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VA special election in deep-blue DC suburbs can still give insight into key governor’s race
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Voters in Virginia’s Washington suburbs are heading to the polls Tuesday in a special election that could offer an early glimpse of the state’s high-stakes governor’s race this fall.
Republican Stewart Whitson, an Army combat veteran and former FBI agent, is challenging Democrat James Walkinshaw, a Fairfax County supervisor and longtime chief of staff to Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. The Northern Virginia district typically votes overwhelmingly Democratic, giving Walkinshaw a clear edge.
But analysis of recent statewide elections, some insight into the upcoming governor’s race can be gained even if Whitson does not pull off what would be a historic upset for Republicans.
Virginia limits its governors to one consecutive term, and outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 2021 victory was pegged not only to his focus on pressing issues like the economy and parental rights, but also his little-reported ability to proverbially run up the score in areas already friendly to Republicans.
‘DON’T MARYLAND MY VIRGINIA’: YOUNGKIN, 2025 GOP TICKET RALLIES TOGETHER FOR FIRST TIME AHEAD OF KEY ELECTION
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican, left, is running against Democrat Abigail Spanberger, right, in the state’s governor’s race this year. (Getty)
In Lee County — 400 miles to the other corner of the commonwealth from where Whitson and Walkinshaw face off Tuesday — the political landscape is exactly the opposite.
President Donald Trump lost Virginia in 2024 and 2020, while Youngkin upset former Democratic Gov. Terence McAuliffe.
In 2020, Trump garnered 84% of the vote in the county, anchored by Daniel Boone’s famed Cumberland Gap. Youngkin outdid Trump there and in nearly every other county in deep-red southwest Virginia, garnering 88% one year later.
In Wise County, the results were similar — 79% for Trump; 83% for Youngkin. Tazewell County, bordering West Virginia coal country and facing economic headwinds for some time, gave Trump 82% of its support and Youngkin 85%, a Reuters analysis also found.
Even in Washington County, one of the few suburban counties in the region, which surrounds the bistate Independent City of Bristol, Youngkin outperformed Trump by about five points.
Flipping back to the deep blue Fairfax and Arlington counties that are ground zero for Tuesday’s race, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger may similarly take comfort or concern from what happens in the margins of the special election’s results.
POTENTIAL YOUNGKIN SUCCESSOR FOCUSED ON MESSAGE IN TOUGH RACE TO KEEP SWING-STATE ‘RED’
Connolly’s 2024 and 2022 results were nearly identical, with the late Democrat defeating Navy helicopter pilot Michael Van Meter and Air Force veteran Jim Myles, respectively, by a margin of 67-33.
Results showing a better performance by Walkinshaw than his former boss’s recent contests may portend well for Spanberger, showing Democrats are more energized to support her than past candidates.
In the same way, Earle-Sears may take comfort in a better performance by Whitson, showing less excitement on the left in a district that is typically one of their most reliable in the state.
Earle-Sears told Fox News Digital she recognized the southwest as key to not only the election but governing Virginia as a whole, pledging to open a second governor’s office somewhere in the region, which is closer to at least three other state capitals than it is to Richmond.
«Everybody wants to be heard,» she said. «I made a promise that I would not be one of those kinds of politicians.»
Conversely, she said, people in areas like Connolly’s former district also have the right to hear a conservative message and have leaders from all sides responsive to them.
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«I mean, I look like the kind of people who really do normally vote Democratic, and I’m not. And so I’m appealing to all voters,» she told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
A Spanberger spokesperson also praised Walkinshaw in comments to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, calling him a «fierce advocate for Northern Virginia families.»
The candidate, a Fairfax County supervisor, is a «strong voice in standing up to the Trump administration’s devastating attacks on Virginia’s federal workers and economy,» the spokesperson added.
«As the White House continues to pursue disastrous economic policies that are causing costs to skyrocket and threatening Virginia jobs, Virginians deserve leaders who are laser-focused on putting the commonwealth first.»
A Walkinshaw win will give Spanberger a key regional ally if she is also successful in November, the spokesperson added.
Together, they hope to «lower costs for Virginia families, protect Virginia jobs, strengthen Virginia public schools and make Virginia a safer place to live,» she said.
republicans elections,virginia,democrats
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Spain permanently pulled its ambassador to Israel on Tuesday over its opposition to the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran, ratcheting up an already tense diplomatic rift between the two countries.
The Spanish government formally terminated the ambassador’s post in its official gazette and said its embassy in Tel Aviv will now be led by a chargé d’affaires indefinitely.
Madrid had recalled its ambassador last September after Israel condemned Spain’s decision to block aircraft and ships carrying weapons to Israel from using Spanish ports or airspace. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the move antisemitic at the time.
When a reporter on Wednesday asked whether Spain, in general, was cooperating with the U.S., President Donald Trump replied, «No, they’re not. I think they’re not cooperating at all.»
WORLD LEADERS SPLIT OVER MILITARY ACTION AS US-ISRAEL STRIKE IRAN IN COORDINATED OPERATION
People walk past damaged buildings following a strike on a police station, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)
«Spain, I think they’ve been very bad,» the president said. «Very bad. Not good at all. We may cut off trade with Spain.»
«I don’t know what Spain is doing,» Trump continued. «They’ve been very bad to NATO. They get protected, they don’t want to pay their fair share. And they’ve been that way for many years.»
Trump added that the people of Spain «are fantastic,» whereas the leadership is «not so good.»
TRUMP PRESSES NATO PARTNERS ON SUPPORT AS HEGSETH BLASTS HESITATION
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Wednesday criticized Spain’s decision to recall its ambassador to Israel permanently as «hard for me to absorb.»
«Spain is a member of NATO, and the United States and Israel are in joint operations against the Iranian regime who openly calls for the destruction of the Jewish State, attacks against the West, and seeks to purify Islam in its own image,» Graham wrote on X.
Spain recalled its ambassador to Israel, the latest flare-up in the rocky diplomatic relationship between the two countries in recent years. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)
«The religious Nazi regime in Iran is the problem, not the Jewish State,» the senator continued. «I hope Spain’s actions will not encourage the tyrannical, fanatical regime in Iran — that abuses its own people — to hang on.»
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Relations between Spain and Israel have deteriorated sharply since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.
Israel also downgraded its diplomatic presence in Spain last May after Spain recognized a Palestinian state, placing its own embassy in Madrid under a chargé d’affaires.
world politics,spain,israel,iran,world
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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is introducing a new bill to strip FDA approval from the popular abortion pill mifepristone. The new bill builds upon proposed legislation Hawley introduced last year that would ban mifepristone and allow women to sue manufacturers profiting off of what the lawmaker deems an «inherently dangerous» drug.
The Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act was introduced in the Senate Tuesday and would prohibit the use of mifepristone for ending pregnancies.
«The science is clear: The chemical abortion drug is inherently dangerous to women and prone to abuse. Yet major companies like Danco Laboratories are making billions off it,» Hawley told Fox News Digital in a statement. «That’s why I am introducing new legislation to ban the use of mifepristone for abortion and empower women to sue its manufacturers. Congress must act now to protect the health and safety of women.»
If passed, the legislation would withdraw FDA approval for the drug and classify its distribution for abortion as a violation of federal law. In 2023, mifepristone was used in 63% of all abortions in the U.S., according to data from the Guttmacher Institute.
PRO-LIFE ORGANIZATION CALLS ON HHS AND FDA TO SUSPEND ABORTION PILL APPROVAL, TIGHTEN SAFETY RULES
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced new legislation Tuesday that would ban the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide, calling it an «inherently dangerous» drug and seeking to revoke its FDA approval. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research organization formerly affiliated with Planned Parenthood, also estimates there were 1,038,100 clinician-provided abortions in 2024. However, that figure accounts only for states without abortion bans and does not include abortions performed outside the formal healthcare system or in states where abortion laws differ.
Hawley raised concerns about the abortion pill last May when he introduced a separate bill that would direct the FDA to create safeguards on mifepristone, allowing women who suffered complications the right to sue telehealth providers and pharmacies for damages.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., cited research from the Ethics and Public Policy Center claiming higher rates of complications from mifepristone than listed on the FDA-approved label. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)
Research by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) in Washington, D.C., showed the rate of side effects when using mifepristone is 22 times higher than indications from the FDA-approved drug label.
PRO-LIFE GROUP URGES SENATE TO PRESS RFK JR. ON ABORTION PILL SAFETY, DEMAND SAFEGUARDS RETURN
The study revealed more than 1 in 10 women have reported experiencing «infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious or life-threatening adverse event.»
EPPC assessed 865,727 insurance claims between 2017 and 2023 for women who used the medication to terminate early pregnancy. The pill can be taken up to «70 days since the first day of their last menstrual period,» according to the FDA.
During the Biden administration, the FDA revised rules allowing mifepristone to be prescribed via telehealth, meaning patients would not have to physically go to the doctor to receive the abortion drug.
SOUTH CAROLINA GOP LAWMAKERS INTRODUCE BILL TO CRIMINALIZE ABORTION AS MURDER
In 2024, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected an Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine challenge that was brought to reverse the FDA’s approval and expansion for access to the drug. The ruling allowed mifepristone to remain available through telehealth and mail.
Hawley penned a letter to FDA Commissioner Marty Makary urging him to review the data and act against the abortion drug mifepristone. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The Supreme Court’s rejection was based on the group’s inability to bring a lawsuit, saying Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine lacked the legal standing to challenge FDA approval. The merits of the abortion drug were never discussed or questioned in the ruling.
Last May, Hawley sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, whom Hawley questioned during Makary’s Senate confirmation hearing last year.
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«[D]uring your confirmation hearing, you pledged to me that you would ‘review the totality of the data and ongoing data’ to inform action on the drug,» Hawley’s letter to the FDA chief states. «I urge you to follow this new data and take all appropriate action to restore critical safeguards on the use of mifepristone.
«The health and safety of American women depend on it.»
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston
abortion,health,womens health,senate,drugs,congress,legislation
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