Our Battleground Virginia class at American University spent four days on the campaign trail — a mid-semester field experience to complement our in-class lectures — and what I found wasn’t just spectacle. It was a system in which forgiveness depends on your last name, as one candidate’s comeback would later show; where churches double as campaign headquarters;  and where voters have stopped trying to persuade each other and started wearing their politics like their identity.

The divide was stark. Every event felt like a world apart. Red or blue, never both. At least in the U.K., people tend to put their national identity above their political one. In America, political identity often comes first.

The Sermon and the campaign.

Saturday began with former President Barack Obama’s return to Norfolk to endorse the then-candidate for governor, Democrat Abigail Spanberger. It was less a political event than a cultural pilgrimage. The crowd sang, danced and cried; “hope” wasn’t just a word but a rhythm. Having studied political oratory, I watched Obama like a craftsman watching a master, the balance of humor and seriousness, the control in his pacing, the pauses between applause lines. His tone was hypnotic, equal parts sermon and stand-up. He didn’t just deliver a speech. He conducted a symphony of belief.

The next morning, we were in Richmond, seated among the congregation at Third Street Bethel A.M.E. Church, a historic African American church with a long tradition of civic action. The Rev. Reuben Boyd’s sermon wove scripture and politics seamlessly. “There are no kings here,” he declared, to a chorus of amens. Church leaders spoke about plans for a March on Washington next year, faith mobilized into activism before our eyes.

Afterward, Gwen Faush-Carney 49, a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, told me; “Through life’s experiences, God helps guide me. I’m independent when it comes to voting, but I share our church’s values of faith and service.” When I asked what that meant in practice, she smiled. “It means I vote Democrat, but I think about it first.”

In Britain, we keep faith and politics in separate pews. In America, they harmonize. The church isn’t just where you worship. It’s where you organize.

Liberty and the costume.

By Sunday afternoon, we were in Hanover County, where the Republican candidates for governor, attorney general and lieutenant governor rallied supporters alongside outgoing Gov.  Glenn Youngkin. It felt less like a campaign event and more like a homecoming. “Don’t Tread on Me” flags flapped above the crowd. One sign read. “Democrats: your use of hatred has produced evil. Who will vote for you?” The rally felt aimed at the faithful, not the undecided.

Among the crowd was a man dressed as Patrick Henry, 71, complete with a tricorn hat, who cheerfully introduced himself as the original Virginian patriot.

“He’s here every time,” laughed Charlie Waddell, 68, a substitute teacher and former local official. “The costume doesn’t change, and neither do the speeches.” Then, with a shrug, he said, “They love Trump. That’s the glue.”

Roger Martin, a retired engineer attending his first rally, summed up the mood perfectly. “Spam is bad for your computer. ‘Spamberger’ is bad for Virginia.” He laughed, then said of the Republican candidate, Winsome Earle-Sears, “She stands for Trump, that’s enough for me.”

For a Brit, it was fascinating. American conservatism doesn’t do understatement; it comes draped in banners and conviction. Where British Tories mutter about heritage, Virginia Republicans shout about liberty.

The name brand.

On Monday, we met Don Scott, a Democrat and speaker of the House of Delegates, who mixed gravitas with good humor. The conversation turned to Jay Jones, the Democratic attorney-general candidate who had sent threatening texts to a Republican rival years earlier but remained on the ballot.

Scott defended Jones as a “good man who made a mistake” and questioned why the issue of his violent messages, recently published by The National Review,  had lingered so long. Then came the telling line: “Jay’s dad was part of the Democratic establishment. He’s got a name brand. People know the Jones family.”

That night, Jones won comfortably. For an outsider, it was jarring. In Britain, a scandal like that would end a career. In America, or at least in Virginia, it’s a speed bump if your family has enough political capital. Tribal loyalty isn’t a bug. It’s the operating system.

Democracy as expression.

Election Day arrived, and students were dispatched to polling sites across Richmond and Norfolk to capture the mood of the electorate and file their notes and vignettes to 91����ington Post. Outside Clover Hill High School, a leafy suburb of Richmond, Jenny Mylott, a 55-year-old accountant, called the vote “a referendum on Trump.”

“We get government contracts, and now our company isn’t getting paid,” she said. “I’m hoping this election makes Washington wake up and compromise. It just cannot be a single person controlling everything.”

Across town, Tony Clark, a 20-year-old student, offered a different angle.

“The campaign felt like it was run back in 2008. But this vote was a symbolic middle finger to D.C.”

Both saw their ballots not as civic duties but as acts of expression, one weary, one defiant, both deeply personal.

Victory and exhaustion.

When results night arrived, I joined the crowd at Spanberger’s victory rally in Richmond at the convention center, which buzzed with exhaustion and elation. When Spanberger finally took the stage, she thanked voters and her family and even teased her youngest daughter for not cleaning her room, a small, human moment that cut through the political theater.

To some, she was a centrist pragmatist; to others, she was simply “not Trump.” In that room, those differences dissolved. Democracy felt tangible again, messy, noisy, occasionally absurd, but unmistakably alive.

What Britain doesn’t understand.

For a Brit abroad, the lesson was clear. In America, politics isn’t a conversation; it’s a calling. Faith groups mobilize, students organize, retirees proselytize. It’s less about left and right than about belonging, a contest not of policies but of identities.

The British system, for all its dullness, at least maintains the pretense of propriety. In America, standards are negotiable if you’re on the right team. But for all its flaws and theatrics, American democracy is gloriously alive. People shout because they care. They argue because they believe the system is still worth arguing over.

Loud, restless and endlessly unfinished, America’s democracy may not be tidy, but it is alive in a way Britain’s rarely feels.

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Still, both parties are refusing to take the blame for the reasons behind the 36-day shutdown. Democratic leaders say the election day victories are a sign to hold their ground. Republicans say blue wins in blue states are not a reason to cave.

House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said at a press conference Wednesday that he hopes the elections are a “wake-up call” for Republicans. Schumer said Democrats may have won the battle, but they have to keep fighting to win the war. 

“Americans have been feeling the real-world repercussions of Trump’s policies for months,” said Schumer, who Wednesday sent a letter asking President Trump to meet with party leaders.

Voters “know that Democrats are fighting for them and Republicans are doing nothing … Last night, Republicans felt the political repercussions.”

Bipartisan Stalemate

The shutdown has persisted because Democrats and Republicans cannot find a middle ground on health care tax credits, which makes insurance cheaper for millions of Americans. Those subsidies are set to expire Dec. 31.

Democrats have refused to reopen the government until Republicans agree to extend the tax credits.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Republicans have always been willing to talk about making health care more affordable, but have been reluctant to do so during the shutdown because they want to reopen the government before negotiating.  

Republicans have been reluctant to do so during the shutdown because they want to reopen the government before dialogue continues, he said.

“It was in no way necessary or appropriate to shut down the government in order to have bipartisan discussions about the subsidies,” Johnson said.

Mayoral Milestone in New York

In New York City, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani beat former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, becoming the city’s first Muslim mayor-elect, and its youngest in over a century. 

Mamdani, who calls himself a democratic socialist, started his campaign relatively unknown last year before surging to victory Tuesday against Cuomo. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,called Mamdani’s win “one of the greatest political upsets in modern American history.” 

Sanders said Mamdani not only took on oligarchs, President Trump and Republicans in the election, but also the Democratic establishment.  

“If you have an agenda that speaks for the working class in this country, if you are prepared to take on the oligarchs — explain to people that it’s unacceptable that the very rich become much richer while working families can’t even afford groceries or their rent — and if you put together a grassroots movement you can in fact win,” Sanders said.

Speaker Johnson called Mamdani an “avowed, openly proclaimed Socialist” at a press conference Wednesday. He said Mamdani’s win signifies a shift toward socialism in the Democratic Party.

“Mamdani is without a doubt the biggest win for socialism in the history of the country, and it is the biggest loss for the American people,” Johnson said.

Alejandro Medina, a marketer who splits his time between New York and Virginia, said he feels more comfortable living in Virginia now because of the election results, which flipped the governorship to Democrat.

Medina is an immigrant from Mexico who cannot vote because he is not a U.S. citizen.

“I have to allow people to vote on my behalf,” he said.

Electoral sweep in Virginia

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said Democrats are “playing politics” with the lives of Americans during the shutdown. Republicans currently have a majority in both the House and Senate, as well as control of the White House. 

The Democratic sweep of Tuesday’s elections presents a new mainstream for the party, he said. 

“From a Communist mayor in New York City to a Virginia Attorney General who said he wanted to murder his political opponent. Pro-terrorist Marxist radicals are now the left’s mainstream,” Emmer said.

In Virginia, Democrats won the races for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General in one fell swoop. 

D.C. Tour Guide Lori Cohen, said she wasn’t surprised that Democrats won the state elections, with the exception of Attorney General-elect Jay Jones. 

On the campaign trail, Jones sent text messages about shooting his political rival, then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert, to a Republican state delegate. Jones had apologized but stayed in the race.

Cohen said she wasn’t too pleased with the messages.

“I almost didn’t vote for him, but I didn’t want to continue Trump policies for attorney general, so I voted for him, and I kind of held my nose while doing it,” she said.

She said she voted Democrat because she disapproved of the shutdown and recent policy decisions by Trump. She said that she believes other democrats voted for similar reasons.

“There’s no end to the things to hate about Donald Trump,” she said.

Eric, a federal employee and Republican, who did not want his full name used, also said he was surprised by the election of Jones.

Jones “wanted to shoot his opponent twice and murder his children. I find that kind of extreme,” Eric said.

Eric is a Maryland resident, but he says he would have voted for Winsome Earle-Spears if he could have participated in the Virginia elections.

“I’m a Republican and she’s a Republican. I kind of go for the underdog,” he said.

Blue voted blue

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La, said the recent elections do not represent most Americans’ view of Republicans’ performance during the shutdown. Many of the states that saw Democratic wins Tuesday voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

“Is it any surprise that last night, blue states voted blue? We’re talking Virginia, New Jersey, New York,” Scalise said. “By the way, none of those were swing states.”

Pam Henkins, a retired federal employee who voted in the Virginia election, said that the federal shutdown was one of many factors that motivated her decision. 

Her husband is one of the federal employees furloughed as part of the shutdown, though he still works for the DOJ. The government has furloughed about 670,000 employees, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“I feel like this president is lawless,” Henkins said, “and I relied on the Supreme Court to institute the structure and uphold Congress’s authority and that’s just gone dead.”

Scalise said Republicans have worked with President Trump to deliver results on issues, like lowering taxes and securing the southern border.

But Ed Markey, D-Mass., said the elections are a clear call from voters for Republicans to come to the table and negotiate to end the shutdown. He said Trump has given himself “king-like power” and enacted economic policy that is illegal and destructive. 

“President Trump is taxing food, and toys, and clothing and even tea … the last time there was a tax on tea there was a revolution in Boston,” Markey said. 

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RICHMOND, Va. — Winsome Earle-Sears flipped pancakes and served coffee to patrons of Shorty’s Diner in the final hours of her campaign for governor of Virginia on Monday. 

Earle-Sears was joined by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the rest of the Republican ticket at the a traditional Republican campaign stop. 

“Folks, we’re looking good because we have all the right ideas,” Earle-Sears said. “Our governor has begun it, and we’re gonna finish it.”

The diner’s owner, Tony Short, said that his diner has been a regular venue for Republican campaigns since 2021, when then-Fox & Friends anchor Pete Hegseth patrons at his Williamsburg location.

“Our place is full of the kind of customer you want to interview,” Short said. “Retired military, steel workers, people who were affected by COVID, and they were just loving it.”

Short is a lifelong Republican and voted for all the Republican candidates on the ballot this campaign cycle. In recent years, Short said he has become more involved in politics as a business owner and hopes to see the interests of small businesses addressed by whichever candidate wins the governorship.

‘I’m an egg guy.’

“I’m an egg guy. No one could talk better about it,” he said. “We sell 6,000 eggs a week, and the eggs went from $2 a dozen to $7 a dozen. There needs to be some government support for that.”

Jason Miyares, the incumbent attorney general seeking reelection, and John Reid, who is running for lieutenant governor, were among the other candidates who showed up to talk to diners.

Despite the most from Roanoke College showing a lead for Democrat and State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi in the lieutenant governor race, Reid said he was optimistic going into election day.

“I think Independents are breaking for me,” Reid said. “I’m the guy who’s gonna be the ambassador for entrepreneurship in Virginia.”

Deborah and Kerry Koslovic were unaware candidates were visiting that morning. They come to Shorty’s for breakfast whenever Deborah, a special-education teacher in Richmond Public Schools, is off work. 

Earle-Sears stopped at their table and chatted with them about Kerry’s service in the Navy.

“We were just so happy to meet her and wish her well, and she’s the one that asked us questions,” Deborah said. 

The Koslovics are fans of Reid, too. Deborah said she admired him when he was a radio host at WRVA and knew early on about his candidacy for lieutenant governor. of sexually explicit posts on an account linked to Reid did not bother her, she said. 

“I didn’t even pay any attention,” Deborah said.

Kennedy Jackson, a volunteer for the Earle-Sears campaign and lifelong resident of the Commonwealth, said he enjoyed meeting all the candidates and was looking forward to seeing the results of their campaign efforts on election day.

Now retired as a judge’s assistant for Richmond’s Circuit Court, Jackson started a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to “economic and social transformation” for Black families in Virginia. He said he believes Earle-Sears will make the change he wants to see.

“Her tenacity, her knowledge, her determination to make Virginia a great state is one of most important things too,” Jackson said.

‘She stands for Trump’

On Sunday night, Earle-Sears rallied her base outside the Hanover County Government Office, just north of Richmond, sticking to sharp attacks on Spanberger over transgender issues she’s employed throughout the race. 

Roger Martin, a retired first-time rally attendee from Hanover, said he has “voted in every election for both Republicans and Democrats” before but feels more strongly about this race. 

“Spam is bad for your computer. ‘Spamberger’ is bad for Virginia,” he said.

Martin said he wants to “back Trump because of what he’s doing in Washington, D.C.,” and called the border his top issue. He added that he was “surprised Trump has not said more” about Earle-Sears, whom he has not offered his endorsement.

Charlie Waddell, 68, a substitute teacher from Hanover and a former elected official in Herndon, said he came out to support Earle-Sears because she was the “fittest candidate for the job.” 

As a teacher, Waddell said he was “concerned” about Spanberger’s position on transgender children in school bathrooms. He called it “crazy” and said “we need to protect our schoolchildren.”

On the lack of a formal Trump endorsement in the race, Waddell said he “likes endorsements but locally people make up their own minds.” 

He added that he believed Trump had implied his support for Earle-Sears, saying “she stands for Trump, has the apprenticeship, and conservatives see that.”

At the rally,  Kathy and Fred Whitten sat in the back of their pickup truck with Terry Tuckerman and Tom Phillips, chatting about life and politics as if they’d been friends for years. In reality, they had met moments before. 

Fred Whitten emphasized the strength of the community in Virginia, which extended from fellow rally attendees to police officers protecting the county. 

“Republicans are kind people,” he said. “That’s just community.” 

The four said they showed up to the rally to support the candidates and preserve the quality of life in the state. 

“We enjoy the Commonwealth of Virginia as a place to raise children, do business and thrive as a family,” said Fred Whitten, who has lived in Virginia nearly his entire life and worked in the pharmacy industry for 33 years. 

All four agreed they wanted to continue Youngkin’s work in the state and said they supported the candidates with strong Christian values. 

“We want to avoid insanity,” added Tuckerman, who was born and raised in Virginia. “A lot of the views the other party has are insanity. I don’t understand it.” 

Meet-and-Greet in Prince George

Earlier on Sunday, Earle-Sears held a meet-and-greet in Prince George, Virginia, a community southeast of Richmond. 

In the loft of a rustic barn, 150 of her supporters traded campaign signs, proudly displayed their shirts and crowded together for selfies against the backdrop. Many of them had been to this loft before, and some were newcomers. 

The crowd got a surprise appearance from Youngkin. Miyares spoke with the voters beforehand and introduced Youngkin. 

“Virginia is making a choice,” Youngkin said. “A choice for prosperity, a choice for economic growth, a choice for public safety…a choice between light and dark.”  

Youngkin then asked the crowd, “who has already voted?!” A majority of the room threw their hands up in the air and cheered, the governor shared a call to action with them. 

“For those of you that have already voted,” Youngkin said, “you are now in charge of finding 10 friends to go vote, and if you’re married, that’s 20 friends!”

Earle-Sears joined Youngkin as he highlighted his administration’s successes, mentioning job creation numbers. She took over the mic to continue touting Youngkin’s victories, and reminded the audience that her administration would continue that work for them. 

Earle-Sears discussed the economic challenges facing Virginians, promising the crowd to get rid of the gas and car tax, and using the Youngkin administration’s job numbers to push that only she would be able to continue growing Virginia’s prosperity. 

Turning to the topic of taxes, Earle-Sears took aim at Spanberger, accusing her of supporting economic policies that would raise taxes on Virginians. 

“They are trying to be good with our money,” Earle-Sears said. “No! Let me be good with my money.” 

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Note: Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governor’s race with 50.8 percent of the vote.

RICHMOND, Va. — Thousands of voters cycled through polling precincts in the early hours of election day in Virginia, filing their ballots under the watchful eyes of a growing cohort of election observers.

Keith Balmer, Richmond’s director of elections, said he saw significantly more poll watchers occupying his precincts this election cycle, with Republicans dwarfing Democratic observers by a ratio of 2-to-1.

“They’ve actually been asking a lot of good questions,” Balmer said. “There has historically been a bit of a mystery around the process and people just aren’t aware of what goes on and how elections are run.”

He said he often sat down with them to answer any questions or concerns they raised, turning many moments of doubt into educational opportunities. Balmer recalled one particularly curious observer who wanted to know more about inactive voters and the process by which they were still allowed to vote, which he explained to them in detail.

“It’s just a procedural thing that unless you are actually doing this on a daily basis, you would have no clue what that meant,” Balmer said.

Poll watchers are not authorized to interact with voters or interfere with the election process but can communicate concerns to the precinct’s election officer or call the board of elections, Balmer said. Observers are appointed by a political party or candidate and are prohibited from campaigning or wearing political gear inside the precinct.

Given the recent increased interest in poll watching, Balmer said he hopes to conduct future training sessions with election observers to bolster transparency and understanding.

This year’s rise in Virginia poll watchers was partly driven by the Republican party’s focus on “election integrity” after former president Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election and pushed false narratives about widespread voter fraud. During his primary campaign, Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin fanned the flames by attending an election integrity rally and calling for voting-machine audits, an annual process that already existed in the commonwealth.

In a state that is studied intensely every four years as a political bellwether, the Youngkin campaign’s strategic election messaging will likely inform Republican strategies across the nation for the 2022 midterms.

Patricia Manos, 61, volunteered as a first-time poll watcher at a local church in Chesterfield County, just outside of Richmond, on election day. A week earlier, she cast her vote for Youngkin and the rest of the Republican ticket on the last day of early voting.

Manos expressed serious concerns about voter fraud in the state, citing a about Maricopa County, Arizona, receiving tens of thousands of extra ballots during the 2020 presidential election. She said she hoped to make a difference by observing the polling process and personally ensuring the integrity of the election.

“Well, I found out that there was a couple [ballot] boxes in Richmond that aren’t manned, and I think that’s absolutely ludicrous,” Manos said. “I wouldn’t leave a $20 bill on my dashboard, and go into the store, and now we’re doing that for elections. So, yeah, that really concerned me.”

Manos attempted to register as an election official, even visiting the Virginia Department of Elections to get her application papers notarized so she could be the first to review the ballot machine’s results, she said. Instead, she was assigned as a poll watcher.

Although the poll watching training expanded Manos’ knowledge of the voting process, she said it didn’t increase her confidence in elections overall. In fact, she said her confidence in the election results would vary depending on who wins.

“If Youngkin loses … I would not be at ease with it at all,” Manos said, adding that if Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe lost, she probably would not have as many concerns about voter fraud.

Others attended precincts as nonpartisan poll watchers or were not driven by a mistrust of the system.

Joaquin Ross, the civic engagement campaign director for the commonwealth’s NAACP chapter, told 91���� that the organization trained and deployed Black poll watchers, as well as other “election protection” volunteers.

“Volunteers for the NAACP go around and … make sure no injustices are happening at the polls, make sure that machines are working properly, make sure that there’s no intimidation at these polling locations,” Ross said.

He added that the NAACP coordinated with several other nonprofit organizations in Virginia to ensure that enough volunteers were trained and knowledgeable by election day to cover most voting precincts in the state.

Meanwhile, Republican observers such as Bob Evans, 66, didn’t harbor severe concerns and simply thought it was important to have people observing the process to ensure nothing went wrong.

Evans said that while he was relatively familiar with the election process, the main thing he learned as a first-time poll watcher was who to contact about any issues he observed, including party leaders.

“I’ve got no reason to be suspicious of anything going on here anywhere in the state or Chesterfield; I’m just here to hopefully lend a hand,” Evans said. “I’ve been voting for a long time, so I believe in the process.”

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Note: Glenn Youngkin won Virginia’s gubernatorial race with 50.8 percent of the vote on Tuesday.

RICHMOND, Va. – In a tight race for governor, Democrats in Virginia are pushing every voter they can get to the polls. With just two days before the election, Democrats were rallying volunteers to help get out the vote, especially in areas where they know they have support.

“I think most people probably know who they’re gonna vote for,” Gov. Ralph Northam said on Sunday at a kick-off location for canvassers in Richmond. “So the most important thing between now and Tuesday is to go knock on doors, make phone calls, and if they haven’t already voted to strongly encourage them to get to the polls.”

Leslie Naranjo, a 63-year-old from Richmond, volunteered to canvass for the Democrats because she said this election is important to protect progress made over the last few years. Citing the minimum wage increase passed by the House of Delegates earlier this year, as well as addressing inequity in housing, racism in the legal system, and voter rights, Naranjo said, “I think we’re moving in a very positive direction. And I don’t want to see us slowed down for another generation.”

Naranjo calls herself a “lifelong Democrat” and has canvassed multiple times this election. She also campaigned for President Obama in Virginia in 2008 and 2012. To her, canvassing is about educating voters and helping them vote, regardless of party.

“I’m not there to pick a fight. I’m there to educate,” she said. “If they don’t want to tell me who they’re gonna vote for, that’s fine. I’m kind of just this walking kiosk of information.”

On Sunday, Naranjo had a list of 40 doors to knock on in Richmond, all flagged by the Virginia Democrats as likely voters based on past voting records. While Virginia doesn’t require voters to register with a party to vote in primary elections, the Democrats have spent decades tracking voters’ histories and identifying their supporters.

On Saturday before the election, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, deputy campaign manager on former Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s 2013 campaign and served as Secretary of the Commonwealth under McAuliffe, spoke with students from 91���� at the state Democratic office in Richmond.

Stoney said, “We watch your history, what primaries you voted in, what elections you voted in, we tally all that up and throw that into a model that shows us who we should be targeting in this election.” That means targeting voters in Richmond, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, Stoney said, those who voted in previous presidential elections but may be less eager to vote in an off-off year election.

With polls in the last week showing McAuliffe and Youngkin within the margin of error of each other in the gubernatorial race, Democrats hoped that their targeted get-out-the-vote efforts give them an advantage over Republicans.

On Saturday, Andrew Whitley, executive director for the Virginia Democrats, told 91����, “We have a really good ground game and we do not see that from the Republican side. You know, we don’t see that kind of volunteer activity…So I think it’s gonna be a game-changer.”

In addition to canvassing, Naranjo is also planning to help people she knows get to the polls on Tuesday. She is a caregiver for someone, so has difficulty getting to the polls but plans to take her to vote on Tuesday. Naranjo’s message to voters as she headed out to canvass was simple; “No. 1, it’s important to vote no matter who you’re going to vote for…elections like this show that every single vote counts. Don’t think your vote is not going to count.”

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RICHMOND, Va. — After the rousing applause of the Sunday morning sermon lowered to a quiet simmer, Rita Willis, president of the Women’s Missionary Society at the Third Street Bethel AME Church, talked about the Black vote in the capital city and the intergenerational split.

Willis, born in the segregated South in the former capital of the Confederacy, described her unique connection to voting rights that keeps her mobilized.

As a Richmond native who was impacted by discrimination and racism during the age of Jim Crow, Willis was blunt about her experience growing up.

“I’m from the generation where I couldn’t go to school. We used to have to walk to school. We walked seven miles to school and seven miles back…and it was pure hell,” she said. “They used to spit at us, call us the n-word.”

Despite her struggles, she focused on the silver lining: “We got a good education. Eventually, when President Johnson came into office, I’ll never forget it, he said any colored child who wants to go to the white school may do so.”

She said her siblings didn’t want to go, “but I went and it made the difference.”

Willis takes this same optimistic attitude when it comes to the Virginia gubernatorial election. Does she trust the Democratic nominee, Terry McAuliffe? She paused before answering.

“You know I would have to say I do; I trust him to a certain extent,” she said. “But I don’t really trust any politician. I guess for me, it really goes back to that lesser of two evils conversation and who’s going to stay and be in this fight with us.”

Some Black voters said that’s not enough to get them out to vote. But Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney stumped for McAuliffe with reminders that their vote counts and they shouldn’t stay home because of political polarization.

“Division and hate don’t motivate me to turn out,” he said in an interview with American University students a few days before the election. “You have to give voters hope about what can happen as well.”

As a student of the civil rights movement, Willis was proud to join recent protests for racial justice: “I am from the Martin Luther King era, and I marched with the BLM [Black Lives Matter],” she said. “But I marched with voter applications every time… . because you can’t just walk and do what you’re doing if you are not registered to vote.”

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By Cassidy Stoneback

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — The Richmond suburbs have become a battleground in the final weeks of the Virginia gubernatorial race as Republican Glenn Youngkin has pulled ahead in the region that President Joe Biden won a year ago. Both parties need to win the suburbs to win the election and Democrats are pulling out all the stops to get suburban voters out to the polls this Election Day.

At a GOTV rally in Henrico County, the delegate for the 72nd District in Virginia, Schuyler VanValkenburg, reminded the crowd of what news outlets were saying during the 2013 elections: “Henrico County, that’s the place you gotta look at to know which way the country goes. Watch them. They’re a bellwether.”

Local organizers know firsthand how competitive the suburbs can be. The Chair of the Henrico County Democratic Committee, Marques Jones, said that “Henrico is a very purple place.” While it used to be solidly Republican, Jones notes that “with shifting demographics, younger folks moving in and … raising families here, things are changing.”

The event, in a local family’s backyard, featured scores of campaign signs and boasted a lineup of local Democratic celebrities. Before former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe took the stage, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, candidate for House of Delegates Blakely Lockheart, and U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger all spoke to the crowd.

Delegate Rodney Willett noted how much the political landscape has changed in Henrico, said “the Henrico Dems used to be able to fit at a table for eight at a restaurant… There’s not a restaurant in Richmond that can accommodate us now.” Henrico is not the only suburb in Virginia that has undergone demographic changes in recent years. Suburbs across Virginia have grown far more populous and diverse, making them more competitive than many expected.

Throughout the events, Democrats spoke about the importance of direct voter contact and personal connections when getting suburban voters to the polls. The Rev. Tyrone Nelson spoke to those that have already voted, asking them to reach out to their friends and “remind them if they haven’t already voted early, encourage them to vote, and then tell them to encourage all their people to vote.”

Attendees also understand how important relationships are in the suburbs, even between neighbors with different political views.

Tracy Labin, 59, a financial analyst, stressed that politics didn’t matter to her when it came to her neighbors. Of one, she said, “She’s voted for the other guy and I know she’s gonna continue to vote for the other guy. I don’t care, though. She’s my neighbor at the end of the day.”

Labin said voters in the suburbs are getting tired of hearing about one election after another but believes McAuliffe can win by getting voters familiar with his policies. “Trump, in my mind, is gone, he’s lost, he’s gone,” she said, “But I think the issues are what’s important and, ‘hey here’s what we’ve gained and we don’t want to lose those.’”

President Biden won in the suburbs because, as Jones said, “Donald Trump is such a turnoff here. Because we don’t see our neighbors as enemies. We see our neighbors as neighbors.”

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By Harry Ehlers and Ashley Winiewicz

RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Northam kicked off the canvassing event for Terry McAuliffe in Richmond Virginia, Sunday by reminding them how crucial their role is in this election. 

“The most important thing between now and Tuesday is to go knock on doors, make phone calls, and if they haven’t already voted, to strongly encourage them to get to the polls,” Northam said. 

The Minor family decided to take this advice in stride. The mother-daughter duo, Rose and Chella Minor, hail from Richmond. 

Rose, 32, is not new to political involvement. She is the for the office of constituency services in the Virginia state government. 

Her mother, Chella, a seasoned canvasser, volunteered in the 2008 Obama and 2016 Clinton election efforts and continued that energy for McAuliffe. Chella encouraged her entire family to be active in the campaign. 

For Rose, the most important issues are voting rights, LGBTQIA+ protections, and education policy. 

“I would say, , and just making sure that all Virginia children learn a complete, more broad history of Virginia, that’s very important,” Rose said. 

For Chella, issues of climate equity, voting rights and reproductive healthcare have motivated her to canvass. 

“We don’t want to be Texas. And everybody knows what that means… I think that health centers are health centers; they do more than what the media has said that they do,” said Chella.

The election rests at the crossroads of the that has garnered national criticism from reproductive-rights advocates. 

Fearful of the Commonwealth’s future and the loss of Democratic rule, Rose and Chella said their efforts to get out the vote are essential in continuing the progress made under Northam.

“Thank God, that in Virginia, we have gotten our vaccinations up,” Rose said. “McAuliffe has a better plan in place for COVID. We really don’t want to see any more .” 

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the lives of in the Commonwealth. As the pandemic continues to rage among the unvaccinated, fears of mandates being rolled back in schools are an influential factor for voters.

The Minor mother-daughter duo, dedicated Democratic canvassers, are among many committed constituents getting out the vote for McAuliffe this weekend. 

At his closing rally at Hardywood Brewery on Monday, McAuliffe thanked volunteers, expressing the importance of on-the-ground organizing.  

 “Just this weekend, 258,000 doors were knocked on Saturday and Sunday,” he said. “That is a presidential-level turnout-level operation.”  

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By Elisabeth St. Onge & Riddhi Setty

Nov. 1, 2021

RICHMOND, Va. —- Surgical technician Cassandra Taylor works Monday through Thursday and will not be able to vote on election day, so she made sure to vote early on Saturday. For Taylor, who has three grandchildren and one on the way, the big-ticket item is education. 

“I would like for my grandchildren to know that their dreams matter, and their life matters, and hopefully if we get the right candidates in there as we move forward, those things will be impacted in their lives,” Taylor said.

In the home stretch of a highly contested and nationalized race, Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin are seeking to rally voters in Richmond around the same issue that has galvanized Taylor: education. 

In a state in the country for public schools nationwide, education has somehow become criticized and central to the campaign.

For recent weeks leading up to the election, Youngkin’s campaign has laid a strong emphasis on education, specifically on the in Loudoun County. Another such features a parent who fought to have Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” banned from her school district’s curriculum.

In response, McAuliffe has shifted his messaging away from an anti-Trump narrative to remind voters of his experience in the Commonwealth.

“I’m leaning in on education because, folks, we have a great education system, but there’s things we have to fix,” McAuliffe said at a rally on Sunday in the Richmond suburb of Henrico two days before the election. 

The former governor told an energetic crowd of supporters, “We have to diversify our teacher-base here in Virginia. We all know what we have to do in a school to make everybody feel comfortable. Let’s diversify.”

School districts across the country have been taking steps to address the teaching and learning of critical race theory in public education. As explained by the , critical race theory is, “a practice of interrogating the role of race and racism in society.” 

Yet, Republicans have framed the issue differently, referring to the teaching of critical race theory as “indoctrination.” Critical race theory is not on the K-12 curriculum in any Virginia public school.

In a regarding critical race theory compiled by The Brookings Institute, eight states have successfully banned subjects related to critical race theory from being taught, while 15 states are considering a ban or have pre-filed bills for the next legislative session. 

There have also been actions taken by local school boards, including the by Central York School District in York, Pennsylvania, which sought to ban largely Black and queer resources from library shelves. 

This newfound national emphasis on education in schools is ever-present in Virginia. One school board chairman in Chesterfield County, Virginia, that, “critical race theory is not supported by members of the board. In Chesterfield, our goal is unity, not division.” 

The efforts of both gubernatorial campaigns to spur conversation around education are not lost on Virginia voters. 

With her children by her side, Chesterfield County resident Heather Mitchell became emotional when speaking about education. Mitchell, who has recently pulled her children from public schools, said, “I want to make sure that public schools are educating our kids, not indoctrinating them.”

She was at a Youngkin rally one day before the election, and heard Youngkin echo her sentiments on education, telling an enthusiastic crowd,  “To teach our children to divide everyone through a lens of race and make one group oppressors, and another group victims and pit them against one another. It’s not right,” he said, “On day one, I will ban critical race theory.”

The contention surrounding the issue of education also highlights a racial divide among voters. 

While acknowledging that there are many parents who support Youngkin, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said, “When I hear folks want to sanitize, or erase Black history, remove books like “Beloved” by Toni Morrison, I ask, ‘Is this the man for our parents as well?’” 

Stoney further emphasized the need to look at school boards in a democratic way, “So it doesn’t exclude parents who look like me.” 

For Henrico County Board of Supervisors member Frank J. Thornton, as a former educator and as a Black man, critical race theory is an extremely important issue in this election. Thornton called the banning of books “disingenuous,” and said that banning literature is “not how democracy works.” 

For many parents, however, there are other issues related to education.

“Parents are just frustrated,” said former GOP strategist Tucker Martin. He said many parents are more concerned about the day-to-day care of their children, having been both caretakers and teachers during the pandemic.

Martin said Youngkin “tapped into a lot of parents who have been really holding their houses together with duct tape for 18 months.” 

For Tyvon Bates, Virginia state political director for the American Federation of Teachers, education is this election’s most important issue, but it has nothing to do with critical race theory. 

The bigger issue is opening schools safely — and making sure they stay open. 

“We’re talking about real meat-and-potato issues,” he said. “We have made so much progress over the last three years so if the other side comes in, I see these gains being erased overnight.”

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By Lucy Hays and Olivia Tinari

RICHMOND, Va. — A usual weekday lunch crowd at downtown Richmond’s Penny Lane Pub includes Virginia politicians enjoying traditional English cuisines, such as cottage pie and bangers & mash. Penny Lane Pub is one of the longest-running restaurants in the downtown area, operating since 1979. The pub pays homage to Liverpool culture and is named after the Beatles song “Penny Lane.”

The politicians who frequent the pub have helped owners Rose and Terry O’Neill stay connected to local Virginia politics. These connections have led to unique experiences for the O’Neills, including an invitation from former Democratic Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine to meet the Queen of England.

The O’Neills have welcomed regulars and newcomers into their pub for almost 50 years after immigrating to Richmond from Liverpool in 1968.

As small business owners, politics plays a role in the O’Neills’ everyday lives.

“Well, we are immigrants, and we have worked our way up,” said Rose O’Neill. “But as a small business owner, one of our biggest expenses is health insurance.”

Their experiences with health insurance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, have influenced Rose to vote for Democratic candidates consistently.

“I just feel the Democratic Party understands the struggles and needs of regular people, the person who gets up each day to do better than the day before,” she said. She listed other concerns as well, including education and health care.

She also said that small business incentives and tax programs being proposed are important. “The Democratic Party is trying to lessen the tax burden on people and businesses making less than $400,000,” she said.

Both husband and wife knew they had to show their support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe by attending the Henrico rally. The O’Neills said they were concerned about the prospect of Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin winning.

“I just don’t like the nastiness Youngkin has brought to this race. He is not talking about the needs of ordinary people like healthcare. Unless you have a government job, it’s hard for the basics,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill also feels that a big issue in this election is the current division of the country and the fear of more Trumpism.

“I think it’s more the rhetoric that’s been going on these past four years that really disheartens me,” she said.“All of the nastiness that comes on the television makes me feel unhappy with the way politics, in general, have gone. I don’t think I can take more Trumps running this country,” she added.

O’Neill said that she participated in early voting this cycle but wished she could have gone in person on election day.

“I do like to vote on actual election day because that’s the fun of it. However, with what’s going on right now in the country, I took advantage of the early vote just because it was better,” she said.

Although the O’Neills have retired and passed the business on to their son Terence, they still like to remain involved in the day-to-day business. “Like most family-owned business owners, you never really want to leave it,” she said.. “ attend business meetings here and there… look at my husband, Terry. At 81, he still regularly goes in to help out.”

Although the O’Neills have had their ups and downs with running the Penny Lane Pub, they feel hopeful about what a McAuliffe win could usher in for their business.

“I think owning any business is daunting, but a restaurant is the hardest. You only have to look at how many don’t survive. There are days you just hang in there and pray to start all over again the next day,” she said. “But Penny Lane has always enjoyed feeding both parties.”

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