FREDLINES
Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
Rep. Eugene Vindman to return to office in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District
By Jonathan Hunley 11/3/2026
Rep. Eugene Vindman coasted to reelection Tuesday night, according to unofficial results.
The Democrat — who represents Virginia’s 7th District, which includes the Fredericksburg area — was chosen on 191,316 ballots for 60% of the vote, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
Bowman defeats Yakabouski in Spotsylvania Commissioner of the Revenue race
By Taft Coghill Jr. 11/3/2026
During Shellie Bowman’s campaign to become the next Spotsylvania County Commissioner of the Revenue, he touted his vast experience in finance.
His opponent, Chris Yakabouski, hailed his 17 years as the Battlefield District representative on the board of supervisors and his familiarity with the commissioner’s responsibilities.
In the end, voters chose Bowman’s background. He defeated Yakabouski with 53% of the vote to earn the position, which pays $175,000 per year.
FCPS Superintendent Catlett announces retirement
By Adele Uphaus 11/3/2026
Marci Catlett, the first Black Superintendent in the history of Fredericksburg City Public Schools, will retire effective June 30, 2027.
“It is with heartfelt gratitude that I announce my retirement,” Catlett said in a statement she read aloud at Monday’s school board meeting. “I have spent more than half of my life — 45 years — educating students and being a member of the city schools family. What a blessing.”
Catlett announced her retirement at the school board meeting before the board entered a closed session to discuss personnel matters, including the superintendent’s contract.
King George supervisors vote to appoint Weston as next sheriff
By Taft Coghill Jr. 11/3/2026
The King George County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Monday night to petition the circuit court to forgo a special election for sheriff in 2027.
Sheriff Chris Giles announced his intentions to retire in July, effective Dec. 31. He requested that Maj. Patrick Weston— the highest-ranking officer in the department — complete his term, which expires Dec. 31, 2027.
Political spin: DJs tend turntables outside local polling stations
By Joey LoMonaco 11/3/2026
Christian Zammas has been DJing since the 1990s. He’s a self-proclaimed veteran of the rave scene.
But he had never worked a gig quite like the one that consumed his Election Day.
Around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Zammas leaned over his controller on a grass strip beside the parking lot at Gladys West Elementary School in Fredericksburg. There were no strobes or beams, just the orange glow of streetlights some 45 minutes before polls closed.
The Free Lance-Star
Vindman declares victory in 7th District race (paywalled)
By The Free Lance-Star 11/3/2026
Congressman Eugene Vindman released a statement Tuesday night as results were being counted regarding his re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Tonight, the people of Virginia’s Seventh District have once again placed their trust in me to represent them in Congress, and I am deeply honored and grateful,” the statement reads.
Vindman faced Republican challenger Doug Ollivant, along with Libertarian Taner Lopez, and independent candidates Alaha Ahrar, Joshua Ertle, and Randall Terry.
Fredericksburg superintendent to retire after long tenure
By Keith Epps 11/3/2026
Fredericksburg superintendent Marci Catlett announced Monday that she will be retiring at the end of this school year after 45 years with the city school system.
Catlett, a city native who became the division’s first Black superintendent in 2019, will step down effective June 30 of next year. She announced her decision during the public portion of Monday night’s school board meeting following a closed session.
Potomac Local News
By PLN News 11/4/2026
Virginia voters approved three constitutional amendments on Tuesday. Unofficial local results show majorities in Prince William County, Stafford County, Manassas City and Fredericksburg City also voted yes on each question.
Statewide, with the large majority of precincts reporting, Question 1 was leading roughly 61–62% yes, Question 2 roughly 56–57% yes, and Question 3 roughly 55–56% yes.
Results are unofficial. Provisional ballots and remaining absentee ballots have not been fully counted. The State Board of Elections will certify later.
Stafford voters reject 1% sales tax for school construction by narrow margin
By PLN News 11/3/2026
Stafford County voters narrowly rejected a local sales tax of up to 1% dedicated to school construction and major renovations.
Unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections show No receiving 33,408 votes (50.47%) and Yes receiving 32,780 votes (49.53%). The margin is about 628 votes. All 37 precincts have reported.
The ballot question asked whether Stafford could levy a local retail sales tax not to exceed 1% to provide revenue that could only be used for construction of new schools or major renovation of schools serving the county.
ADVANCE READS
James Noll, Phil Huber
Who Doesn’t Like a Good Anti-AI Literary Mob?
James Noll, ADVANCE CONTRIBUTOR
Of the many illustrious mob events throughout history—The Dancing Plague of 1518, The Corpse Riot of 1788, The French Revolution, The Straw Hat Riot of 1922, The Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic of 1962, The Disco Demolition of 1979—my favorite is the one going on right now: The Great Internet Anti-AI Mob of 2026.
I love watching these brave, intrepid souls confronting The Guilty from behind the safety of their computer screens, expertly copying and pasting fishy prose into AI-run AI detectors to root out the base and ignoble, and expose them for what they really are: Prevaricatious filth.
Scarlet Quinn. Mia Ballard. Jerry Falade.
Each of these writers has been embroiled in one kind of AI scandal or another of late, and each has suffered the career-crushing weight of the digital pile-on.
When Faith and Power Make a Bargain
Phil Huber, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
A politician promises to protect the faithful. A religious leader tells the faithful to support the politician.
Both may believe they are serving a worthy cause. But the arrangement raises a question: When they need each other’s support, who holds either one accountable?
Religion rides government, and government rides religion. It is a useful image—not because every relationship between faith and politics is corrupt, but because it asks us to notice who is steering and who is being carried along.
In my previous column, I explored what different understandings of heaven and hell might tell us about our obligations in this world. This question follows: What happens when those charged with teaching moral responsibility become partners with those entrusted with political power?
STATE OF THE STATE
VaNews/VIRGINIA PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT
Federal election monitors are coming to Virginia: What they can and cannot do at the polls
By PETER DUJARDIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The U.S. Department of Justice is sending more than 1,000 election monitors to polls nationwide Tuesday, according to multiple news reports. That deployment ... is the Justice Department’s largest election monitoring effort, according to VoteBeat, a non-partisan news organization that covers elections. The deployment is more than triple the nearly 300 federal monitors sent out by the Biden administration in the 2022 midterms — and more than the 700 dispatched to the polls during the 2024 presidential contest.
Dominion surcharge for offshore wind farm to start coming down next year
By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)
The surcharge that Dominion Energy customers pay to finance its offshore wind farm will start coming down next year, when all of its 176 turbines will be up and running. The first drop next year will amount to 35 cents on a benchmark $180.31 monthly bill for 1,000 kilowatt-hours — a total that currently includes $11.36 to finance the $11.65 billion project if the State Corporation Commission approves.
Lee County neighbors have a question for Old Dominion Power: What justifies a 23% jump?
By ANNA RUBENSTEIN, Cardinal News
Sherry Parsons usually sits in the dark, moving through her house by the orange glow of two nightlights and a blue lamp over her terrarium. She keeps her refrigerator on a low cool setting and warms her legs by wrapping them in a heated blanket, a gift from her late brother. “He said, ‘You’re not going to sit up there and freeze to death.’ I said, ‘John, I can’t afford electric bills,’” said Parsons, 64. Parsons lives in St. Charles, a former coal town in Lee County and one of the communities serviced by Old Dominion Power, a subsidiary of Kentucky Utilities that provides electricity to more than 28,000 Virginia customers in Dickenson, Wise, Russell, Lee and Scott counties.
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