“Normally gubernatorial appointments are a quiet, if not silent, affair,” Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said. “Youngkin has been more willing to nominate controversial figures than previous governors were, and so what traditionally has always been routine is now only routine most of the time.”
Va. Senate Democrats spurn Youngkin picks, including health commissioner (The Washington Post)
"When you don't know exactly what your electorate looks like and you may even be running against another member of the House of Delegates, you might want to be pretty careful. And that's, I think, the standard that a lot of lawmakers are going to engage in this election cycle," said Dr. Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington.
‘Crossover Day’ for Virginia legislative session happens Tuesday (Fox 5, DC)
But Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said that March’s meager legislative record and her reputation as a rabble-rouser might not necessarily hurt her during her nomination battle against Williams. “There are two ways to win a primary election. One is to be a loyal foot soldier for the team, and the other is to use your unpopularity as proof that you are the genuine article,” Farnsworth said.
Del. March complains that fellow Republicans ‘attempted to humiliate me’ (Cardinal News)
"This is going to be a big audience for the President. We are talking about thirty million people watching it live and others getting clips online, so this is a big opportunity for Biden to not only talk about what has been going well over the last two years in office but also setting the stage for the presidential election to come," said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington.
There will be plenty of other failed bills this session. In fact, gridlock is to be expected when “voters put one party in charge of one chamber and the other party in charge of the other,” according to Stephen Farnsworth, director of the University of Mary Washington Center for Leadership and Media Studies and a political science professor.
Opinion Column: In border politics, Youngkin stays closer to home
By STEPHEN J. FARNSWORTH AND CASSANDRA ATKINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch, February 3, 2023
Last fall, many Republicans thought the path to successful midterm congressional elections involved emphasizing several topics dear to party conservatives: critical race theory, parental rights, transgender policies, the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, investigating the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop and continuing hostility toward President Joe Biden.
As everyone now knows, that strategy did not work out so well. But the narrow Republican U.S. House majority continues to emphasize many of those same issues, in part because the most conservative and combative Republican voices enjoy outsized influence given that the party can’t do anything without them.
