Davis Burroughs

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam issued an executive order today setting a goal for Virginia to produce 100% of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050.  The order says the goal will help Virginia combat climate change, a challenge that poses “potentially devastating risks to Virginia.” Virginia is at particular risk from rising sea levels and…

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is coming to Virginia to support candidates who back stricter gun laws, an issue that gained momentum in the state after a mass shooting in Virginia Beach this spring. Giffords founded a gun safety advocacy group after she survived an assassination attempt in 2011. The Arizona Democrat will appear in Northern…

Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg appeared in Norfolk yesterday at a canvas launch for Phil Hernandez, a candidate for Delegate in Virginia’s 100th House District. “So many of the key decisions that shape our everyday lives are made in state legislatures,” Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., told the crowd of about 100 supporters. “So…

Congressman Donald McEachin (D-Va.) introduced legislation this week to make residential solar energy more affordable for low-income families. The Low-Income Solar Energy Act would expand a federally funded program that helps low-income households with their energy bills to include more relief for solar energy, direct the Department of Energy to create new solar financing programs, and provide certain homeowners with interest-free…

A national anti-Trump grassroots organization has raised over $550,000 from volunteers and donors to support Virginia General Assembly candidates in swing districts. Swing Left, which sees flipping the Virginia state legislature blue as a first and crucial step toward defeating President Donald Trump and GOP candidates elsewhere, announced today it had passed the half-a-million-dollar threshold…

As millions of students in the Commonwealth return to school this week, the coming months could define whether a new generation of Virginia college students are (or are not) saddled with historic student debt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) made free community college a flagship issue in his bid for governor in 2017. Last month, he…

State Sen. Richard Stuart (R-Stafford) launched Facebook ads this week attacking Democratic challenger Qasim Rashid’s faith and patriotism, potentially stirring up hate against an opponent that has already received death threats over his American-Muslim identity. “Qasim Rashid doesn’t believe Islamic terrorism exists,” Stuart said in one of the Facebook ads. In another, he called Rashid…

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) wants the U.S. to become the world leader in developing and producing future technologies to solve the climate crisis, and this weekend she introduced a plan that aims to make that happen. The announcement comes two weeks after another Virginia Democrat, Congressman Donald McEachin, said he will introduce legislation to put…

Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a series profiling candidates running in competitive Virginia state legislature elections. When Sheila Bynum-Coleman lost her second consecutive bid for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017, she thought to herself: “Hell no, I’m not doing this again.” Her urge to quit was fleeting. Today, she’s a…

The Virginia Crime Commission commenced a two-day series of hearings today aimed at addressing the epidemic of gun violence in a state where someone is shot every 9 hours. The criminal justice agency, which is bipartisan but led by Republicans, will hear what lawmakers, advocates, law enforcement officials, and experts propose to stop the violence,…