Yesterday the world met Hank the Cat a feline prospect for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Virginia Democrat Jim Webb, who is retiring after one term. Fox 5 landed the in-person interview with the cat and his owner, er, campaign manager. more ›

Tim Kaine and George Allen take warning: There's a new candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Virginia Democrat Jim Webb, and if our experience with Internet trends is any guidance, this new arrival on the political scene could be a real scene-stealer. A cat. more ›

The race for Senate in Virginia got much more interesting today, as Democratic National Committee chair and former governor Tim Kaine announced that he would pursue the seat being vacated by current Sen. Jim Webb. Kaine, who has chaired the DNC since January 2009, will likely face former Sen. George Allen in what is already being touted as a key bellwether race during the national 2012 election cycle. more ›

Senator Jim Webb, who won his seat in a big pickup for Democrats during the 2006 midterm elections, will not seek re-election in 2012, reports the Washington Times. more ›

Mike Allen reports this morning that former Virginia governor and Senator George Allen "plans to tell supporters within a week" that he'll be campaigning for the Senate seat currently held by Democrat Jim Webb. Webb defeated Allen in 2006 by a razor-thin margin, but questions have recently been raised about whether he will even run for re-election in 2012 due to a lack of fundraising. If Webb does decide to run, the race is predicted by many to be one of the most vigorous in the nation, especially as President Obama will look to hang on to the Old Dominion's support. more ›

In the world of politics, nearly every elected official or civic leader has at one point said something stupid, regrettable, insulting or downright confounding. But in recent years, well-known personalities in Virginia have had a disproportionate number of serious flubs, many of which have become national scandals. more ›

Northern Virginia Republicans are holding a rally on Saturday at Edison High School that's designed to reach out to minority voters in Fairfax County. It's actually an annual event at this point, but obviously this year's rally holds more significance because the Democratic presidential nominee is black, and Virginia has become a swing state this year. more ›

Bloggers across this fair nation thought they couldn't get a bigger gift from a Virginia senate race than they did last year, after the epic and appalling Macacaness of Sen. George Allen's eventual defeat to Sen. Jim Webb. But via Wonkette, it would seem we could all have been wrong. Rumors are flying that Pat "Homosexuality is Not Only Immoral, but Filthy" Buchanan is considering a run at the seat being vacated by Sen. John... more ›

Even though the U.S. Senate is known as the best retirement home in America -- great healthcare, plenty of daily activities, and people continue to pay attention to you for some reason -- Virginia Sen. John Warner announced today that come next year, he's out. And while his announcement is big news, even bigger is the fight that's about to come to replace him. Consider the circumstances. The commonwealth is a political toss-up these days.... more ›

Former Virginia Senator George Allen has apparently completed his rapid descent from Presidential hopeful to also-ran to punchline to historical footnote. Today, The Politico reports on an official GOP Internet guide, which, along with providing some material that undercuts the popular idea that the Republican establishment is a clearinghouse of outright media geniuses (such as the note that "Most newspapers are now online and have an archive section." Woo! You think?), holds out George Allen's now-famous use of the racial slur "macaca" as an example of bad blog strategy. more ›

Sad news, Washington. Fox 5 brings us a heartbreaking story from a Maryland farm. Apparently someone broke into a barn in Yellow Springs, Md. and cut off a sheep's head. As Shawn Yancy lamented, this left "an adorable lamb... motherless". Just think! What kind of monster would harm a helpless farm animal? Fortunately, Brian Bolter was on the case, outlining the possibilities: it seems to either be a "sick joke" or — far more likely... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Need something to warm your funny bone (or at least your sense of outrage) on this appropriately cold winter morning? Well, look no further that the hijinks of Virginia's legislators. We thought that Virgil Goode's silly attacks on Rep. Keith Ellison were all the entertainment that the commonwealth was likely to offer in the short term. But, as NBC4 reports, state representative Frank Hargrove has come to the rescue, committing two enormous... more ›

>> Do college students like having fun? Well, DO THEY!? Sounds like a job for Laura Sessions Stepp! Pull-quote highlight: "[Professor Frederic D.] Homer and graduate assistant Rodney Wambeam wanted to know what students meant when they said they were in college to have fun. They wanted to know why students rarely included classwork in that definition. What they heard surprised them." That means if Stepp, herself, was surprised, it could potentially bring the total... more ›

The election of Democrat Jim Webb as the junior Senator from Virginia has given political spectators another chance to speculate on what particular shade of indigo the Commonwealth appears to be these days. Webb's victory was hardly a blowout, but considered alongside the last two gubernatorial campaigns and the swelling population and influence of Northern Virginia, it's not hard to imagine that Virginia's statewide tendencies are only going to get bluer. Virginia hasn't become Massachusetts... more ›

Now Ryan Zimmerman knows how George Allen feels. It was as close as they come, but when they counted the votes for NL Rookie of the Year, Zim narrowly lost to Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez. DCist Matt saw it coming as the year wound down, posting about Ramirez in September: "If anybody's going to beat out our boy Zim, we think it's going to be this guy." It's easy to make a convincing case for... more ›

>> Newly anointed Jim Webb waited more than an hour after George Allen's concession to address supporters in Arlington. Thanking Allen, Webb said he planned to "stop the politics of divisiveness." He also asked Bush to "publicly denounce the campaign tactics that have divided us." Strong words from a man with only 8,000 people between him and the unemployment line. No matter your party loyalties, it's always a gift to know that we won't be... more ›

We've got not one, but two press conferences in the next hour and a half, signaling the end of the 2006 Senate races. At 3 p.m., Sen. George Allen will hold a press conference at the Carlyle House in Alexandria to concede the election to Jim Webb. At least, that's the speculation and expectation of Democrats everywhere who are breathing sighs of relief. Though it's likely Allen is playing nice in order to resurrect his... more ›

Though he hasn't yet officially conceded, the WaPo is reporting this morning that Sen. George Allen is "realistic" about the outcome of the Virginia election after the Associated Press called the election for his opponent, Jim Webb, last night. With nearly 100 percent of the votes counted in the state, Webb continued to lead by approximately 7,300 votes. He's even begun staffing already, and the phones at his headquarters are being answered, "Hello, Senator-elect Webb's... more ›

Jim Webb and George Allen might be stuck in a tight battle for the Virginia Senate seat, but no such contest existed for a constitutional amendment forbidding same-sex marriage or civil unions. As the Post is reporting, the amendment — one of eight across the country — was approved by an overwhelming 57 percent of Virginia voters, somewhat proving the power of the commonwealth's social conservative tendencies. And even though Northern Virginia has tended towards... more ›

Can you stand all the excitement that comes along with sifting through so many election results, race by race, this morning Washington? For political junkies like us, and we're sure, like many of you, last night was an up way past our bedtimes, whiskey-infused, edge of our seats, shouting about the relative quality of cable news commentators' hair dye jobs kind of time. And it's not totally over yet. But before we get to the... more ›

Sigh. The most wonderful time of the year, Halloween, is over. How's your candy haul, D.C.? It's going to be another warm day, with highs reaching the low 70s. So that makes us feel a little better. What else makes us feel good, you ask? This story, from our sister site Seattlest. BWI Improvements Finally Done: About five years, $1.4 billion dollars, and countless moments of inconvenience with roped-off corridors and orange cones later, BWI... more ›

The polling on the prohibition of gay marriage and the support for incumbent senator George Allen proves what we've always known -- Northern Virginia is becoming less and less like the rest of the state. But what to do about the polarization? Easy. Secession. D.C. Metblogs head honcho Tom Bridge, himself a Virginian, today proposed giving the District back the Virginia lands (and then some) that originally formed part of the city but were retroceded... more ›

With a jam-packed weekend in the city that saw the dedication of the Air Force Memorial by the president as well as festive activities for Howard's homecoming and a crushing loss by the Skins, there doesn't seem to be too terribly much on the local news radar. But let's check it out. Gallaudet to Reopen: Despite the fact that over 100 students (133 to be exact) were arrested in continued protests on the school's campus... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Hopefully you're getting the day off, especially because it seems Monday will be just as beautiful weather-wise as Sunday was. Did you spend your weekend in a productive manner? Running the Army 10-Miler, perhaps? I spent it playing flag football and drunk, so I'm going to go with "non-productive." But still nice. I mean, at least we didn't spend it at George Allen's fundraising hoedown. Lord. It's a Day That Ends... more ›

Good morning, D.C. How're those new Metro express lanes treating you? We know it's only five stations for now, but we're pretty excited by the prospect of a nearly-50% speed-up through the turnstiles during rush hour. There's nothing more infuriating than finding yourself stuck behind a perplexed tourist who's fiddling with his farecard like a newly-tool-using ape at the beginning of 2001 — unless you count the encounter you just had with him on the... more ›

While everyone knows about big stock exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, there are even smaller ones like the Boston and Philadelphia stock exchanges (if you want to buy shares in "Yankees Suck" shirts or cheesesteaks, we guess). But did you know there's a Washington Stock Exchange? The stock exchange is really a fantasy politics game, where you can use fake money to buy or sell shares in various political events, like... more ›

If you're looking for a change of pace and need an industry that is sure to remain in business for years to come, consider escalator repair. Taking after DeVry and ITT Tech, Metro has kicked off a $1.5 million training lab for escalator repair, writes the Post. The lab will train the next generation of escalator repairmen, who, as we all know from experience, will have no shortage of work anytime soon -- on... more ›

We mentioned it briefly in the Morning Roundup, but considering he's been such a controversial figure in the region's upcoming election campaign season, George Allen's recent about-face on whether being called Jewish is an "aspersion" or a point of pride seems worth taking a closer look at. From today's WaPo:But people close to Allen have been reluctant to discuss his grandfather's religion in the past. Asked about it several weeks ago, campaign advisers either said... more ›

It's shaping up to be a beautiful day here in Washington, with a high around 70 degrees and mostly sunny skies. Here's hoping the great weather can brighten the days of Montgomery County election officials, who are reporting that they won't have a final count of all provisional ballots in the county until sometime next week, thanks to mistakes which forced many early morning voters to cast the paper ballots. We know the idea that... more ›

You know, we have a lot of fun here at DCist, but we like to think that occasionally we serve to educate as well. It's a daunting task — there's a lot of material relevant to D.C. residents that we could cover, from how to get your car inspected to who's got the best burger to which bars have the heaviest intern infestations. But of all the lessons we could impart, perhaps the most important... more ›