“I’m a senior, and I feel like since freshman year for me […] it’s gotten like a lot more liberal here […] in my political science classes, I am very outnumbered,” senior Maya Marino said.
Avula defeated Andreas Addison, Michelle Mosby, Maurice Neblett, and Harrison Roday with 46.00% votes.
Vote counting was widely expected to draw out later into the week, but Trump’s wins in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia caused the race to be called around 1:45 a.m. Wednesday morning.
The win also puts the first of the rust belt states that traditionally make up the Democratic “blue wall” into Trump’s column.
The win will add one of the most competitive states in the country to the Trump column. With more than 95% of votes reported, Trump currently has just under 50.9% of the vote in the state, according to the New York Times.
The win now puts Trump closer to the 270 electoral vote mark that he needs to win the election. He stands now at 230 votes.
“We need democracy with more mindfulness, democracy with more love, democracy with more compassion,” Datta said.
Harris was overtly favored to win the state in recent polls ahead of Election Day, leading by as much as 10 points.
“It’s been the honor of my life to represent this community, Richmond, and then my Commonwealth as governor, and now the Commonwealth and country in the U.S. Senate,” Kaine said earlier this morning. “And I’m a guy who can work across the aisle to bring results, that’s what I’ve done since I was on city council and mayor right here, and I’m gonna keep doing that with a lot of energy should I be fortunate to win a third term.”
“These are things that, even in secular liberal democracies, you can never really divorce,” Oladi said. “Our faith impacts who we vote for, whether we like it or not, at a subconscious level.”
“I think that Virginia has shown over the past decade that it is very much a swing state. It may seem to lean Democrat, but this is generally a more conservative Democrat than [sic] the average Democrat in the entire country," said Ernest McGowen, a political science professor at the University of Richmond.
“If we win Virginia, it’s over,” Trump said. He added that the state is still “in play” in 2024.
“We should not accept how divisive and angry politics can be,” Spanberger said. “It’s entirely intentional that politics has gotten to such a fever pitch place where a lot of people just opt out.”
Policy discussion was the focus of Tuesday’s debate. The candidates were asked about mass deportations out of the United States, conflict in the Middle East, the Affordable Care Act, the housing crisis, and their stances on abortion.
On March 5, voters all over the City of Richmond and Henrico Country turned out to support their chosen candidates in the primary elections.
City of Richmond school board representatives discussed security measures at their meeting on March 4, after multiple weapons were found in student’s backpacks.
Among thousands of voters waiting hours to watch former president Donald Trump speak at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, Erica Mazzella stood across the street from the convention, holding a cardboard sign that read ‘Abort Trump’ with ‘ACAB’ and ‘Free Palestine’ scrawled in small print along the sides.
The weekly demonstrations condemn the energy company’s proposal to build a peaker plant capable of producing 1000 megawatts of electricity during periods of heavy demand.
Democrats have gained control of both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly after gains in the House of Delegates in Tuesday’s elections. Democrats have reached the threshold of 51 seats to take control of the House chamber and have reached the 21 seats needed to retain control of the Senate.
University of Richmond students and faculty members watched Virginia elections Tuesday night and discussed the importance of civic engagement in local and state races.
