2018 Va. Primary Guide

Virginia voters will be selecting candidates from the major parties for the U.S. House and Senate, as well as in local races, in the primary to be held on June 12. In the WTOP listening area, the most hotly contested U.S. House primary race is in the 10th Congressional District. The Republican Party will pick a challenger to U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, and candidates will be chosen for the Arlington County Board, as well as the mayor and City Council in Alexandria.

Republican Speaks Out, Suing Party and Virginia Department of Elections

A man hoping to challenge Democratic U.S. Senator Tim Kaine is sounding off about his lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Elections and the Republican party. Raiklin believes he was unfairly excluded from absentee ballots that started on April 27. He says the executive director of the Republican Party undermined his campaign's right to a fair count of signatures.

Virginia Indian monument dedicated on Capitol Square

On Tuesday, Gov. Ralph Northam, the Virginia Indian Commemorative Commission and the Virginia Capitol Foundation held a dedication ceremony for Mantle. "If you look around the Capitol grounds, you'll see that the only dedication that's taken place here for Virginia Indians is happening today -- even though the Virginia Indians have lived here for 10,000 years," said Chief Emeritus Kenneth Adams of Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe.

Mounting opposition to Pompeo makes positive Senate committee…

The two Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who last year backed Mike Pompeo as CIA director have publicly refused to support his nomination to be secretary of state, making it highly unlikely that he will have the panel's endorsement when the full Senate votes on his nomination. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who voted to confirm Pompeo as CIA director, said in a statement Tuesday evening that she could not do the same for his bid to be top diplomat, citing concerns with Pompeo's positions on gay rights, Muslim Americans and women's reproductive rights.

US Senators Offer Legislation Covering Military Action Against Militants

U.S. senators announced long-awaited legislation on Monday to provide congressional authorization for campaigns against militant groups in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere, as lawmakers push to take back authority over the military from the White House. A group led by Senators Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Tim Kaine, a committee Democrat, proposed an Authorization for the Use of Military Force that would authorize "all necessary and appropriate force" against al-Qaida, the Taliban, Islamic State and associated forces.

Kaine demands secret memo on Trump’s ‘authority’ to declare war

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia is demanding that a secret memo that describes President Trump's interpretation of his legal authority to declare war be released, according to a report. Kaine, a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, urged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a letter late Thursday to release the seven-page document, NBC News reported .

Top Dems pull out of White House meeting after Trump attack

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., left, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., center, head to the Senate floor for votes on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday evening, Nov. 27, 2017. President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are scrambling to change a Republican tax bill in an effort to win over holdout GOP senators and pass a tax package by the end of the year.

GOP sees political fortunes rise and fall with tax cuts

In this Nov. 8, 2017, photo, from left, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., speak informally on tax reform and the elections with reporters in the Senate Press Gallery at the Capitol in Washington. It's an article of faith among Republicans that the GOP's electoral fortunes next year hinge on whether they succeed in their longstanding dream to redraft the nation's complex, inefficient tax code.

Dems bicker days before Virginia’s bellwether gubernatorial election

The dueling across Sunday news shows was triggered by the disclosure that Donna Brazile, the interim Democratic leader during the final months of the campaign, considered an effort to replace Clinton as the presidential nominee because of health concerns. "The charge that Hillary Clinton was somehow incapacitated is quite frankly ludicrous," said Tom Perez, who took over as Democratic National Committee chairman after Donald Trump won the election.

Donna Brazile Book Looks at Failed Election Bid

The former head of the Democratic National Committee says she considered initiating efforts to replace Hillary Clinton as the party's presidential nominee with then-Vice President Joe Biden. Donna Brazile makes the revelation in a memoir being released Tuesday that has renewed deep divisions within the Democratic Party.

Report: Donna Brazile considered replacing Clinton with Biden as nominee

Donna Brazile, the former interim Democratic National Committee chair, wrote in her new memoir that she considered pushing for the removal of Hillary Clinton from the 2016 ticket and replacing her with then-Vice President Joe Biden, according to a report published Saturday. The Washington Post, which obtained an advanced copy of her memoir , reported that Brazile wrote that Clinton's campaign was "anemic" and had taken on "the odor of failure."

Sen. Kaine Refuses To Comment On Virginia Church’s Decision To Remove Washington Plaque

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine ran away from The Daily Caller Tuesday when asked about his thoughts on the decision of a local church in Alexandria to remove plaques honoring President George Washington, a founder and parishioner of the historic church. Kaine told TheDC he would not answer the question, as he was on his way to deliver a floor speech on war powers.

Bikers for Trump rallies for Gillespie – without Gillespie

One of President Trump's most fervent fans hopped onto his Harley in South Carolina and roared all the way to Virginia Beach, where he led a "Bikers for Trump" rally Sunday for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie. Except Gillespie wasn't there, irking some Trump supporters who say the Republican has been too stand-offish toward the president.

The business community looks to Washington and Richmond for answers

"I can't really think of the last time I've been in a client meeting over the past six months where they haven't asked me what I think that Congress is going to do with tax reform," says Stephen Kimberlin, a CPA who is senior tax manager at Dixon Hughes Goodman in Richmond. "It goes hand-in-hand.

Democrats Must Soon Decide Whether Single-Payer Is a Litmus…

Even as many Democrats join the single-payer parade, Tim Kaine and Michael Bennet are offering a new, incremental approach to health care called "Medicare X." There has been a simmering debate in left-of-center circles all year about whether Democrats should unite behind single-payer health care as a rallying cry and a litmus test. There is no question there is a trend toward support for single payer among Democratic pols and voters , but the question is whether any other, more incremental, policy prescriptions in health care are now to be excoriated as insufficiently progressive.