VISUALIZATION: SURGE IN DEMOCRATIC FUNDRAISING

Republican candidates have raised more campaign contributions than they did four years ago, the last time all 140 General Assembly seats were on the ballot. But Democratic candidates have rocketed ahead, raising more than twice as much money than they did four years ago.

VISUALIZATION: OPEN SEAT PROFILE - SD 7 IN VIRGINIA BEACH

Today VPAP begins a look at open seat and targeted districts ahead of General Assembly elections on Nov. 5. First up is Senate District 7, located in Virginia Beach with three precincts in neighboring Norfolk. You'll find maps and charts with insights into the district's demographics, voter participation and partisan tendencies in recent statewide elections.

SHUNNED BY ANTI-DOMINION GROUP, ELECTRIC UTILITIES OPPONENT SEN. DAVID SUETTERLEIN QUESTIONS MOTIVES

Roanoke County state Sen. David Suetterlein wonders why a group that says it’s working to counter the political influence of the state’s largest electric utility and most politically powerful corporation won’t back his candidacy. After all, Suetterlein, a Republican, has earned a reputation as one of the most vocal critics of Dominion Energy.

HEALTH CARE IS KEY ISSUE AS ROSS CHALLENGES VOGEL IN VIRGINIA'S 27TH DISTRICT SENATE RACE

Three-term state Sen. Jill Vogel and challenger Ronnie Ross III both see health care as a top priority for Virginia’s 27th Senate District, but disagree on the right answer. Democrat Ross, a 33-year-old political newcomer, supports expanded Medicaid. Vogel has been working in the General Assembly to make coverage more affordable for small businesses and their employees through short-term and catastrophic insurance plans.

A VIRGINIA BEACH REPUBLICAN SAYS DEMOCRATS GAVE HIS CAMPAIGN $44,000. HERE’S WHAT’S GOING ON.

A Republican delegate trying to hold onto his seat in a Virginia Beach district says his Democratic opponent’s attack mailers have actually benefited his campaign — so much so that he’s reporting them as a $44,000 in-kind contribution in official records submitted to the state.

A DEMOCRATIC TAKEOVER COULD MAKE VIRGINIA MORE MARIJUANA-FRIENDLY

Ever since Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize marijuana in 2012, cannabis-skeptical Republicans have controlled at least one chamber of the Virginia General Assembly. In a few months, that could change. If Democrats win full control of the statehouse next month by gaining four seats, Virginia would enter unknown territory on marijuana policy, with new faces at the helm of legislative committees that have resisted sweeping change.

DEMOCRATS DOUBLE THEIR 2015 FUNDRAISING AS VIRGINIA'S LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS NEAR

Democrats running for seats in the General Assembly sustained heavy fundraising in the last month, building a significant cash advantage in the House and keeping a narrow gap behind Republicans in the Senate contests.

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS SEE GUSH OF CASH AHEAD OF NOV. 5 ELECTION; GOP UP SLIGHTLY

Virginia Democrats have raised historic amounts of money in the weeks leading to the Nov. 5 election that will determine control of the General Assembly, using infusions from national groups to far outstrip Republican totals. A surge of cash in September brought Democrats to a total of $31.8 million raised so far this year

RECORD-BREAKING FUNDRAISING IN VIRGINIA'S LEGISLATIVE RACES

The battle for control of Virginia's legislature is leading to record-breaking political fundraising as special interest groups spend big in the final weeks of the contest.

LATEST FUNDRAISING TOTALS SHOW DEMOCRATS LEADING IN KEY RICHMOND-AREA RACES

General Assembly candidates submitted their September fundraising totals on Tuesday, with Democrats showing an edge in many of the region and state’s most competitive races. Democrats in the House now have over $2 million more cash on hand than Republicans, although they trail in the Senate.

A MILLION-DOLLAR MONTH

If campaign finance reports suggest which races are targets and who’s working how hard for votes, you might want to consider these numbers, compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project: Just in September (that is, the month when campaigns traditionally ramp up into high gear), the two candidates hoping to succeed state Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, raised and spent a combined total of more than $1 million.

VIRGINIA CONGRESSWOMEN EACH RAISE MORE THAN $1 MILLION GOING INTO 2020

The three Democratic congresswomen who unseated Republicans in Virginia last year each have more than $1 million in their campaign accounts as they try to win reelection in battleground districts in 2020.

VIRGINIA SCHOOLS HAVE HAD FUNDING ISSUES SINCE THE GREAT RECESSION. THIS PROPOSAL COULD CHANGE THAT.

The Virginia Board of Education on Thursday will review a proposal that calls for nearly $1 billion in new money to be spent on the state’s public schools, including millions extra for schools serving high proportions of students from low-income families. The money is tied to changes that the state board — the governing body for K-12 education — is weighing on whether to increase requirements for public schools.

DEQ YANKS CFS PERMIT TO OPERATE TRI-CITY LANDFILL

The state has revoked the permit to operate the Tri-City Regional Landfill in Petersburg, citing the landfill owner’s failure to correct numerous violations over trash piles and excessive odors. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality announced Wednesday afternoon that landfill owner CFS Group Disposal & Recycling Services LLC is no longer allowed to accept solid waste at its Puddledock Road location.

VIRGINIA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION AIMS TO BLUNT EFFECTS OF FUTURE FEDERAL SHUTDOWNS

Studies have shown Virginia gets hit hardest by government shutdowns, and the growing chatter of another potential shutdown over President Trump’s border wall has a bipartisan group of Virginia lawmakers bracing. After the last historic shutdown under Trump, Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine and others were able to pass a law guaranteeing back pay for federal workers impacted by any future shutdowns.

SENS. KAINE, WARNER ASK ABOUT EFFECTS OF 'JUNK PLANS' ON VIRGINIANS WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine on Wednesday requested information from Virginia’s insurance commission on how the push for “junk” health insurance plans is impacting protections for Virginians with preexisting conditions. The Senators said the “junk plans” are permitted to discriminate against Americans with preexisting conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and cancer, as part of the Trump Administration’s overall effort to undermine the success of the Affordable Care Act and eviscerate protections for people with preexisting conditions.

VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS JOIN WITH DEMOCRATS TO CONDEMN TRUMP’S SYRIAN TROOP WITHDRAWAL

The U.S. House on Wednesday approved a resolution condemning President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria. ... All four of Virginia’s Republican congressmen joined six Democrats in the delegation in supporting the measure. (U.S. Rep. Don McEachin, D-4th, did not vote).

CENSUS BUREAU WILL HIRE 2,000 TO 3,000 PEOPLE IN HAMPTON ROADS FOR 2020 COUNT

The U.S. Census Bureau is looking for a diverse group of people who can door knock and explain why residents should fill out the questionnaire that’ll help determine federal funding for community programs over the next decade. The Virginia Beach regional census office, located on Independence Boulevard, serves the entire Hampton Roads area and is looking for full- and part-time temporary staffers

VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY'S MARCHING BAND REINSTATED AFTER HAZING INVESTIGATION

The marching band at Virginia State University has been reinstated after allegations of hazing. Last week, the Trojan Explosion Marching Band suspended its performances pending the completion of an investigation by VSU police and the band’s leadership. That investigation found that members of a campus social group called Drum Phi, which includes some members of the band, “conducted activities in violation of the University’s Anti-Hazing policy,” said university spokeswoman Pamela Tolson.

VSU REINSTATES ‘TROJAN EXPLOSION’ SHOWS

Just in time for this weekend’s Homecoming events, the “Trojan Explosion” is back in business. Virginia State University announced Wednesday morning that it has reinstated all performances of the university marching band after completing an investigation into allegations of hazing by some band members who belong to a campus-based social organization.

VIRGINIA DEFENDS SENTENCING PRACTICES AS U.S. SUPREME COURT HEARS D.C. SNIPER CASE

The Virginia attorney general’s office asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to turn down a new sentencing for Lee Boyd Malvo, one half of the sniper team that killed 10 people in Virginia, Maryland and Washington in 2002.

COURT SEEMS SPLIT ON POSSIBLE RESENTENCING FOR TEEN SNIPER

Liberal and conservative justices seemed split Wednesday on whether to grant a new sentencing hearing to Lee Boyd Malvo, one of two snipers who terrorized the Washington, D.C., region in 2002 when he was a teenager.

ARLINGTON NONPROFIT EXPANDS TO MONTGOMERY AS REGION RESPONDS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRUNCH

A leading affordable housing nonprofit in Arlington County is expanding its operations into Montgomery County, another sign of a growing regional focus on preserving or producing homes that lower-earning residents can afford. The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing purchased Snowden’s Ridge, an 87-unit townhouse complex in Silver Spring

RICHMOND HOUSING AUTHORITY’S PRACTICES UNDER SCRUTINY

Richmond residents and some council members are raising concerns about more than $50 million in public housing revenue bonds that were fast-tracked without enough public input. At the October 14th meeting, Richmond City Council approved an expedited resolution to allocate up to $16 million in public housing revenue bonds to a private developer. This is the third time since September that Council bypassed regular procedure to quickly advance bond measures for the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Fifth District City Councilmember Parker Agelasto expressed concern over RRHA’s lack of public notice and engagement.

AS THE CHESTERFIELD GROWS, FINDING MONEY FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION IS GETTING EVEN HARDER

It’s a ritual that has become familiar in Chesterfield: men in business suits and women in dresses, all smiling broadly while flinging dirt on the site of the county’s newest school construction project. Over the past few years, school and county leaders have broken ground on replacements for aging elementary schools in areas such as Enon and Beulah, Harrowgate and Ettrick, Crestwood and Matoaca, hoping to use the shiny, new buildings as a magnet for reinvestment in communities once left behind by Chesterfield’s decades-long northwesterly sprawl

STONEY'S POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE ACTIVE IN OFF-YEAR CYCLE

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney is not on the ballot in November, but his political action committee has stayed busy soliciting donations and spending money this year, according to campaign finance reports. Stoney has not yet publicly said he will seek a second four-year term as Richmond’s mayor next year, nor has he announced whether he will mount a statewide campaign for governor or lieutenant governor in 2021.

SHENANDOAH COUNTY GRAND JURY INDICTS STRASBURG MAYOR

A Shenandoah County grand jury on Wednesday indicted Strasburg Mayor Richard Orndorff Jr. The indictments include two counts for unauthorized use of an unspecified combination of food stamps, electronic benefit transfer cards or similar "devices" on or about Sept. 18, 2018, and both involved less than $500.

FEDERAL COURT UNSEALS EDA DOCUMENTS

Court documents in the U.S. Western District Court of Virginia were unsealed Tuesday and detailed evidence removed from the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority’s office during the execution of an April search warrant.

WHAT POLITICAL ADS SHOULD VOTERS BELIEVE?

In 1996, when U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia, was seeking re-election, his media consultant used a doctored photograph in one of the campaign ads. Warner’s campaign was trying to make the point that his Democratic opponent was too liberal for Virginia but lacked a convenient photograph with which to make that point visually. Instead, the media consultant found a photo of President Clinton with two prominent Virginia Democrats — U.S. Sen. Charles Robb and former Gov. Douglas Wilder.

RACE-BASED QUESTION HAD NO LEGITIMACY

A state requirement that clerks of court collect racial information on applicants for marriage licenses wasn’t just anachronistic, it was unconstitutional. Good riddance to that bizarre rule. What’s especially bizarre is that this law was reinstated in 2005

PRISONS DROP BAD RULES

Virginia’s Department of Corrections has agreed to make fairer provisions for inmates wishing to follow the dictates of their faith. The inmates might be behind prison bars, but that doesn’t mean they completely forfeit their constitutional right to freedom of religion.

JLARC TAKES AIM AT VITA AGAIN

IF YOU think your job can feel daunting, go talk to the Virginia Information Technologies Agency. The beleaguered organization, tasked with keeping the state government’s computer infrastructure up and running, is once again having to explain itself after a scalding report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.

REPORTING THE RAPE IS THE FIRST STEP

Earlier this year, the General Assembly passed a law requiring that by July 1, 2020, the Department of Forensic Science will assign each rape kit issued in Virginia with a unique electronic identification number. The ID number will enable the kit to be tracked every step of the way—from the date it is sent to a health care provider, to the collection of physical evidence from a rape victim, to the date it is destroyed, hopefully after a criminal trial that sends the rapist to prison for many years.

DISCUSSIONS ABOUT RACE HELP FOSTER UNDERSTANDING

Conversations about race are rarely easy, often uncomfortable and seldom foster the type of understanding needed to break down the barriers of distrust and prejudice that haunt this country and infect our communities. Oftentimes, the enormous scale of the challenge serves as an effective deterrent to trying. Why bother when the likelihood of a breakthrough seems so faint?

SCHAPIRO: IT COULD BE CURTAINS FOR VIRGINIA'S CAR TAX CUT

The state’s finance chief is jittery. So, too, are CEOs. A report shows a strong cash flow to the Virginia treasury, but Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne warns it could ebb. That’s because the surge is tied to an unreliable source of revenue: estimated income taxes.

POLITIFACT: HASHMI DOES A "FULL FLOP" ON SUPPORT FOR GOVERNOR NORTHAM

Three times during a recent forum, state Sen. Glen Sturtevant accused Democratic challenger Ghazala Hashmi of caving into Gov. Ralph Northam for a political donation. “When Gov. Northam’s blackface-KKK scandal broke in February, I called on him to resign and Professor Hashmi called on him to resign,” Sturtevant, R-Chesterfield, said at the Oct. 9 event. “But right after Professor Hashmi won her primary in June - a few weeks later - she accepted $25,000 from Gov. Northam and now is silent on the prior call for him to resign.”

BOUCHER AND DAVIS: KEEP AMERICA GROWING WITH THE USMCA

Trade with Canada and Mexico plays a crucial role in Virginia’s success story. Since it was signed, NAFTA has allowed regional trade to triple and U.S. manufacturing output to increase by more than one-third. Now Congress should build on that success, secure our future prosperity and get the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) done.

Rick Boucher, a Democrat, represented Virginia’s 9th Congressional District from 1983 to 2011. Tom Davis, a Republican, represented Virginia’s 11th Congressional District from January 1995 to 2008.