OLIVIA DIAZ/Report for America, Author at The Rapid City Post

Republican Winsome Earle-Sears greets voters at her military-themed rally at Saucy’s Sit-Down Bar.B.Q in Hopewell, Va., on Aug. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Olivia Diaz)

Republican Winsome Earle-Sears is on the defensive in Virginia’s race for governor

August 10, 2025

Republican Winsome Earle-Sears says she’s running her campaign for Virginia governor like a military-style operation. And at this point, a few months away from the November election, it’s looking like a campaign on the defensive. The lieutenant governor is facing a Democratic Abigail Spanberger, a former congresswoman who has more campaign money and a unified party behind her. Earle-Sears has replaced a pastor with little political experience who had been her campaign manager. And her team has failed to gain traction with big money donors. An Earle-Sears victory would make her the first Black woman in U.S. history to serve as a governor.

FILE - Virginia state Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, listens to debate during the Senate session at the Capitol, March 10, 2022, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Virginia judge bars Youngkin’s university board appointments rejected by Senate Democrats

July 29, 2025

A judge has ordered that eight university board members tapped by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin should be removed from their posts. His order is a victory for Virginia Senate Democrats who rejected the appointees in a June committee vote. Now the appointees will be immediately severed from their board seats at the University of Virginia, George Mason University and the Virginia Military Institute. The case comes amid the White House’s effort to reshape higher education, with a focus on DEI. Universities in Virginia have become a groundswell for political tension between academic leaders and the federal government, with boards at the center of those battles.

FILE - This image provided by the Fairfax County Police Department and taken on Oct. 13, 2023, was submitted as evidence in the murder case against Brendan Banfield shows a framed photo of Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães on his bedside table in Herndon, Va. (Fairfax County Police Department via AP, FILE)

Child’s interview can’t be used in her father’s trial in killings of wife and other man, judge rules

July 25, 2025

A Virginia judge has denied prosecutors’ motion to have an interview of a man’s child be used as evidence in his trial in a double-killing case. Brendan Banfield is accused of plotting with an au pair to kill his wife and another man in February 2023. On Friday, the judge said that the interview could not be used because a child’s interview would be admissible only if the child was being directly victimized by the parent. In this case, the interview was conducted more than a year before her father was arrested and nearly two years before the child’s father was charged with child abuse. The judge also has denied Banfield’s motions to remove the lead prosecutor of the case and to quash the indictment.

FILE - Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears gestures as she presides over the Senate during the session at the state Capitol on Feb. 8, 2022, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Democrats in Virginia have a hefty fundraising advantage heading into November general election

June 19, 2025

Democrats in Virginia have built up a hefty fundraising advantage for their effort to reclaim the governor’s mansion in November’s general election. The fall contests are seen as a bellwether for the party in power in Washington ahead of next year’s midterms. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA spy turned congresswoman, has a more than 2-to-1 fundraising advantage over her Republican opponent for governor, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Both were unopposed for their party’s nominations and can pivot toward November without having to overcome a primary challenge. Virginia is one of two states that host statewide elections this year. Democrats’ outsized fundraising lead may reflect Democratic enthusiasm and the party’s ability to push voters to the polls.

Democrats squaring off in Virginia primaries say one name a lot: Trump

June 14, 2025

Democrats in Virginia are holding primary elections Tuesday, and one name is getting talked about a lot: President Donald Trump. The White House’s onslaught of changes impacting Virginia has been fodder for their campaigns, particularly in the nomination contest for attorney general. It comes as Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican, is running for reelection. Democrats are not making it easy for him. If they are not lamenting Trump, they are criticizing Miyares for not using his position to defend Virginians from the president.

FILE - Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears greets visitors prior to the start of the Senate Session at the Virginia Capitol, Jan. 25, 2022, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

A Virginia Democrat hunts for votes in rural pockets where MAGA has strengthened its grip

June 6, 2025

Democrat Abigail Spanberger often campaigns in rural Virginia districts that President Donald Trump won by large margins. In the general election to be Virginia’s next governor, she is competing for voters in places where Democrats have struggled in recent elections. Spanberger’s efforts to gain ground in ruby-red parts of Virginia come as Democrats have nationally shown more interest in small-town America. The terrain may be new for Democrats nationally but it’s familiar ground for Spanberger. She hopes to benefit from growing concern about the impact of Trump’s policies on rural areas.

OLIVIA DIAZ/Report for America.