Michael Lee Pope is an award-winning journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria. He has reported for NPR, the New York Daily News and Northern Virginia Magazine. He has a master's degree in American Studies from Florida State University, and he is a former adjunct professor at Tallahassee Community College. Pope is the author of four books.
Recent Stories
Boysko Wins Wexton Seat
Democrats enter the new year with a fresh victory and a full head of steam.
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Education Issues Take Center Stage
Constituents tell lawmakers to increase teacher pay; ERA, $15 minimum wage and more.
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Democratic Insurgent Versus Republican Moderate
January special election to fill seat vacated by Jennifer Wexton features two familiar faces.
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Democrats Seize Control of Northern Virginia
Region once had its own brand of Republicanism; now that seems almost extinct.
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Senate Election is Blast from the Past
Kaine and Stewart both played key roles in 2016; now they’re at the top of the ballot this year.
Virginia Voters Choose Firebrand
Corey Stewart to lead Republican ticket this fall.
Conservative firebrand Corey Stewart was denied an opportunity to be the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in 2013. And then he came within striking distance of being the party’s standard-bearer in the gubernatorial campaign last year. Now, finally, the chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors has secured a spot at the top of the ticket, bringing his brand of anti-immigrant, pro-Confederate Trumpism to the race against incumbent U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine.
Wexton to Take on Comstock
Moderate state senator did not get pulled to the left in primary.
State Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D-33) made a name for herself in Northern Virginia as a tough-as-nails prosecutor, including one case that grabbed national headlines involving a woman who persuaded her boyfriend to kill her father with a samurai sword. During her campaign for the Democratic nomination in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, she never lost that sense of law-and-order grit, refusing to be pulled to the left as other candidates were calling for President Trump to be impeached.
Budget Brinkmanship in Virginia
Lawmakers poised to leave town without passing budget.
Budget showdowns are rare in Virginia, but not unprecedented. Back in 2004, Gov. Mark Warner clashed with Republicans over a sales tax increase. Then in 2014, Gov. Terry McAuliffe engaged in brinkmanship over expanding Medicaid. Now lawmakers are poised to end the session once again without passing a budget.
Mixed Success on Menstrual Equity in Virginia
Increased availability behind bars, but no tax breaks during back-to-school week.
Several lawmakers from Northern Virginia arrived in Richmond this year hoping to push a cause known as menstrual equity — making sure that feminine hygiene products are affordable, safe and available. But success has been mixed.
Virginia Senate Might Torpedo Medicaid Expansion
Democrats still need to flip one more GOP senator to make it happen.
Usually it’s the state Senate that leads on progressive issues, and the House of Delegates kind of drags its feet. Not this year.