Phil Puckett

A recent headline caught my eye: “Republicans come out of the 2014 Primary Season with Little to Guide them Forward.” Some pundits are searching to explain why things aren’t the way they’ve always been. This past week in Virginia, as the Times Dispatch reported, we…

UPDATE 10:13 PM: Final tallies: Chafin 439 (56.6%); McCall 268 (34.5%); and Neo 69 (8.9%) UPDATE 10:10 PM: Congratulations to our nominee, Delegate and future Senator Ben Chafin, who won with 57% of the vote! UPDATE 9:58 PM: @DRSuetterline: “Counting about 75% done. Folks sticking…

GOP legislators have promised to pass a budget without Medicaid expansion provisions. But if the governor might try to expand Medicaid on his own, what’s the excuse for not trying to stop him, now that Republicans control both houses?

The sudden retirement of Sen. Phil Puckett (D-Tazewell) has apparently provided the impetus for pro-Obamacare Senate Republicans to agree to pass the House’s budget without the so-called “Marketplace Virginia” elements that would have expanded Medicaid. Things sure have moved fast since news broke of Puckett’s…

Democrats are outraged at the deal we reported yesterday that gave Republicans a majority in the Virginia Senate. From the Democratic Party of Virginia’s Twitter feed: .@VA_GOP are so desperate to deny 400K Virginians health care, they’ll bribe their way through blocking expansion: http://t.co/7XkY8ZMW7h —…

Unleashing a political firestorm, Sen. Phil Puckett (D-Tazewell) has resigned his seat in the Virginia Senate, effective tomorrow. The move means that Democrats lose their majority in that chamber, leaving (temporarily at least) a 20-19 GOP majority. It is unclear what this will mean for…