highest per-capita in the nation, according to the Federation for… -
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‘Secretive’ Government Move Relocates a Bit of the Border Crisis to a Virginia Suburb
BRISTOW, Va. — Corey Stewart, who made his name in politics by implementing what he calls the nation’s “toughest” crackdown on illegal immigration, lives in a house steeped in history. The top elected official in Virginia’s second-largest locality, Stewart resides in the oldest house in Prince William County, located abruptly off a road lined with… -
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Terry McAuliffe Underestimates Child Immigrants in Virginia
Gov. Terry McAuliffe said the border crisis is a federal problem, not Virginia’s, and that undocumented children are only being housed at one location in the state—even though news outlets have confirmed more. During a Wednesday radio interview on WTOP, a caller asked the Democratic governor how he is going to handle the border crisis now that it has… -
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Virginia Senate Candidates Spar Over Reauthorizing Export-Import Bank
As Virginia’s race for the U.S. Senate heats up, the Export-Import Bank has emerged as a key difference between incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and his Republican challenger, Ed Gillespie. The candidates faced off for a debate Saturday covering a myriad of topics, including the Export-Import Bank. Warner, who supports the bank’s reauthorization, came under… -
opinion
Joe Gibbs’ Organization Housing Undocumented Children in Virginia
It was only a matter of time before some of the thousands of undocumented children flooding the United States border reached Virginia. But the organization that is housing those children was founded by a man familiar to virtually everyone in the Washington, D.C., area. Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart, R-Woodbridge, confirmed… -
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Virginia Lawmakers Block Medicaid Expansion, but Governor Vows ‘This Fight Is Far From Over’
After months of grueling debate and discord over expanding Medicaid in Virginia, Republicans got their way. The GOP-led House and Senate approved a budget that not only lacks funding to expand Medicaid but also requires General Assembly approval in the future—an attempt to block Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe from implementing the Affordable Care Act component… -
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Virginia DMV Attempts to Shutter Ridesharing Companies Uber, Lyft
Just when you thought you couldn’t despise the Department of Motor Vehicles any more, Virginia’s DMV decided to wage war against popular passenger carrier companies Uber and Lyft, sending cease and desist letters urging them to stop doing business in the commonwealth. The Virginia DMV, which has already fined Uber and Lyft $26,000 and $9,000,… -
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Virginia University Appointees Gave Generously To Gov. McAuliffe’s Campaign
Some of Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s latest appointments to posts at Virginia’s prestigious public universities also have donated generously to his gubernatorial campaign — up to $130,000 in one case. Of McAuliffe’s 65 appointees to university and college governing boards, about 17 percent had contributed a substantial sum to his campaign, and two more —…