republicans

July 19, 2018 - A campaign to encourage politicians to reject contributions from electric utility monopolies aims to recast Virginia politics-as-usual as unethical. Though the pledge effort is meeting opposition from those who benefit under the current conflict-ridden system, it's still going strong — and has spread beyond the state.

June 1, 2018 - This November, voters in Alabama and West Virginia will weigh in on ballot questions about adding anti-abortion provisions to state constitutions. The legislatively-placed measures are part of a broader effort to limit women's access to reproductive health care that's made dramatic headway in Southern states in recent years.

May 17, 2018 - The state's public schoolteachers held a historic march to the legislature this week to demand higher pay and per-pupil spending — the latest in a series of teacher revolts that have won policy changes in states including Kentucky and West Virginia.

April 20, 2018 - A lawsuit filed this week against a Tennessee-based private prison corporation that operates an immigrant detention center in Georgia is the latest in a series of such suits challenging prison companies' practices under human trafficking laws — but a group of Republican lawmakers wants the government to defend the companies.

April 19, 2018 - A law targeting white-supremacist terrorism is being used to sue a conservative Virginia activist who falsely accused people of voting illegally — the latest example of how the Reconstruction-era statute remains relevant today.

April 9, 2018 - While gerrymandered maps have given Republicans a dramatic advantage in recent elections, court rulings have led to fairer maps in Virginia and other battleground states. Will they even the playing field?

March 29, 2018 - For years, Southern state legislators have tried to defend racial gerrymandering by claiming that it's required by the Voting Rights Act. Now the Trump administration is pointing to the same law to justify a new census question about citizenship.