This week, Virginia Democrats went to the polls for primaries, choosing state Senator Ghazala Hashmi as their candidate for Lieutenant Governor this fall. Sen. Hashmi joined the show to discuss her primary win, what it means for Northern Virginia residents, and how she will approach November's general election, where she will face Republican radio talk show host John Reid.

Virginia voters selected Jay Jones as the Democratic nominee for Attorney General; he'll go up against incumbent Republican Jason Miyares in November. WAMU's Northern Virginia reporter Margaret Barthel got behind the mic to break down the results. Plus, she set the stage for the widely-anticipated governor's race in the fall. 

Margaret also previewed the Democratic firehouse primary set for later this month to fill Virginia's 11th Congressional District seat after the death of longtime Congressman Gerry Connolly.

The D.C. Council is deep into budget hearings, with hundreds of residents coming out to express their views on proposed cuts, the deal to build a new football stadium, and a pitch to repeal the tipped minimum wage increase. Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen joined Kojo and Tom to discuss his priorities in a tight budget year. Plus, Allen weighs in on D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's push for stricter youth curfew laws.

The bill calls for an 11 p.m. citywide summer curfew for 17-year-olds or younger. Currently, the curfew starts at midnight and applies to those 16 or younger. The proposal also would allow D.C. police to create special zones where the curfew could be set as early as 7 p.m. for 15 consecutive days. However, Councilmember Allen questioned the strategy.

"Are we pulling away MPD resources to go enforce a curfew that we need them in other places,?" he asked.

Allen also said a tougher curfew shouldn’t be passed as emergency legislation and without public hearings. The Council is expected to consider it early next month.

Send us questions and comments for guests: [email protected]

Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/wamu885

Follow us on Bluesky: bsky.app/wamu.org