VPM News Focal Point
What’s on the minds of potential Virginia voters?
Clip: Season 3 Episode 12 | 4m 13sVideo has Closed Captions
Virginia residents talk about issues on all sides in the leadup to the 2024 elections.
Fitness to serve, immigration and abortion are discussed by Virginians in the weeks leading up to the 2024 election.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
VPM News Focal Point is a local public television program presented by VPM
VPM News Focal Point
What’s on the minds of potential Virginia voters?
Clip: Season 3 Episode 12 | 4m 13sVideo has Closed Captions
Fitness to serve, immigration and abortion are discussed by Virginians in the weeks leading up to the 2024 election.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch VPM News Focal Point
VPM News Focal Point is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipANGIE MILES: Should there be new or different parameters or guidelines?
As far as what makes someone qualified to run for high office?
JACK HICKEY: We should definitely have some moral guidelines as opposed to, you know, age 35 and not a felon.
ANGIE MILES: We've never had a convicted felon run for office before.
SCOTT GOODWYN: He's appealing all these.
He says he's going to win all of these appeals.
So we'll see.
And I do think, you know, the government was weaponized against him.
That might not be a popular thing to say, but I do believe that's true.
I think that, that's not the politics we want to have in this country I don't think.
It's just awful.
AMY MENDELSON CHEELEY: I'm not sure about the weaponization.
I do believe in the justice system.
And, I want to keep believing in the justice system.
COREY NICHOLSON: Picking up on the other thing you said about fitness.
ANGIE MILES: Fitness to serve.
COREY NICHOLSON: Fitness to serve in terms of can we believe what you are saying?
This whole idea that whatever Donald Trump says is true because he's gone... they've gone beyond party to, its got to be Trump or no one else.
SCOTT GOODWYN: I think a lot of the reason that these Republicans, you say, are Trump or no one else is because he's not one of them.
He's not a government person.
They feel like if anybody can clean up the government, maybe this guy can.
ANGIE MILES: I'm going to ask you about two other, really important topics, one being immigration and the other being abortion.
Those are huge issues for people this year.
ROXANNE HARRIS: As a woman, as a mother, grandmother and working with women my whole career, yes, I believe women have a choice that needs to be made here.
That conversation needs to involve the men and for men to take responsibility as well.
ANGIE MILES: So you're describing it as a contraception issue mainly.
So taking responsibility, when you say here... ROXANNE HARRIS: Yes.
ANGIE MILES: I think you mean beforehand, before theres a... ROXANNE HARRIS: Yes, I have a choice here.
He has a choice here.
TERRY HICKEY: I grew up when Roe v. Wade was not, was not there.
So, and I knew people my age growing up who needed to have abortions or would just need birth control, and you couldn't even get that.
So, Im very supportive of reproductive rights, and it's a major reason why I would support a candidate one way or the other.
SHARALYN GARRARD: And now we're also talking about women who have medical reasons, having to wait until they're almost dying before a doctor will feel like they can perform an abortion.
And to me, that is just punishing women for having babies.
ANGIE MILES: Another hot topic immigration.
CHUCK HANSEN: There have been multiple multiple efforts since the 90s to pull together comprehensive immigration fixes.
And every time they've been torpedoed from one side or the other.
There's a big, broad middle consensus to just get stuff done.
And they're just afraid of their wings on both sides.
JACK HICKEY: You need to have the compromise between keeping the borders secure, but having empathy for the people who are longing to get into the United States.
They wouldn't do it if they weren't in desperate situations.
ANGIE MILES: Is democracy in danger right now?
Why or why not?
KRISTEN PINGRY: I think this kind of, divisiveness, worries me because it's feels like to me that it's maybe trying to suppress certain ways people want to vote or their belief system.
And people come here, move here, emigrate here because of, it seems like a democracy where everybody has a chance to make it.
And I just love that about America.
I mean, that's kind of who we are.
Fact or fiction within the media landscape?
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S3 Ep12 | 2m 17s | How do mis- and dis-information impact us? Charles Salter discusses the media landscape. (2m 17s)
Law professor speaks on abortion issues
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S3 Ep12 | 2m 44s | With reproductive rights on many voters’ minds, what are some important facts to consider? (2m 44s)
Pivot counties weigh options for president
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S3 Ep12 | 4m 33s | They chose Obama and then Trump. Who’s next for pivot counties? (4m 33s)
Virginia Republicans say they are repelled by Trump
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S3 Ep12 | 4m 30s | They say they are putting country over party. High-profile Republicans are defecting. (4m 30s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- News and Public Affairs
Top journalists deliver compelling original analysis of the hour's headlines.
- News and Public Affairs
FRONTLINE is investigative journalism that questions, explains and changes our world.
Support for PBS provided by:
VPM News Focal Point is a local public television program presented by VPM