A Democrat who lost a city council election in 2014 defeated one of the most powerful Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday.
Clinton Jenkins beat Del. Chris Jones, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee who was first elected to represent Suffolk and part of Chesapeake in 1997. Jones easily beat a handful of opponents in the early years of his House career and, until this election, no one had run against him since 2005.
But a new legislative map — adopted after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the old map illegally packed black voters into certain districts — was a detriment to Jones in the 76th House District, where partisan lines shifted to Democrats by 27 percentage points, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
The new Democratic advantage had outside groups like Forward Majority Action targeting Jones with negative ads. Equal Means Equal, a national organization dedicated to ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, set up its headquarters in the district.
On Tuesday night, Jenkins’ campaign manager, Derek McDonald, said a many Suffolk residents were excited “to speak with a unified voice” after decades of having their votes watered down through gerrymandering.
Jones’ district lost 10,000 white voters and gained just as many black voters as more of it moved into Suffolk, though a sliver remains in Chesapeake’s Western Branch.
Jones, 61, was the chief architect of the 2011 gerrymandered lines, Jenkins noted in a phone interview.
“What that says is, he was selecting his voters versus getting his voters an opportunity to select the candidate they want to represent them,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins, a 57-year-old real estate agent who has lived in Suffolk his entire life, served as a mechanic in the U.S. Army. Military officials confirmed they had a record of him serving, but Jenkins wouldn’t say what years he served.
Jenkins ran on raising teacher salaries to at least the national average. Virginia’s average teacher salary in the 2017-18 school year was $56,148 according to state department of education’s annual report, compared with the national average of $59,660, according to the National Education Association.
Jones campaigned on a record that includes expanding same-day access to mental health services, securing a 5% teacher pay raise, freezing public university tuition for one year and giving tax rebates in response to the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
The upset in the 76th was the only district to flip in South Hampton Roads. In the other eight races called Tuesday night, all remained in the hands of incumbents or the same party that had controlled them since 2017.
As of 11:30 p.m., one seat remained too close to call. Del. Chris Stolle, facing his first challenger since he was elected a decade ago, was locked in a tight race with Democrat Nancy Guy in the 83rd District.
In Portsmouth, Democrat Don Scott, a well-known lawyer, walloped Republican Tim Evans and independent Ryan Benton to take the 80th District. The seat was left open when Del. Matthew James, a Democrat, stepped down to take a state economic development job.
Democrat Alex Askew won the 85th District by defeating Norman Dewey”Rocky” Holcomb, who sought to recapture his seat after losing it to Cheryl Turpin in November 2017. Turpin decided not to defend her Assembly, instead running for one in the State Senate, a bid that fell short.
In the other six races, the incumbent won. Four Republicans and one Democrat held onto their seats in those contests.
Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler defeated her Republican challenger, Shannon Kane, to win a second term representing the 21st District.
Republican Del. Rob Bloxom Jr. fended off Phil Hernandez Jr., a lawyer from Willoughby Spit, despite the Democrat’s massive fundraising advantage in the 100th.
Republican Del. Emily Brewer handily defeated Democratic challenger Michele Joyce to keep control of District 64.
Del. Barry Knight, a Virginia Beach farmer whose represented the 81st District for a decade, defeated Len Myers to keep the seats for Republicans.
Del. Glenn Davis, a Republican incumbent, won the 84th District seat against Democratic challenger Karen Mallard, a Chesapeake school teacher.
Del. Jason Miyares, a Republican running for a third term in the 82nd District, beat back Democrat Gayle Johnson, a property manager, to keep his Virginia Beach district red. In victory, he struck a tone of unity.
“Despite all the division that is going on nationally, this is fundamentally a good and decent community,” he told supporters.