In addition to the high-profile race for governor and other statewide races, Virginia voters will be asked to weigh in on a flurry of competitive races farther down the ballot: House of Delegate seats are also up for grabs Tuesday. This election features more competitive House races than at any time in the past two decades, and analysts say the usually local, low-key races are shaping up to be an early barometer of the national political climate nearly a year into Donald Trump’s presidency.
The voting for Virginia governor on Tuesday, traditionally a referendum on the party in the White House one year into a new administration, is the big political show of 2017. But the real weather vane for the country may be many rungs down the ballot in obscure races for the House of Delegates.
Companies that offer high-interest loans are fighting back against efforts to reform their industry, and part of that effort involves writing checks to political campaigns.
On Election Day last year, Julie Copeland, who leads a training program for Democratic women who want to run for office in Virginia, began to worry she might soon be out of a job. “I was so thrilled to find out I was completely wrong,” Copeland said
Democratic state House candidate Hala Ayala said she was shocked recently to see what her opponent said about her in campaign mailers. The mailers read: “Hala Ayala: Restore rights to felons: thugs, violent criminals, gang members, and child predators.”
The Veterans Treatment Court, a drug and mental health court that helps veterans stay out of jail, will expand to Prince William County, Virginia, next month. The veterans courts will start on Nov. 1, according to Virginia Del. Rich Anderson, who is from Prince William County.
Six candidates for Prince William-area seats in the House of Delegates clashed over a whole host of issues in a Dale City forum on Oct. 6, but they could all agree on one point: Lawmakers in Richmond need to get to work on reforming the state’s criminal justice system.
All but one of the six Democrats running in contested House of Delegates races in Prince William County managed to out-raise their Republican opponents over the last two months, as local Democrats continue to record massive fundraising hauls ahead of the November elections. From July 1 to Aug. 31, county Democrats in Districts 2, 13, 31, 40, 50 and 51 combined to raise nearly $772,000, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. Their GOP opponents, including five incumbent delegates, managed about $407,000 over the same time period.
Virginia aviation advocates are trumpeting a new law backed by Del. Rich Anderson, R-51st District, as a major economic boon for the entire state, and Manassas specifically. Earlier this year, the Prince William-area delegate was able to successfully shepherd through legislation that will exempt aircraft engines and other plane maintenance supplies from the state sales tax for at least the next few years.
The two Democrats vying for the chance to replace Del. Rich Anderson, R-51st District, differ more in style than in substance — one highlights her campaign experience, the other, his youthful energy. In a May 15 candidate forum at Chinn Park Regional Library in Woodbridge, Hala Ayala and Ken Boddye largely marched in lockstep when it came to the major policy issues of the day, and neither was shy about attacking Anderson’s record over his four terms representing the Prince William-area district.