The VLW Blog

Democrat Steve Shannon (left) and Republican Ken Cuccinelli (right) stuck to familiar themes this afternoon at the Richmond Bench-Bar Conference in the last of their four joint appearances before next month’s attorney general election. Shannon, a Delegate from Fairfax since 2003, emphasized his work as a prosecutor and referred to himself as “a centrist, law-and-order, [...]

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Both Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat Creigh Deeds apparently would restore the moribund program that gave lawyers, jurors, and citizens a voice in Virginia’s judicial selection process. At the initial debate between the two candidates for governor, both endorsed a merit-based system of judge selection. “We should reform the whole process,” Deeds told the audience [...]

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 No disrespect intended, but the first impression from the gubernatorial debate today is that both Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds are a couple of motormouths. The debate format — like most — offers strictly-timed windows for comments from the candidates.  The ticking clock, combined with first-debate nerves, seems to drive the candidates to rattle off [...]

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Three Virginia-based free speech groups have filed for dismissal of their federal court challenge to the Virginia Board of Elections’ ban on wearing political messages in polling places. In a joint press release, The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, The Rutherford Institute and the ACLU of Virginia said a law passed [...]

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GOP candidates are beating the bushes to get supporters to Richmond for the party convention May 30. Republicans will choose their candidates at the convention, and nominations for attorney general and lieutenant governor depend on who shows up. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli is offering free bus rides to Richmond and has [...]

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Turnout may be limited for the June 9 primary to choose who carries the Democratic banner in the fall election for governor. Only a fraction of the state’s roughly 5 million voters are expected to vote in the race between Terry McAuliffe, Creigh Deeds and Brian Moran. But that hasn’t stopped the Democratic candidate hopefuls, [...]

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Rocky Mount attorney Bill Stanley hopes to succeed Jeff Frederick at the helm of the Republican Party of Virginia. Stanley, who heads the Franklin County GOP committee, said Wednesday that he will run for chairman at the party’s May 30 convention, reports The Roanoke Times. He will compete for the remainder of Frederick’s four-year term [...]

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A former Roanoke councilman hit with a civil fine for election law violations will not face parallel criminal charges. A judge dismissed two misdemeanors against Brian Wishneff at the request of both defense attorney John Lichtenstein and special prosecutor John Alexander, reports The Roanoke Times. The charges stemmed from a newspaper ad that attacked a [...]

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The U.S. Supreme Court appears skeptical about the need for federal approval of election changes in Southern states. As The New York Times reports, questions from the justices during oral arguments yesterday suggest the court could strike down “Section 5″ of the Voting Rights Act, which requires certain states to seek federal permission before making [...]

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What better place to troll for money from liberal – relatively speaking anyway – Virginians than The New York Times? That appears to be the thinking of Common Sense Virginia, a state political action committee that is sponsoring The Real Bob Mcdonnell Web site. Visitors to The Times Web site from Virginia are likely to [...]

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