Flip the script: In conversation with Cameron Webb

In 2016, Donald Trump won Virginia’s 5th Congressional District by 11 percentage points. Two years later, as a blue wave saw Democrats pick up 41 House seats nationwide, Republican Denver Riggleman beat Democrat Leslie Cockburn by 7 percent.  Virginia’s 5th District runs from Fauquier County to the North Carolina border. The huge district encompasses the […]

In brief: UVA returns in spring, COVID hits Wintergreen, and more

Back again? After a semester that featured dorm lockdowns, gathering limits, maskless masses flooding bars, and more than a thousand positive tests among students, staff, and contract employees since August, UVA announced last week that students will return to Grounds in person for the spring semester. The university will essentially replicate its fall reopening plans […]

In brief: Bob’s not so good, COVID’s on the rise, and more

Tossing it around Bob Good, the 5th Congressional District’s Republican candidate, released a bizarre campaign advertisement this week. In the spot, Good draws on his experience as a wrestling coach—everyone’s favorite kind of authority figure—and shows how he’ll “put liberal ideas in a headlock.” As Good grapples on the mat with his son, the candidate […]

In brief: Back to UVA, bewildering ballots, and more

Comeback kids? On August 4, UVA announced that move-in and the beginning of in-person classes will be delayed by two weeks, meaning face-to-face instruction will start on September 8. University President Jim Ryan released a video August 7, explaining that the decision to delay was made in response to a rise in Virginia’s coronavirus transmission, […]

In brief: Bridging forward, testing troubles, and more

Building bridges After nearly two decades of municipal hiccups and mishaps, the city’s plan to replace the Belmont Bridge is finally coming to fruition. On Monday evening, City Council conducted a first reading on an allocation for the project: The state will pay $12.1 million, the federal government will pay $3.2 million, and the city […]

In brief: Black at STAB, a win for Webb, and more

Private protests For decades, students in collared shirts and plaid skirts have strolled across St. Anne’s-Belfield’s well-manicured lawns. But even this historic bastion of prep has felt the effects of our transformative moment, at least in a small way. After the murder of George Floyd, a group of STAB alumni, led by Sophia Hunt, created […]

Denver’s done: Far-right challenger Bob Good wins 5th District GOP nomination

  In his two years in the House of Representatives, Denver Riggleman sided with Donald Trump on 94.5 percent of votes, according to FiveThirtyEight. But that wasn’t conservative enough for central Virginia’s Republican loyalists, who ended Riggleman’s run in Congress after just one term. At a June 13 drive-thru party convention, Riggleman lost the nomination […]