State Sen. Amanda Chase talks to a voter outside Ecoff Elementary School on Nov. 5. State Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, surprised some last week with an announcement that she would not support Sen. Tommy Norment, R-James City County, as minority leader, and, as a result, would not caucus with the Republican Party when the Legislature convenes in January.  Chase was re-elected in Senate District 11 on Nov. 5 by 9 percentage points over Democrat Amanda Pohl. Senate Republicans chose Norment once again as their leader on Nov. 21. He has led the Senate GOP since 2008. Chase said she told…

Chase at Ecoff ElementaryChase, Kennedy and Bella Morrissey @ CroakersMorrissey with supporters @ Croakers Chesterfield County voters elected two independent-minded legislators last week in Democrat Joe Morrissey and Republican Amanda Chase. And on Morrissey’s radio show last week on WJFN 100.5 FM, the two said they would work together in the Senate. Democrats took control of the body, 21-19, by picking up two seats on Nov. 5. Morrissey and a man he volunteered for in 1979, state Sen. Dick Saslaw, D-Springfield, could be moderating forces on their party, along with Gov. Ralph Northam. Chase said she looks forward to working…

By Hannah Eason and Sravan Gannavarapu (VCU Capital News Service) Days after Virginia’s legislative elections, anti-Muslim comments flooded news stories about Ghazala Hashmi becoming the first Muslim to serve in the state Senate, with hundreds of Facebook users linking her to terrorism and saying it was a “sad day” for Virginia. Hashmi, 55, D-Midlothian, defeated incumbent Republican Glen Sturtevant by 8 percentage points, 54-46. Sturtevant won Chesterfield, 51-48, and Powhatan, 77-23, but lost Richmond, 25-75. The state House has two Muslim men: Sam Rasoul, 38, D-Roanoke, who was born in Warren, Ohio, and Ibraheem Samireh, 27, D-Herndon. Samireh, who was…

PohlChase A woman who calls herself a “liberal Christian” and campaigned last week with Alec Baldwin in western Matoaca is challenging an incumbent gun-toting woman who defied party politicos and recently got kicked out of a county Republican Party committee. The Senate District 11 race pits Democrat Amanda Pohl vs. Republican Amanda Chase in a district that includes most of Chesterfield County along with Colonial Heights and Amelia County. The district leans Republican, and Chase said her campaign’s internal polls have her up by 4 percentage points. On Oct. 16, Pohl told Joe Morrissey on his 100.5 FM WJFN radio…

SturtevantHashmi In the race for state Senate District 10, which includes a northern section of the Dale District, incumbent Glen Sturtevant, R-Midlothian, labeled himself an “independent voice” while Democrat challenger Ghazala Hashmi, also of Midlothian, laid out a liberal agenda during a VPM forum Oct. 9. Sturtevant is an attorney who is nearing the end of a four-year term after defeating Dan Gecker by 2.66 percentage points in a 2015 race to succeed longtime state Sen. John Watkins. Sturtevant criticized Hashmi several times throughout the forum for calling on Gov. Ralph Northam to resign in lieu of his college blackface…

Bynum-Coleman Cox House Speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, and Democratic challenger Sheila Bynum-Coleman squared off during a candidate forum hosted Oct. 9 by VPM. The District 66 race could decide control of the House of Delegates, which the Republican Party has held since 1999. Cox said it was important that Republicans remain in control because of its pro-business credentials, citing an average Chamber of Commerce grade of “A” for Republicans and “D” for Democrats. In contrast, Bynum-Coleman said Democratic control would bring teacher pay raises to the national average, result in a minimum wage increase, protection for discrimination for lesbians,…

A graphic posted on Waylin Ross’ Facebook page.Waylin K. Ross smokes during a photo shoot (Anthony ‘Ace’ Johnson photo). Social media posts seem to have taken on added importance for political candidates. This was signified by a couple of local state Senate candidates who were criticized last week for controversial posts. Sen. Amanda Chase, a Republican from Senate District 11, and independent Waylin K. Ross, who is challenging Democrat Joe Morrissey in Senate District 16, made posts on Facebook that resulted in criticism. Chase’s July 3 comments involved women using guns to protect themselves from rape – which came in…