Pod Virginia

LINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaIN THE NEWS:People who are incarcerated at the infamous Red Onion Supermax Prison in Wise County say conditions are so bad there that they are setting themselves on fire to protest conditions. Allegations include: racial epithets, physical abuse, medical neglect, solitary confinement, violent dog attacks, and inedible food with maggots.After a 2020 law cracking down on predatory lending, companies are now using "rent-a-banks" from out of state to charge massive interest rates on loans.The number of provisional ballots cast in this election was more than five times the number cast in the last election, an indication that same-day registration is an idea that's catching on. One thing all those many key locations had in common: college students.TRIVIA: Who was Henry Howell's campaign manager for his 1977 run for Governor?Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

LINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaThis week, Michael is joined by Frank Atkinson, author of The Dynamic Dominion, to discuss the 1973 "Armageddon" gubernatorial race between Henry Howell and Mills Godwin, which Atkinson wrote about in his chapter of The New Dominion: The Twentieth-Century Elections That Shaped Modern Virginia.

LINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaIN THE NEWS:Earlier this year, Democrat Abigail Spanberger seemed to have cleared the field of opposition among Democrats, though Congressman Bobby Scott may still throw his hat into the ring. Last week, Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears was able to clear the field of Republican opposition, and now she stands alone as the Republican who will be running for governor. The race for attorney general is taking shape, and it’s gonna be a doozy. Incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares is unlikely to face opposition in the Republican primary, but the Democrats will have a VERY interesting primary. One of the candidates will be a founding member of the Progressive Prosecutors for Justice, Shannon Taylor, who will face former Delegate Jay Jones.Virginia is named for a Queen of England, the virgin Queen Elizabeth I. Now the Queen of Virginia is suing the attorney general and the Henrico prosecutor. That’s because the skill game company that goes by that name, Queen of Virginia, is trying to stop the Republican attorney general from conducting an investigation and prevent the Henrico commonwealth’s attorney from enforcing a ban on skill games.TRIVIA: Who was the senator who was censured by the Senate in 1987? (Hint: He was a senator from Norfolk, and he was censured for willingly violating the conflict-of-interest law by voting to kill a bill that would have harmed one of his legal clients.)Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

LINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaFormer State Senator John Bell joins Michael to break down his decision to sponsor the 2021 resolution to censure then-Senator Amanda Chase after she repeated baseless election fraud claims and spoke in support of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

LINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaIN THE NEWS:Freshman House Delegate Kannan Srinivasan will be the Democrat on the ballot in the January 7 special election to fill the seat vacated by Congressman-elect Suhas Subramanyam. Loudoun Democrats chose him as the party’s nominee over the weekend in an election that will determine which party controls the Senate. Republicans also selected their candidate for this seat over the weekend, Tumay Harding. She is a former teacher who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Ashburn District of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors.Democrats have introduced three new amendments to Virginia's Constitution: one to protect abortion rights, another to undo the amendment prohibiting gay marriage, and the third to ditch Virginia's practice of requiring the governor to restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies. All three of those amendments would have to go through many steps before being added to the state Constitution, including being approved by voters in November 2026.Former Governor Terry McAuliffe says the numbers tell a story, and it's one that's not good for Democrats. In 2020, Democrats won young people in Virginia by a margin of 23 points. This year it was only 8 points. In the last election Democrats won women by 15 points. This year it was only 9. He also says Democrats looking for a ray of hope can expect a good performance in 2025, when Virginia voters will elect a governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general -- plus all 100 seats of the House of Delegates.TRIVIA: What are the two kinds of votes where Virginia's lieutenant governor can NOT break a tie?Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

SPONSOR:The Richmond ForumLINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaPod Virginia all-star Sam Shirazi joins Michael to break down the special elections happening in the next few weeks (filling the House seats vacated by Suhas Subramanyam and John McGuire), as well as the Virginia statewide elections in 2025.

SPONSOR:The Richmond ForumLINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaIN THE NEWS:Senator Tim Kaine's margin of victory was almost double the margin of victory for Kamala Harris in Virginia, which seems to indicate some cross-party voting. The election is not over yet. Two sitting members of the state Senate were elected to Congress last week, which means at least two special elections. One of the special elections for state Senate will be in Northern Virginia, where Delegate Kannan Srinivasan is expected to face Buta Biberaj, a former Progressive Prosecutor for Justice. The other Senate special election will be in the suburbs and exurbs between Richmond and Charlottesville.There's no place in Northern Virginia where the influence of the Asian community is reflected more than state Senate District 32. That’s the seat in Loudoun County that will soon be vacated by Congressman-elect Suhas Subramanyam. The district has a population that is more than 30 percent Asian.TRIVIA: Who was the Lieutenant Governor elected in a statewide special election after the death of Lt. Governor Sargeant Reynolds in 1971?Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

SPONSOR:The Richmond ForumTyler Englander, Cameron Thompson, and Brad Kutner join Michael and Lauren to react to the 2024 election results--Kamala Harris' razor-thin victory in the state, Tim Kaine's victory, and the possibilities for Republican leaders to be shuffled into the upcoming Trump administration as we already look toward the 2025 gubernatorial election.

SPONSOR:The Richmond ForumLINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaIN THE NEWS:Donald Trump closed out his campaign for president in the most unlikeliest of places over the weekend, Salem Virginia in deep red Southwest Virginia. The rally featured Governor Glenn Youngkin and the entire Republican establishment, including Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earl Sears finally endorsing the former Republican president.2006 was Governor Tim Kaine's first General Assembly session in the Executive Mansion, and at the time lawmakers were focused on a budget battle and a transportation package. But there was one bill that required the DMV to produce a list of people who should be stricken from the list of eligible voters--which some say was a reaction to the Motor Voter Law. Campaigns tend to have political ads that celebrate their candidates or maybe attack an opponent. But those are nothing like a PAC attack, which often go for the jugular -- attacking a candidate for having a fake family or failing to show up for meetings. TRIVIA: Which election saw Virginia splitting its electoral votes between two candidatesLearn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

SPONSOR:The Richmond ForumLINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaPod Virginia all-star Sam Shirazi returns to break down next week's election: where does Virginia fall in the race for the presidency? What about all of the competitive downballot races? And just how many millions are getting spent on political ads that blanket the airwaves?

SPONSOR:The Richmond ForumLINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaIN THE NEWS:During a dramatic hearing in federal court last week, a lawyer representing the governor said he believes some of the people whose voter registration was canceled are noncitizens. Judge Patricia Giles wasn’t having it. She stopped him and said she wasn't dealing with beliefs, she was dealing with evidence.In the 1890s, election after election was contested with allegations of voter fraud and stuffing the ballot box. That led to a Jim Crow Constitution that disenfranchised Black voters as well as some poor whites; some experts say the voter purge that happened 120 years ago offers lessons for today.If Democrats are going to take control of the House of Representatives, they’re going to need seats like the Second Congressional District in Virginia Beach. And a new poll from the Wason Center shows the lead that Republican incumbent Jen Kiggans used to have over challenger Missy Cotter Smasal has evaporated. TRIVIA: Which Virginia congressman representing the Second Congressional District later became a Byrd Machine governor?Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

SPONSOR:The Richmond ForumLINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaThis week, The Washington Post's Laura Vozzella and Greg Schneider join Michael to explain the purges of Virginia's voter rolls. They start with Governor Youngkin's Executive Order 35, which called for registrars to report voter roll changes on a daily basis, rather than the monthly basis required by law.They also discuss the lack of evidence for widespread voter fraud in Virginia, as well as the design of the DMV form that makes it easy for Virginia citizens to accidentally mark themselves as non-citizens and set off a process that might see them kicked off the rolls.

SPONSOR:The Richmond ForumLINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaGuest hosts Cameron Thompson, Tyler Englander, and Brad Kutner take the reins...IN THE NEWS:The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Virginia over its purging of the voter rolls. The lawsuit alleges the Commonwealth is violating a federal law -- the National Voter Registration Act -- by systematically removing potential non-citizens from voter rolls within 90 days of a federal election -- something banned by what's called the "Quiet Period Provision".Two Republican members of the Waynesboro Board of Elections have filed a suit challenging how Virginia's votes are counted and are threatening that they won't certify the results of the November 5th election.The Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP) story is reaching its next chapter. JLARC put out its findings earlier this month with its recommendations for funding the troubled program, but they reminder lawmakers that they're only options--the final decisions rest with legislators themselves.TRIVIA: Who is the city of Alexandria named after?Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

SPONSOR:The Richmond ForumLINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaThis week, Michael is joined by the University of Richmond's Associate Professor of Leadership Studies, Dr. Julian Hayter, to discuss the historic 1989 election of Virginia's first Black governor, Doug Wilder--including context, aftermath, and lasting legacy. Hayter wrote the chapter on Wilder's election for the The New Dominion: The Twentieth-Century Elections That Shaped Modern Virginia.

SPONSOR:The Richmond ForumLINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaCheck out Black Virginia NewsIN THE NEWS:A coalition led by the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy is advocating for peace during a tense election cycle. They're also participating in "Souls to the Polls" Sunday voting across the state.Campaign finance documents compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project show political ad spending in favor of incumbent United States Senator Tim Kaine is outpacing ads in favor of Republican challenger Hung Cao by more than 16 to one. That’s more than $3 million in favor of the Democrat compared to $200,000 in favor of the Republican. According to a recent report, Northern Virginia is seeing stagnant wages, flat salaries and rising unemployment. Virginia is often mentioned as a great place to do business, but experts say that masks the reality that Northern Virginia is falling behind other major metro areas across the country.TRIVIA: Who was the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman who went to federal prison for accepting bribes from developers?Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia