Politics

The president is expected to talk about caping the rising cost of prescription drugs, which was in his Build Back Better bill that died in December 2021. He’ll be joined by Rep. Abigail Spanbeger (D), who represents the district and is mounting a re-election campaign despite the district boundaries being redrawn in December and no longer including her home in Richmond’s western suburbs. 

“Addressing this affordability crisis has been one of my top priorities since arriving in Congress. For Virginia’s seniors, the rising cost of lifesaving prescription medications is creating significant uncertainty,” said Spanberger in a press statement.

Ben Litchfield, a consumer financial services attorney, has thrown his hat to run for state senate in the newly-created 27th District, covering portions of Stafford and Spotsylvania counties and Fredericksburg.

Litchfield and his wife Valerie have lived in Stafford since 2015. Until recently, he served as the Stafford County Democratic Committee Chairman.

Delegate Tara Durant (R-Fredericksburg, Stafford) wants schools to notify parents of sexually explicit material in lesson plans and books.

The freshman Republican’s bill would require the state Board of Education to:

Caleb Max, 24, of Loudoun County will seek the 10th District seat currently held by Democrat Jennifer Wexton since 2017. After founding a landscaping business in his teenage years that continues to operate in the region, Max bought a cattle farm and later purchased a small deli at the start of the pandemic in 2020.  

Max made fighting the genocide of the Uyghur Muslims in China a campaign and recently was recognized by the Virginia Muslim Association for his assistance to the Afghan refugee and Muslim community after President Biden’s order to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

Stafford County Delegate Tara Durant (R-28) helped deliver the response to Gov. Ralph Northam’s final State of the Commonwealth Address on Wednesday night.

Durant joined Senator Todd E. Pillion, from southwest Virginia to deliver the remarks.

Republican Gina Ciarcia will run for congress in the newly established 7th District.

Ciarcia, of Prince William County, ran for the Virginia House of Delegates in November 2021, losing to Democrat Candi King. The new 7th Congressional District includes Prince William County, east of Hoadly Road, Stafford County, Fredericksburg, and surrounding counties.

Theresa Ellis will run for Congress in Virginia’s new 7th District, most likely including her hometown Manassas city, Prince William, and Stafford counties.

The Republican, who sits on the Manassas City Council, initially announced a bid for the 10th District seat this summer. However, changes to statewide political districts proposed by the Virginia State Supreme Court would mean Manassas and a portion of Prince William County would no longer sit in District 10.