POLITICAL CAMPAIGN COVERAGE
2008-2020
Beginning in the summer of 2008, Chris started getting interested in politics because of a young, energetic senator who promised to bring change for all generations. After experiencing eight tumultuous years following 9/11 and conflicts in the Middle East, Chris decided to keep up with the political scene and encouraged his high school students to do the same. Students accompanied him to report on the various political rallies at every rally following that initial one in 2008.
Photo Coverage from 200
Senator Barack Obama in 2008
Chester, Va
The rally took place in an outdoor area on the campus of then John Tyler Community College (now Brightpoint). The motorcade arrived with a hefty number of national media. Obama spoke about the value of local community colleges and how they can have such a big impact on social mobility. His motorcade left Chester and stopped in Petersburg for lunch at Longstreet’s Deli where they named a burger after him.
President Barack Obama in 2012
VCU’s Siegel Center, Richmond, Va
In May 2012, during his second run for president, President Barack Obama visited the Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University to urge voters to show the same kind of enthusiasm that they did in 2008. His message was that their work was not done. He shared a story about a voter in North Carolina who stood out in the rain all day to exercise her right to vote.
Governor Mike Pence in 2016
Regent University, Virginia Beach, Va
In 2016, Donald Trump had made stops in Virginia Beach hoping to win the support of the voters connected to military families. During the end of the campaign his running-mate, Governor Mike Pence, visited two places in the Tidewater area. At his stop at Regent University, in front of a modest crowd, he urged the voters to join him in supporting a new kind of candidate who isn’t like all of the other politicians in Washington.
Senator Hillary Clinton in 2016
NABJ Conference, Washington, D.C.
Towards the end of the summer of 2016, the National Association of Black Journalists hosted their annual conference in Washington, D.C. at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel. The organization reached out to both presidential candidates for a Q&A on the issues. They received no response from Donald Trump, but Hillary Clinton agreed to take questions from the audience.
Senator Tim Kaine in 2016
Huguenot High School, Richmond, Va
As soon as Senator Hillary Clinton chose Senator Tim Kaine to be her running mate, Kaine decided to have a rally in his hometown of Richmond, Va. In the newly opened Huguenot High School in the Forest Hill neighborhood of Richmond, Democrats piled into the warm gym to congratulate and support their hometown hero.
Representative Beto O’Rourke in 2015
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va
At the onset of the Democratic race for the Presidential nomination in 2015, Texas politician Beto O’Rourke visited Virginia to start his campaign. With small national support, O’Rourke traveled the Interstate 64 corridor speaking at William and Mary, VCU and UVA. After his speech to the William and Mary crowd, he accepted questions about special interest donations to campaigns, a topic that critics of his campaign were quick to discuss,
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Vice President Joe Biden in 2020
Norfolk, Va
The rally took place at Booker T. Washington High School in Hampton Roads, VA immediately following the South Carolina primaries. What at one time looked like a lost cause, quickly made a big turn in the weeks before Super Tuesday. Congressman Jim Clyburn’s endorsement of Biden was the deciding moment of the Democrat primary.
Senator Bernie Sanders in 2020
Arthur Ashe Center, Richmond, Va
In Richmond, Va. just days after Biden won South Carolina in 2020, a very popular Senator Bernie Sanders took the stage at the Arthur Ashe Center. The packed crowd of thousands of supporters would greatly outnumber the crowd attending Biden’s rally just days later. But it did not matter. Biden would take Virginia and later win the nomination.
Rep. Paul Ryan in 2012
Richmond International Airport, Richmond, Va
In 2012, Mitt Romney had made stops throughout Virginia but it was his running-mate who made a quick barnstorming stop. Rep. Paul Ryan drew a large crowd to the tarmac at Richmond Interantional Airport and seemingly brought young voters out from the Republican Party.
Senator Mitt Romney in 2012
Midlothian Turnpike, Chesterfield, Va.
As the race for the presidency took off in 2012, the once conservative state of Virginia was still up for grabs. President Barack Obama had seemingly found a way to win back the state in 2008 but there were no guarantees in 2012. On a very warm autumn day in Chesterfield Co. Romney visited Richmond Honda on Midlothian Turnpike to do his best to win back the state.
President Barack Obama in 2012
Rolls Royce Plant, Prince George, VA
At the end of his first term in office, President Barack Obama continued to emphasize bringing industry back to the US to reinvigorate the economy. As part of his reboot on his second term, he visited the Rolls Royce plant in Prince George, VA to witness the plant which made top-of-the-line airplane parts.
Governor Terry McAuliffe
Booker T Washington H.S., Norfolk, Va
During Biden’s run for office in March 2020, several Democrats joined him to show support at the rally at Booker T. Washington HS in Newport News, VA. McAuliffe would end up losing his run for office against Glen Youngkin.