Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin raced to fire up their party’s base voters in opposite ends of Virginia on Sunday as they worked to drive up turnout in a deadlocked and bitter contest for governor that will be scrutinized as a bellwether ahead of next year’s midterms elections.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — For four years, nothing rallied Democrats like the push to get Donald Trump out of office. Now, they’re not sure what to do without him.

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — President Joe Biden framed the Virginia governor’s race as a repudiation of his predecessor, tying the Republican candidate to former President Donald Trump as he campaigned for Democrat Terry McAuliffe in what’s become a tight and increasingly bitter campaign.

RICHMOND, Va (AP) — Former President Barack Obama offered a sharp rebuke of the Republican candidate for Virginia governor, Glenn Youngkin, as he encouraged voters on Saturday to support Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the closely watched race.

Obama accused Youngkin of portraying himself as a friendly everyman while encouraging what Obama called “lies and conspiracy theories” about widespread voting fraud in the 2020 elections. Former President Donald Trump has continued to push the false narrative about election fraud, which fueled the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — When Donald Trump rallied Republicans this week to vote for Glenn Youngkin for governor in Virginia, the former president called in to a rally of diehard supporters. That may be the closest he gets to campaigning in the most closely-watched election of 2021.

While schedules could evolve in the final weeks of the race, the two are not expected to campaign together in person before Election Day next month.

HENRICO, Va. (AP) — First lady Jill Biden campaigned Friday for Democrats in governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey, saying “this election will set a course for a year from now” during her first political trip of her husband’s presidency.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Most Americans across party lines have serious concerns about cyberattacks on U.S. computer systems and view China and Russia as major threats, according to a new poll.

The poll by The Pearson Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that about 9 in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned about hacking that involves their personal information, financial institutions, government agencies or certain utilities. About two-thirds say they are very or extremely concerned.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Now that an iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee has been taken down from its perch above Richmond’s Monument Avenue, crews plan to remove a piece of history from its gigantic pedestal.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Crews are set to remove one of the country’s largest remaining monuments to the Confederacy, a towering statute of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia.

The 21-foot-tall (6.4-meter) bronze likeness of Lee on a horse will be hoisted off its 40-foot (12- meter) pedestal Wednesday, 131 years after it was erected in the former capital of the Confederacy as a tribute to the Civil War leader.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A towering statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, is set to come down on Wednesday, more than 130 years after it was built as a tribute to a Civil War hero who is now widely seen as a symbol of racial injustice, state officials said Monday.

“Virginia’s largest monument to the Confederate insurrection will come down this week,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in news release on Monday. “This is an important step in showing who we are and what we value as a commonwealth.”