'It has not been civil:' Tensions high in Fredericksburg area ahead of Election Day
Although city elections are on the state and not the federal ballot, the 2025 cycle is proving to be as contentious as Greenlaw feared.
A dispute over whether federal workers can participate in “nominally” partisan elections erupted after a Fredericksburg Democratic Committee gathering, and a pair of lawsuits filed by local residents are aiming to disqualify House of Delegates candidates based on claims that they do not reside in the district they’re vying to represent.
Those who closely monitor local, state and national politics say that the city’s issues reflect what’s going on elsewhere, including in the
Fredericksburg area. According to those observers, moderates don’t win elections, meaning extreme partisanship is what it takes to gain votes.
“One of the key factors about the new timetable is that elections are occurring when partisan tensions are high,” said University of Mary Washington Professor Stephen Farnsworth, who specializes in political science and media affairs. “People are being primed by all these attack ads about how horrible the other side is, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone that a contentious political environment affects local races as well as state.”
https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2025/10/17/it-has-not-been-civil-tensions-high-in-fredericksburg-area-ahead-of-election-day/